Saturday, April 11, 2020

Birding at Home

Saturday, April 10th

Mangrove Cuckoo 
was very reluctant to pose for the camera
With the beaches, parks and preserved closed to enhance social distancing, birding during Spring Migration has become very frustrating.  Locally the wildlife drive at Ding Darling NWR on Sanibel Island  remains open and one can bird by car.

I recently did bird from the Ding darling Wildlife Drive and was rewarded with a with a few interesting birds. Not much in the way of any neo-tropical migrating birds though on that day.  Did spot and heard a Mangrove Cuckoo, plus a soaring Broad-winged Hawk and several Red-breasted Mergansers were still present.

Lots of Cedar Waxwings dining on figs


House Sparrow
At home I have a couple of feeders set up under a huge, old and fruiting Laurel Fig treeCedar Waxwings are a constant these days, feeding on figs and several Gray Catbirds have been hanging around, plus numerous European Starlings are preparing nesting sites in that big, old tree. But, again not much in the way of interesting migrants yet. The feeders are very popular with the expected resident birds.
Northern Cardinal
Gray Catbird

Brown-headed Cowbird. 
Only a single cowbird visits these days, but in earlier days flocks of 30 or 40 were common visitors








Starlings
Common Ground Dove


Common Ground Dove

Blue Jay
Starling



Eurasian Collared-dove

Boat-tailed Grackles don't visit the feeders very much


Gray Catbird