Fort De Soto Park

 Friday December 24th

Red Knot

As a Lister, I set a goal every year, as to how many species I can locate and more importantly get that photo of. My 2021 goal is 300 species of birds. Should have easily reach my goal earlier this if not for the numbers of birds I have dipped on or hadn't worked hard enough. Some of the awesome sightings I had seen this year included Whooping Cranes in Florida and Wisconsin, Trumpeter Swans in Wisconsin and Illinois, the Iceland Gull that showed up on Fort Myers Beach, Yellow-Green Vireo at Biscayne Bay National Park, a lifer Brown Creeper in Wisconsin, Brown and Black Noddies at Dry Tortugas National Park, a Lifer Sabines Gull out in the Gulf of Mexico thanks to Dave McQuade and Edwin Wilke and a Grove-bill Ani in Cape Coral Florida to name a few. 

Tagged Piping Plover 

What have I dipped or slipped up on chasing? Dipped on the lapwing longspur that spent few days at the Venice Airport, winter wrens or golden-crowned kinglets in the panhandle, hermit thrushes, vesper sparrow, least grebe in Miami, whip-poor-will, spot-breasted oriole, American golden plover, gray-tailed tattler in the Keys, Mississippi kite, Rose-ringed parakeet, Acadian flycatcher and Red-legged thrush that was at Key West to name a few

So, with running out days on the calendar I elected to head up to Fort De Soto for the potential of seeing the last two species needed to reach my goal. Targets were horned grebe and the American golden plover reported there. Missed on seeing the plover, which was photographed in the park today.  But added three Horned Grebes. 

With the removal of the Australian Pines, the character of North Beach has really changed, Miss all the shade. But it seems that their removal may have improved habitat for shore birds. Counted at least 15 Piping Plovers, 6 Snowy Plovers and several Black-bellied Plovers, Red Knots, Sanderling, Least Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers, Dunlins and a Wilson's Plover. Other species encountered included Common Loons, Red-breasted Mergansers, Brown and White Pelicans, Laughing, Ring-billed and Herring Gulls, Forsters Terns, Kestrels and Nanday Parakeets.

Herring Gull