Baby Gators

Six-Mile Cypress Slough Preserve
September 8th

Headed over to Six-Mile Cypress Slough Wednesday morning to look for migrants and was lucky to met up with Walt, who is a very skilled birder.  When I met him on the boardwalk he already had a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers located, which were a part of a nice mixed flock. Walt also quickly locked-on to a couple of female Blackburnian Warblers, and Northern Parula.  We were able to add American Redstart, Black-and-White and a nice female Hooded Warbler. Walt reported a nice assortment of migrants found at Sanibel Lighthouse yesterday at the same time I had come up empty at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, were I did not hit on any warblers, but did get a Eastern Wood-Pewee.  So following my stay at Six-Mile I headed over to Sanibel Lighthouse, but found it very quite.  Only warbler was Prairie Warbler.

Baby Gators - Below is a series of pics of two week old gators as seen from the Six-Mile Cypress boardwalk.

Momma Gator on guard

Momma Gator

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American Redstart - Paynes Prairie

Paynes Prairie

September 6th - Labor Day

   I had been interested in locating a mississippi kite this summer, in part to tally up my annual list but to also hit on a quadfecta of kites found in Florida - snail kite, swallow-tailed kite, white-tailed kite and the mississippi kite.  Had not really been able to to travel to the northern half of Florida this summer, but this Labor Day weekend offered some time to try and find the missing kite in the Paynes Prairie State Park area south of Gainesville.  This would be crap shot, as the mississippi kites are mostly gone from Florida to winter in Texas by the start of September.  But it was not impossible as ebird reports have shown. These birds had been currently reported in the Paynes Prairie area as of August 29th.

Paynes Prairie deer

  

Being a four hour drive, I left home at 4am to try and arrive at the park's opening at 8 o'clock. Was met by a constant calling of hidden White-eyed Vireos and encountered a pair of white-tailed deer. Near the campgrounds by Lake Wauberg encountered a noisy mixed flock of Carolina Chickadees, Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers, Black-and-White Warblers and Northern Cardinals. There were more but the thick foliage did hamper the search. Down by the lake I did find Pileated Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-eyed Vireo, American Redstart, Yellow-throated Warbler, Fish Crows, a Green Heron, Great Blue Heron and Blue Jay.  No Kites.

One of Paynes Prairie's wild horses

Bolan Bluff Trail

A wild citrus, probably wild orange

An American Redstart

   Left the main park environment to walk the Bolen Bluff Trail a couple of miles north off US441. This is a popular trail for birders and a good location for sighting kites, acadian flycatchers and migrating warblers. The trail was busy with birders and no one I spoke with was encouraging on finding any kites today. But many were reporting good sightings like Kentucky warblers, blue-winged warblers, yellow-billed cuckoos, acadian flycatchers, prairie warbler, yellow warbler and waterthrushes.  I dipped on all of these. I was successful with locating White-eyed Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, many Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Blue Jay, Northern Parula, Blackburnian Warblers (3 males), Pine Warbler, Black-and-White Warbler, American Redstart, Ovenbird, many Northern Cardinals and an Indigo Bunting. But again no kites.  I did find a couple of the wild horses, that along with a small herd of bison, were released to roam the park.

   I had planned on hitting the LaChua Trail next, which is located at the northern side of the park, but I was very tired from a long day.  So I headed for home instead. The past two years in January I visited the LaChua Trail and had great success with cranes and and sparrows. I '09 I was lucky to score on the pair of Whooping Cranes that do live on the prairie as they mingled with the thousands of sandhill cranes that were wintering there that winter. The whoopers are a part of the flock of birds being reintroduced as part of a permanent, non-migrating population of cranes in Florida. Was pleasantly suprised to view a flock of Snow Geese fly in to graze with the many cranes.  The snow geese were LIFERS. I later read reports on the these geese and that one was a Ross's Goose.  A review of my photos of the geese shows the Ross's Goose.  A LIFER.  Another lifer found that day was the Harris's Sparrow that was my target for the day. This sparrow was being reported on the Rare Florida postings and was only the second recorded sighting in Alachua County.

   My 2010 visitation was was much less interesting as it was lacking the thousands of cranes. Best birds of that day were probably the long-billed dowitchers, a flock of turkeys and a pair of American bitterns.
   I will return again this next summer in search of the kites.

Blackburian Warbler - Ft DeSoto Park

Ft DeSoto Park
Monday April 26th

  Following this morning thundershowers my daughters and I headed to Ft DeSoto Park hoping for some increase in migrant activity. These kind of storm fronts can bring down migrating birds needing to find safe haven and DeSoto may have been impacted. The word was that the park has been slow on migrant activity most of the month, but we did find a good variety with this weather event.  No fall-out but a good day for birding.

Sky Bridge

 









Did not get on scene till 12:30 pm, with the first stop at the East Beach turn-around.  A good variety of shorebirds were around including Common Terns, Royal Terns, Sandwich Terns, Least Terns, Willets, Short-Billed Dowitchers, Dunlins, Black-Bellied Plovers, Semipalmated Plovers, Sanderlings, Laughing Gulls, Brown Pelicans, Barn Swallows, Ruddy Turnstune and a lone Least sandpiper.

Black-Bellied Plover

Sanderling

Short-Billed Dowitcher

Dunlin

  We headed then to the East Beach Woods which was fairly busy with migrants and birders. We quickly found Black-and-White Warblers, a beautiful male Chestnut-Sided Warbler and a female American Redstart. Several Rose-Brested Grosbeaks were busy at a small mulberry tree and several Summer Tanagers, a Scarlet Tanger and Blue-Headed Vireo present as well. Several birders came in off the Privet Trail telling about ovenbirds, kentucky warbler and a bay-brested warbler that were seen.  Also several people were commenting on a reported warbling vireo and a blue-wing warbler. Dipped on all of these.

  

Summer Tanager

   Katie and I entered the Privet Trail, were Katie immediately spotted a beautiful male Indigo Bunting. we also found more Summer Tanagers and a Northern Waterthrush exploring water puddles. Several small brown birds were a bit difficult to id, but I believe that they are female Indigo Buntings.                 

Female Indigo Buntings

  We moved onto the Mulberry Grove were only a Gray Catbird was seen, however another birder put me onto a beautiful male Black-Throated Green Warbler and a pair of Yellow warblers in a live oak inside the ranger resident's yard. As we were watching, a male Blackburian Warbler joined in with the other warblers in the tree. As I have never seen a blackburian warbler before I had a LIFER.  

Great Horned Owl

Next Katie and I checked out the nesting Great Honed Owl at the North Beach Woods.  The parent owl gave great views and the owlet could be seen but it did not stand up.

  Before heading for home we rechecked the East Beach Woods. Ran into three members of the Caloosa Bird Club, whom I had gone on a birding trip back on March first. They had a great list for the day including the blue-winged wabler and swainsen's warbler. We reentered the Privet Trail with very little to add, but several Eastern Kingbirds and what I believe is an Eastern Wood Pewee. There was some questioning that the bird was a willow flycatcher.  As we were exiting, another birder told us about locating the blue-winged, a bay-brested warbler and a  pale, female cerulean warbler, just around on the adjacent trail. Too tempting. We set out, but I had to get back to car before the search was ended. So I said fairwell and we headed for home.  I am cureous if the bird club folks located the cerulean.

  On trip up to the park we had spotted a Roseate Spoonbill, Magnificent Frigatebird and a couple of Swallow-Tailed Kites. Some hoped for birds we can add to the dip-list included any baltimore orioles, blackpoll warblers, cape may warblers, black-hooded parrots and gray kingbird.

My List (58) - Mottled Duck, Brown Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Magnificent Frigatebird, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Tricolored Heron, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, White Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Osprey, Swallow-tailed Kite, Black-bellied Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Willet, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Least Sandpiper, Dunlin, Short-billed Dowitcher, Laughing Gull, Least Tern, Common Tern, Royal Tern, Sandwich Tern, Black Skimmer, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Common Ground-Dove, Great Horned Owl, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Eastern Kingbird, Loggerhead Shrike, Blue-headed Vireo, Blue Jay, Fish Crow, Barn Swallow, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Palm Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, American Redstart, Northern Waterthrush, Summer Tanager, Scarlet Tanager, Northern Cardinal, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Boat-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird