Sarasota

 Wednesday, March 29th

Spent Tuesday birding up in Charlotte County. 

Myakka River State Park

Noticed that the levee and the adjoining structure located west of the boat ramp has been removed. Somehow it doesn't seem right.

Fish Crow

American Avocets

Blue-winged Teal

Wild Turkey

Rosetta Spoonbill

The Celery Fields Gardens

Purple Martin

Common Ground Dove

Mourning Dove

Brown-headed Cowbird

The closest I managed going a pic of the beautiful Ruby-throated Hummingbird
 was the coral bean bush it was feeding on.

Pinecraft Park

Juvenal Barred Owl still sporting its downy feathers

Coopers Hawk

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 tree.  Cedar 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

Road Trip

Thursday January 18th

  

Didn't see the bison at Payne's Prairie
this trip but did spot this herd at the

Three Suns Ranch along SR 31
in Charlotte County

Began the year with a birding road trip to the Panhandle and North Florida. Visited birding hotspots from Lake Wales to Apalachicola to Tallahassee to Merritt Island and Sebastian Inlet. The weather was rather cold for Florida, but was such a nice change from the norm. Picked up about 150 species including a Lifer in a Sprague's Pipit. Dipped on a few I was looking for though.

Had started out from Fort Myers on Thursday the 11th making stops at the Punta Gorda Airport Pond ( Long-billed Dowitchers, Stilt Sandpiper, Least Sandpipers), Ackerman Park in Sarasota ( Ring-necked Ducks ) and a short visit the Celery Fields. Missed the bronzed cowbirds there. 

Ring-necked Duck at Ackerman Park

Common Ground Dove at the Celery Fields feeders

Limpkins and a Snail Kite were spotted along the highway as well. On Backbone Road near Lake Wales a stop was made for the pair of Whooping Cranes known to use these pastures.  However, I was informed by a group already on site that the birds had walked out of sight. Got an American  Bittern though before heading on to Gainesville.

Babcock-Webb

Thursday, May 26th

Common Nighthawks

I arrived this morning at 6:45 am at Babcock-Webb Wildlife Management Area in Charlotte County to be on-hand to observe Red-cockadated Woodpecker as they exit there nest holes at sunrise.  Over the years I've been successful with this strategy, making my stop at the RCW colony location on Oil Well Grade. Lately though its seems that this colony is down to a single bird. It emerged at 7 am.

Great Crested Flycatcher

The three special bird species sought here included the RCW, Bachman's Sparrow and Brown-headed Nuthatch.

The Bachman's Sparrow is a relatively secretive bird hanging low in the palmettos. But the best time to find them here is March through May when the males will be singing on territory. The remainder of the year it can be just plain luck to sight one, outside of flushing a bird while trodding through the palmetto scrub. Today I heard two males in song, but back into the pines.

Eastern Towhee

White-tailed Buck

So I had quickly ticked off two the three specialties. But I dipped on the nuthatch. Eastern Towhees, Eastern Meadowlarks, Pine Warblers, Common Ground Doves and Mockingbirds were everywhere though. Also did see a small flock of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks fly low over the property and thick concentrations of wading birds working the shrinking pools of water. As for quail, I heard a lone Northern  Bobwhite

Common Ground-Dove

Ebird list

Twiching after Texas Birds

Thursday January 5th

Green-tailed Towhee at Possum Branch Preserve

I am always interested in adding new birds to my life list and at this time of year we get opportunities when migrants from the west, probably Texas, find their way to Florida

  Last month I saw my first vermilion flycatcher just outside of Everglades National Park. The vermilion does migrate into Florida, but usually only up into the panhandle. The same is true of Green-tailed Towhees. But yesterday I was able to observe one of a pair first found during a Christmas Bird Count up in Possum Branch Preserve in Safety Harbor. A lifer for me. The day before, I ventured to The Celery Fields in Sarasota for the reported cinnamon teal.  Another western bird, seldom seen here. And missed on my visit.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher - December 2011

There are more western birds to track down. we find western Kingbirds and scissor-tailed flycatchers in various parts of the state. we also get a few ash-throated and brown-crested flycatchers, it seems mostly in Dade County. Tropical and cassin's kingbirds, a say's phoebe and lesser nighthawks have also showed up at times.

Back on Wednesday, I drove up to Sarasota to look for the cinnamon teal.  Spent a couple of hours, but did not locate the bird.  It can easily stay concealed in the marshy areas.  Did find Northern Shovelers, Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal, Hooded Mergansers and Mottled Ducks. Had to be well over a hundred Double-crested Cormorants and lots of Laughing and Ring-billed Gulls. At Ackermans Park got long-distance looks at a pair of Ruddy Ducks along with more Blue-winged Teal and Lesser Scaups. Five Monk Parakeets were resting on the wires. Was able to call out a Marsh Wren and could hear a couple more in the reeds.

Common Ground Dove seen at Honeymonn State Park

On Thursday was my run up through St Pete and Clearwater to seek out the heavily reported on green-tailed towhee.  Had about a twenty minute wait, and was rewarded with a lifer. The hispid cotton rat also made a very brief appearance and the only sparrow I managed to id was a Song Sparrow. I had noticed that Honeymoon State Park was not very far away from Here so I spent about an hour there checking out the gulls for any specialities. Just Ring-billed and laughing Gulls though. Lots of Ruddy Turnstones, a few Common Loons and Horned Grebes and Red-breasted Mergansers were present. I understand that during migration times this is an excellent spot to be birding.

On the way home I checked out the ponds at Tierra Verde in St Pete.  Had to be a thousand birds on the water.  The lighting was bad and the ducks were mostly resting with their heads hidden under their wings, so it was very difficult to id them, but the vast majority were Redheads.  Also found a trio of Nanday Parakeets on the wires.


Common Loon seen from Ft DeSoto pier


It used to be free to use Ft DeSoto Park.  Not any more.  It cost 5 bucks to park now. Nothing was very special at the park today.  More loons, grebes and mergansers. But very few shorebirds aside a few Ruddy Turnstones and Willets. Did manage to find a pair of American Oystercatchers.