Tuesday December 6th
Spent several
hours on Tuesday and Wednesday birding the
La Chua Trail situated on the north
side of the P
ayne's Prairie State Park near
Gainesville,
Florida. I'm here looking for specialty
birds we don't see much, wintering in southwest
Florida.
Targets today include wintering sparrows, the resident Whooping Crane, a
wintering Vermilion Flycatcher and wintering water fowl.
 |
| White-crowned Sparrow |
On Tuesday,
there was a late start due to inclement weather. But as the rain abated about 9 am, I made my initial stop at Magnolia Parke
in northwestern Gainesville.
Historically, Rusty Blackbirds have been roosting here as they wintered in Gainesville.
It was actually a bit early on the calendar to expect these blackbirds, and I
didn't see any but did have some White-crowned
Sparrows, Eastern Bluebirds, a Red-headed Woodpecker and Yellow-rumped
Warblers.
The weather was
improving so I moved onto the La Chua Trail, arriving about 10:45 am. The only other birder I encounter
was Yve Morrell. Yve is a very active birder from Naples,
Florida, whom I have met several times in
various birding venues. Currently she's aggressively running a recon in
preparation of conducting an ABA Big Year in 2017. Just a few weeks away.
Yve was already
heading out after a successful morning. She had braved the rain and was
rewarded in seeing the Lincoln's
Sparrow that's been reported here. She also added Savannah,
Song, Swamp and White-crowned Sparrows. As for the Vermilion Flycatcher she
outlined that access to it was being blocked by construction.
 |
| One of the wild Spanish Cracker Horses that roam the prairie |
Spent four hours
in birding the area. Even though the rains had stopped it was still windy. Much
of
the wetlands have dried
up and the
Spanish Cracker horse herd could be seen to the east. Huge
alligators, as usual, are sunning themselves along the canals and hundreds of
Greater
Sandhill Cranes are
spread across the the flats.
 |
| The Sparrows are Staying Low |
Amongst
the Sandhills is a lone Whooping
Crane. It can be seen from the observation tower, but is a long was
off. Due to distance and poor lighting, good photography was a problem. Was
also a problem in identifying the hundreds of water fowl and shorebirds present
by the tower, due to the bad lighting.
Was able to identify Mottle Ducks, Blue-winged Teal,
Green-winged Teal, Northern Shovelers, Long-billed Dowitchers, Greater and
Lesser Yellowlegs, Killdeers, Wilson's Snipes, American Coots, Common
Gallinules, White and Glossy Ibis and lots of waders.
Other species
included an Armadillo, Ribbon
Snake, American Crows, Red-shouldered Hawks, Bald Eagle, House Wrens, Carolina
Wrens Red-winged Blackbirds, Savannah
Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows. Palm and Yellow-rumped Warblers, Ruby-crowned
Kinglet and a female Painted Bunting. But
no Lincoln's Sparrow
 |
| The Florida State Bird |
From here I headed over to the
nearby Sweetwater Wetlands. Best sighting at Sweetwater were
Northern Harrier, Black-bellied
Whistling Ducks, Northern Shovelers, Blue-wing Teal Wood Storks and Limpkins.
 |
| Black-bellied Whistling Duck |
Wednesday, December 7th
Returned to the La Chua Trail for another morning of birding. The weather was nicer and the trail was a lot busier. The horses were out east of the trail and the bison herd was close by on the western side. Counted fifteen of them today. I believe there are probably about 50 cows, left after a recent removal of the bulls. The Bison, Cracker Horse and Cracker Cattle Management Plan
The birding wasn't much different than yesterday. So much of the same. But not all. Was able to add Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee, Kestrel, Black-and-White Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Swamp Sparrow, Marsh Wren and Roseate Spoonbill.
 |
| Savannah Sparrow |
 |
| White-crowned Sparrow |
 |
| White-crowned Sparrow |
 |
| Glossy Ibis |
 |
| Long-billed Dowitcher |
 |
| A very distant pic of the Whooping Crane |
From here I traveled to Clay County and the Ronnie Van Zant Memorial Park to see the
Canada Geese and Muscovy Ducks. These ducks are everywhere. Then, on the long drive home, I made one last stop. A return visit to try for the
Brewer's Blackbird at Bayport Park near Weeki Watchee, After dipping a couple of times this year, I was able to observe the blackbird in the company of a flock of
Boat-tailed Grackles.
 |
This female Brewer's Blackbird was been a winter visitor
to his area for several seasons now. |
 |
| Boat-tailed Grackle |
