Showing posts with label Least Sandpiper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Least Sandpiper. Show all posts

Sunday, April 23, 2023

Fort DeSoto Park

 April 23rd


Nanday Parakeet


Spent the day
 looking for interesting birds at Fort DeSoto Park, which is located south of Tierra Verde in Tampa Bay. The park can be a great venue for birding during spring migration. So, a springtime visit is almost mandatory. 


eBird Checklist - 23 Apr 2023 - Fort De Soto Park - 54 species


Some of my better pics

Brown-headed Cowbird

Least Sandpiper

Cape May Warbler

Rose-breasted Grosbeak



Swainson's Thrush



Willet

White Ibis

Swainson's Thrush

Ovenbird

Veery

Laughing Gull


Monday, December 12, 2022

Bunche Beach

 December 12th

Over this past weekend, I made my first visit to Bunche Beach since before Hurricane Ian. It's been over two months since the storm made landfall here and the beach still needs some clean-up.  No doubt this venue is not the highest priority for the available recovery resources. Yet I'd like to see some signage be restored, especially on the rule of No Dogs on the Beach. Encountered three different beach walkers accompanied by their dogs. Because this preserve is an important sanctuary for endangered shorebirds, like red knots & piping, wilson's and snowy plovers, dogs are not permitted.


Low Tide at Bunche Beach Looking Toward the Sanibel Bridge




Somebody has lost their boathouse

Arriving at a very low tide found the exposed pretty empty of birds. Pretty much devoid of terns, skimmers or gulls. Suspect that the water quality remains an issue.

There a were some shorebirds at the west end of the beach. Sanderlings, Black-bellied Plovers, Least Sandpipers, Western Sandpipers, Spotted Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plovers, Dunlins, Piping Plovers and a Ruddy Turnstone.

Dunlin


Least Sandpiper



Western Sandpiper

Giant Atlantic Cockle exposed at low tide

Southern Seaside Goldenrod in bloom at the beach



A Banded Piping Plover

Wednesday, November 9, 2022

Hurricane Ian

 November 9th

On September 28th Hurricane Ian ripped through Fort Myers and Lee County here in Florida. And know we are waiting on a hurricane Nicole.

Ian was extremely devastating to our coastline and so many people losing homes, businesses, their vehicles, their boats and their lives. The storm surge flooded many communities, and the hurricane force winds turned the barriers islands into piles of rubble. Myself and my family fared well all things considered.

The birding was diffidently affected. Many local birding sites were not accessible till now and the beaches will be difficult to visit for some time. I did drive up to Fort DeSoto Park near St Peterburg and few weeks ago and had some good birding there. Went to Fort DeSoto to try for the rare-to-Florida Bar-tailed Godwit. 


Birds at Fort DeSoto

Bar-tailed Godwit
a rare visitor to Florida

These American Oystercatchers were fussing
over who's going to enjoy this meal

Banded Tulip Shell

Greater Yellowlegs

Piping Plover

Least Sandpiper

Sandwich Tern

Snowy Plover

Willet


Common Tern

Friday, July 29, 2022

Browns Farm Road

Friday July 29th

Lesser Sandpipers by the hundreds

 After the summer doldrums of June and early July, birding active picks up in the Everglades Ag Area located south of Belle Glade in Palm Beach County. Migrating shorebirds, terns, waterfowl and such are attracted to the flooded cane fields, rice fields and sod farms.


Hudsonian Godwit


Right now, we have an unusual visitor in the area. Hudsonian Godwits are rare visitors to Florida and there is one that has been found in some flooded fields along Browns Farm Road. Meg Rouser joined in the drive over from Fort Myers to check out a Lifer sighting.  Our observations did include the Hudsonian Godwit, a few American Avocets and Wilsons Phalaropes, lots of Rosette Spoonbills, Fulvous Whistling Ducks, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, Barn Swallows, Brown=headed Cowbirds, Wood Storks, hundreds of Least Sandpipers and a few Western and Semipalmated Sandpipers. Black-necked Stilts were plentiful, as were Greater and Leaster Yellowlegs, a few Pectoral and Stilt Sandpipers and Long-billed Dowitchers. Found several Gull-billed Tern, Caspian Terns and Laughing Gulls plus a couple of Black-crowned Night-herons. The numbers of Common Nighthawks were pretty low. Should have increases in activity as the season progresses with nighthawks and other species. Upland Sandpipers should be showing up soon. Dipped on Black Terns, White Pelicans, Barn Owls and Cave Swallows


Wilsons Phalarope

Greater
Yellowlegs
Had expected to find cave swallows at the cave swallow colony site at the bridge on SR 880 and Browns Farm Road. But today, there didn't seem be any activity.  







Had also checked out Glenview Road, Sem-Chi Rice Mill and STA - 1e. Not much of anything additional to add though.  Did hear King Rail at STA - 1E and a Swallow-tailed Kite near Clewiston. Will try to return in August to catch-up on later activity.

Day List (59)

Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Fulvous Whistling Duck, Mottled Duck, Eurasian Collared Dove, Common Ground Dove, Mourning Dove, Common Nighthawk, King Rail, Gray-headed Swamphen, Common Gallinule, Black-necked Stilts, American Avocets, Killdeer, Hudsonian Godwit, Stilt Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitchers, Wilsons Phalaropes, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Laughing Gull, Least Tern, Gull-billed Tern, Caspian Tern, Black Skimmers, Wood Storks, Anhingas, Great Blue Heron, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Little Blue Heron, Tri-colored Heron, Cattle Egrets, Green Herons, Black-crowned Night-herons, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Rosette Spoonbills, Black Vulture, Turkeys Vultures, Osprey, Swallow-tailed Kite, Red-shouldered Hawk, Crested Caracara, Loggerhead Shrike, Fish Crows, Barn Swallows, European Starlings, Northern Mockingbird, House Sparrows, Eastern Meadowlark, Red-winged Blackbirds, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Common Grackles, Boat-tailed Grackles and Common Yellowthroats.




Monday, November 15, 2021

Walked Carlos Point

 Monday November 15th

Appears to be a problem for someone


Walked Carlos Point beach, At the south point of Estero Island. Large numbers of shorebirds were present, mostly nestling in the sand on this cool morning. 


A lone Marbled Godwit on the beach

Came across a resting flock of American Oystercatchers.  Counted 35 birds and looked for any wearing leg bands. Noted two - CA2 and HM - were birds I had photographed back on December 28, 2019, on the same beach.





Other birds included a large number of Semipalmated Plovers, Black-bellied Plovers, Sanderlings, Willets, Snowy Plovers, Ruddy Turnstones, Wilson's Plovers, Dunlins and a few Laughing Gulls, Royal Terns, Sandwich Terns, a couple of Forster's Terns and my FOS Ring-billed Gulls.

Several flotillas of American White Pelicans passed  overhead.  Well over a hundred pelicans were seen.

Snowy Plover

Snowy Plover

Snowy Plover

Dunlin

Least Sandpiper

Sanderling