Merritt Island NWR

Wednesday, February 3rd

Day 3

Lifeguard Station at Ponce Inlet

Day three, on this birding vacation, was supposed to be spent at Florida Caverns State Park near Marianna, plus searching the barren cotton and peanut fields for horned larks and such. But thunderstorms are expected, so we're skipping this day's scheduled venues and heading over to the Atlantic Coast a day early.

A young Great Black-back Gull at Ponce

So we left Tallahassee for the long drive toward Ormond Beach for some sea watching. At a location at Gamble Roger State Park we checked the skies for sea birds and Bob did point out that the winds weren't good for us.  

Was able to spot a few Northern Gannets and Brown Pelicans off shore. I've been lucky in the past  to witness hundreds of gannets as well passing jaegers and sea ducks at this location.  On the beach were a few gulls and terns including Herring, Ring-billed and Laughing Gulls, plus Royal, Sandwich and Forster's Terns and Black Skimmers. 

After this short stop at the beach, we moved onto Ponce Point Lighthouse Park. Most winters this location is one of two or three venues in Florida to find Purple Sandpipers. Today the the winds a blowing hard and the surf is crashing. The are actually people trying to surf. 

Purple Sandpiper

Ruddy Turnstone

Ponce Lighthouse

We were able to easily locate and photograph the Purple Sandpiper, as well as a few other shore birds and gulls. Resident Gopher Tortoises also gave us a show.

This Tortoise was very aggressive with another tortoise and did attach it

Finally, we moved onto Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge to see if any waterfowl could be seen. But just as we saw with the Canada Geese in Tallahassee and the ponds at St Marks, the waters were bare of ducks. We estimated a count of 5000 American Coots along the Black Point Wildlife Drive and the along the Peacock Pocket Road. As for ducks we only counted twenty-four Blue-winged Teal, three Shovelers, five Lesser Scaups and a pair of Mottled Ducks. A review of e-Bird records shows that the waterfowl usually remain well into March and later. However its apparent  that they have left early to return North. No doubt due to the high water levels  here and a very mild winter. 

Great Blue Heron

Horned Grebe

Wood Stork

Other bird like observed included lots of the expected waders including over twenty Rosette Spoonbills and Reddish Egrets, But not many shorebirds - Dunlin, Sanderlings, Least Sandpipers and Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs. Didn't see any American Avocets.  Other birds included Common Gallinule, Caspian, Royal and Forster's Terns, Ringed-billed Gulls, Pied-billed and Horned Grebes, a Wild Turkey, Ospreys, Northern Harrier and Bald Eagle

Our exit from Merritt Island ended the birding vacation. We ended up cutting two full days out of trip, mostly due to the weather. Just the same we had about 125 species and three Lifers for me. All Good.

Trip Count ( 125) 

Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Wood Duck, Mottled duck, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Red-breasted Merganser, Wild Turkey, Common Loon, Pied-billed Grebe, Horned Grebe, Wood Stork, Northern Gannet, Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga, American White Pelican, Brown Pelican, Sandhill Crane, American Bittern, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Reddish Egret, Cattle Egret, Black-crowned Night-heron, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Northern Harrier, Bald eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk, Clapper Rail, Sora, Purple Gallinule, Common Gallinule, American Coot, Limpkin, Black-bellied Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Greater Yellowlegs, Willet, Lesser Willet, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Dunlin, Purple Sandpiper, Least sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Wilson's Snipe, Laughing Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Caspian Tern, Forster's Tern, Sandwich Tern, Black Skimmer, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Common Ground-Dove, Mourning Dove, Great Horned Owl, Vaux's Swift, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Rufous Hummingbird. Calliope Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, American Kestrel,  Eastern Phoebe, Vermilion Flycatcher, Loggerhead Shrike, White-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, American crow, Fish Crow, Tree Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, House Wren, Sedge Wren, Marsh Wren, Carolina Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Eastern Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, Northern Mockingbird, Eurasian Starling, American Pipit, Cedar Waxwing, Orange-crowned Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Palm Warbler, Pine Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Eastern Towhee, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Boat-tailed Grackle, Common Grackle, Baltimore Oriole, House Finch, Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch and House Sparrow

Merritt Island NWR & Tampa Bay

Monday February 25th


North Florida Trip - Day 3

Northern Shoveler seen on Blackpoint Drive
Photo by Bob Pelkey

Bob Pelkey and I arrived at Merritt Island NWR about 8:15 and headed directly to the Blackpoint Drive. Here we were immediately greeted by a busy crowd of waders including Roseate Spoonbills and Wood Storks feeding behind the pay station. (MINWR is no longer a free venue). The first few stops were active with Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs, more waders including Reddish Egrets. Noted a few Hooded Mergansers as well.

 

As Bob concentrated on his birding photography, I took the time to walk the road toward stop #3, which is were a cinnamon teal has been wintering. I dipped on the cinnamon teal but was able to observe a Sora, plus diving Forster's Terns, Northern Shovelers, Lesser Scaups, at least one Greater Scaup, Reddish Egret, a few Blue-winged Teal and American Coots.

Lesser Scaup in Flight along the Blackpoint Drive
Photo by Bob Pelkey

 

The stops were peeps and shore birds were expected only offered  more yellowlegs. Did have a hand full of gulls and terns though. Caspian, Forster's and Royal Terns plus Laughing and Ring-billed Gulls and a lone Black Skimmer

 

Stop #7 is the place for waterfowl. Most of the ducks were in the distance and the lighting was terrible. Mostly had Lesser Scaups and Coots. American Wigeons could be spotted as well. However it was very impossible to try to discern any eurasian wigeons in the poor light.

A refuge employee put us onto the Peacock Pocket Road, so we headed there next. Here we finally a large concentration of American Avocets, plus Long-billed Dowitchers, Black-bellied Plovers, lots of Coots, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shovelers, Lesser Scaups, a few Green-winged Teal and a lone Northern Pintail. We again dipped on another cinnamon teal often seen here.

Northern Pintail, Lesser Scaup and Blue-winged Teal along the Peacock Pocket Road
Photo by Bob Pelkey

 

I talked Bob into making a run along Bio Lab Road as he was anxious to move on to the Tamps Bay Sunshine Skyline Bridge to search for the Black-legged Kittiwake wintering at the fishing pier. So after a pit stop at the refuge headquarters, were a beautiful male Painted Bunting entertained the visitors at the feeders, we headed over to Bio Lab Road.

Bio Lab was kind of dissapppointing. We did find several shore birds including Spotted Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plover, Short-billed Dowitchers, Dunlins, Willets, soaring American White Pelicans and swimming Red-breasted Mergansers. On another fresh-water pond we added more Hooded Mergansers.

From here we made the drive across the state back to the Gulf of Mexico to seek the Kittewake. Our stop was at the South Fishing Pier of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. We arrived with about an hour of sun light left for the day and actually thought we had missed our target. So as we were heading back to the car the Black-legged Kittewake was finally spotted. It spent most of the time we were there resting on the closed off section of the old bridge. So Bob got his shots.  When my daughter and I visited here earlier in February, Common Loons were everywhere and I I had a very unsatisfying look at what could have been a razorbill. So no razorbill today, but I managed to spot a group of five loons swimming toward the new bridge. Other birds using the fishing pier included Browm Pelicans, Snowy and Great Egrets, Ruddy Turnstones, lots of Rock Pigeons, Royal, Sandwich and Foster's Terns, Herring, Ring-billed and Laughing Gulls.

As the sun set we headed back to Ft Myers to end our three day road trip. It was a very good trip. Bob landed a lot of Lifers and took a few thousand pics. We did dip in virtually ever speciality I had targeted, but that just makes it necessary to plan a return to the panhandle next year.



Trip List (126) -

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Mottled Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Canvasback, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Greater Scaup, Lesser Scaup, Black Scoter, Bufflehead,  Hooded Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Common Loon, Pied-billed Grebe, Horned Grebe, Wood Stork, Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga, American White Pelican, Brown Pelican, American Bittern, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Reddish Egret, Cattle Egret, Green Heron, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Northern Harrier, Cooper's Hawk, Bald Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Clapper Rail, Virginia Rail, Sora, Common Gallinule, American Coot, Sandhill Crane, Black-bellied Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, American Avocet, Spotted Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs, Willet, Lesser Yellowlegs, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Western Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Dunlin, Short-billed Dowitcher, Long-billed  Dowitcher, Black-legged Kittiwake, Bonaparte's Gull, Laughing Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Caspian Tern, Forster's Tern, Royal Tern, Sandwich Tern, Black Skimmer, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Common Ground-Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, American Kestrel, Eastern Phoebe, Loggerhead Shrike, White-eyed Vireo, Blue-headed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Fish Crow, Purple Martin, Tree Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Brown-headed Nuthatch, House Wren, Sedge Wren, Carolina Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, Common Yellowthroat, Palm Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Eastern Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Painted Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle and American Goldfinch

Black-capped Petrel - Ponce Inlet Pelagic Trip

Back last Memorial Day weekend several of us had reservations for a pelagic trip out of Ponce Inlet sponsored by Michael Brothers and the Marine Science Center of New Smyrna Beach. As our caravan was crossing the state we received word that the trip had to be cancelled due to weather condition.  Tropical Storm Beryl was churning up the coast. It was a disappointment, but we managed to turn lemons into lemonade due turning south to the Florida Keys and some great birding.

This past weekend I was rescheduled to attend Michael Brothers' latest trip out into the Gulf Stream with hopes of adding a long list of expected pelagic species with the possiblity of some rarity to show up.

Saturday September 15th



A Black Tern see on Bio Lab Road

As it was a four hour plus drive, I used a day to make the drive and have time to visit Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Upon arrival I hurried to the Bio Lab Road first with the idea of locating a possible lingering Wilson's Phalarope that was being reported there. The lagoon side of the road was not very fruitful as the water was too deep for waders and shorebirds. The shoreline though offered looks at Sanderlings, Semipalmated Plovers, Black-belled Plovers, Least Sandpipers, Western Sandpipers, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Ruddy Turnstones, Double-crested Cormorants, Short-billed Dowitchers, several Stilt Sandpipers, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, a Black Tern a couple of Forster s Terns, many Laughing Gulls and the Wilson's Phalarope I was looking for. I actually missed the phalarope, but another fella, Lee Leatto, photographing the scene, put me onto the bird.

A look at Blackpoint Drive

Next I tried The Blackpoint Drive. Not much was here to see. Best wader was a Reddish Egret. Shorebirds were limited mostly to Sanderlings and Black-bellied Plovers. Came across a nice gathering of Laughing Gulls and terns. Had Caspian, Royal, Forster's and possible common and sandwich Terns.  lacking a scope made it difficult to discern some of the terns ID.

Sunday September 16th

Leatherback Turtle
Photo courtesy of Michael Brothers

The attendees for the pelagic trip needed to be at the dock at 3:30 am for a 4 am launch. We had fifty-three participants assembled with some folks having flown in from other states to attend the trip. Also met several folks I knew by name or reputation.  Like Wes Biggs, Scott Simons, Roberto Torres, Danny  Sauvageau,  John Mangold and Andy Kratter.  We boarded the Pastime Princess for our voyage.. Weather conditions were good, but the seas were a bit choppy for a while. Close into shore, as dawn was breaking we starting picking up a few birds. Cory's Shearwaters were the most commonly seen bird of the day. By the time we reached the weed line some 50 or so miles out we had Pomerine Jaegers, a single Greater Shearwater, Sooty Terns, Common Terns, Magnificent Frigetbirds and a number of land birds in migration including dozens of warblers, an Eastern Kingbird and several Great Blue Herons. At the tuna grounds the crew chummed the waters to try to lure in any storm-petrels. We surprisingly dipped on storm-petrels but did see as many as a dozen  Black-capped Petrels. On the trip heading back to port we could add Bridled Terns too.  Some folks got red-necked phalarope and Audubon shearwater, but I missed them. It was a good trip in that we did find some good birds, but expectations were high that we would manage a much longer list. Maybe next time. Other encounters included great views of a large pod of Atlantic Spotted Dolphins swimming with the boat and a gathering of 6 to 8 huge Leatherback Turtles. Sure wish my camera would have been working. It was a very long and sun-soaked trip. We arrived about 7:40 pm at the dock, were many weary and sun-burned birders departed  for home.

To see photos and stories from fellow birders on this trip, checked the hyperlinked sites above.

Atlantic Spotted Dolphin
Photo courtesy of Michael Brothers

 

Monday, September 17th

After a very good night's sleep it was time to head for home. But I had a couple of stops in mind on the way. First was to stop at Joe Overstreet Road near Kissimmee State Park with idea of locating the Whooping Cranes that have taken up residence there.  They are a part of the Florida non-migrating flock that we hope will one day be self sufficient.

 

I arrived about 10:30 am and never did find the whoopers.  Lots of Sandhill Cranes and several flocks of shorebirds on the sod farms including Pectrol Sandpipers, Black-belled Plovers and some Yellowlegs. I did also come across several Wild Turkeys ( should be Osceola subspecies), a couple of early Palm Warblers and found a pair of Kestrels. I'm not sure if they are migrants or resident Southern American Kestrels. The most interesting event here was the cattle round-up. Several ranchers on horse back with thier cow-dogs rounded up a herd of cattle in one pasture and moved them down the road to another pasture. The dogs were very instrumental in getting the cattle to cooperate.

 

Later, at the Taylor Creek Water Management area I had a trio of Tree Swallows, a  Bank Swallow and several Barn Swallows. I made a point of heading into the Everglades Ag Area south of Belle Glade with the idea of checking the sod farms and fields around Brown's Farm Road for any shorebirds or swallows. Best I got were a lot of Mourning Doves, Starlings, a few Barn Swallows and a couple of Eastern Kingbirds. That pretty much ended my birding weekend.

Trip List - (86)

Mottled Duck, Wild Turkey, Pied-billed Grebe, Black-capped Petrel, Cory's Shearwater, Great Shearwater, Magnificent Frigatebird, Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga, Brown Pelican, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron,  Reddish Egret, Cattle Egret, Green Heron, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Wood Stork,  Common Gallinule,  Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Cooper's Hawk, Bald Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Common Gallinule, Sandhill Crane, Black-bellied Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Black-necked Stilt, Spotted Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs, Willet, Lesser Yellowlegs, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Stilt Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Wilson's Phalarope, Laughing Gull, Sooty Tern, Bridled Tern, Caspian Tern, Black Tern, Common Tern, Forster's Tern, Royal Tern, Sandwich Tern, Black Skimmer, Pomarine Jaeger, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Common Ground-Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Crested Caracara, American Kestrel, Eastern Kingbird, Loggerhead Shrike, White-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Fish Crow, Tree Swallow, Bank Swallow, Barn Swallow, Gray-blue Gnatcatcher, Northern Mockingbird, Starling,  Palm Warbler, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle and Boat-tailed Grackle

Greater Scaup - Day 3 Central Florida Trip

Friday, February 17th



OK!!  Follow Me!!

Spent several hours friday morning exploring Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Traveled the Blackpoint Wildlife Drive and Bio Lab Road. The mourning started out with a nice Peregrine Falcon perched rigt along the road. Quickly added Coots, Hooded Mergansers, Blue-wing Teal, American White Pelicans, Wilson's Snipe, both Yellowlegs and Reddish Egrets. The duck population offered Greater and Lesser Scaup, Green-winged Teal, Northern Pintails, Mottled Ducks and Northern Shovelers.

American Avocet

Also could add a conga-line of American Avocets, at least 80, marching in line as they feed. Found several Roseate Spoonbills, Black-bellied Plovers, Dowitchers, Sanderlings, Ruddy Turnovers, Caspian Terns, Dunlin, Least Sandpipers, Forsters Terns, Royal Terns, Belted Kingfishers, and Killdeers. In the lagoon along Bio Lab Road I could add Common Loon, Horned grebe, a pair of male Buffleheads a a lone female Red-breasted Merganser. I had really hoped to encounter rails, but didn't see or hear any today.  Also dipped on the American and Eurasian Wigeons.

Blue-winged Teals

Northern Pintail

Greater Scaup

American Coot

From Merritt Island I headed down to Joe Overstreet Road east of Kissimmee Chain of Lakes Park for a shot at finding a Whooping Crane. Florida's resident whooping crane population is part of an attempt to create a migratory and a non-migratory flocks apart from the wild birds that migrate between Texas and Canada. Dipped on the whoopers, but did find a few Sandhill Cranes, Wild Turkeys, Eastern Meadowlarks, Bald Eagles, Ring-billed Gulls, Glossy Ibis, Cattle Egrets and Fish Crows.  from here the trip was ending and it was time to head for home.

List for the three days totaled (113 )

Canada Goose, Muscovy Duck, Mottled Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail,  Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Greater Scaup, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Hooded Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Wild Turkey, Common Loon, Pied-billed Grebe,  Horned Grebe, Wood Stork, Northern Gannet,  Double-crested Cormorant, American White Pelican,  Brown Pelican,  Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Reddish Egret,  Cattle Egret, Limpkin, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel,  Peregrine Falcon, Common Gallinule,

American Coot, Sandhill Crane, Black-bellied Plover, Killdeer, American Avocet, Greater Yellowlegs, Willet, Lesser Yellowlegs, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling,  Least Sandpiper,  Dunlin, Long-billed Dowitcher, Short-billed Dowitcher, Wilson's Snipe, Bonaparte's Gull, Laughing Gull,  Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Glaucous Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Caspian Tern, Forster's Tern, Royal Tern, Black Skimmer, Parasitic Jaeger, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Great Horned Owl, Belted Kingfisher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker,  Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Say's Phoebe, Great Crested Flycatcher, Loggerhead Shrike, White-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Fish Crow, Tree Swallow, Carolina Chickadee,  Tufted Titmouse, House Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Common Yellowthroat, Palm Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Eastern Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Brewer's Blackbird, Boat-tailed Grackle, House Finch, House Sparrow.

Eurasian Wigeon - Merritt Island NWR

Saturday, November 12th

I haven't done much much birding lately and expect to have to back-off some in the near future to attend other responsibilities. But one event I had been looking forward to was my first pelagic trip. I was signed up for Michael Brothers' trip out of Ponce Inlet on the 13th. Due to logistics I took two vacation days from work for the trip. Day one, today , was a travel day capped off with visit to Merritt Island NWR. I had originally planned to only take time to explore the rock jetties at Ponce Inlet for any early purple sandpipers, but a report on a Eurasian Wigeon among the newly arriving ducks was very tempting.

Snowy Egret

Arrived at Merritt Island around 2:30 and committed to only viewing Black Point Wildlife Drive today. The water levels were a bit high and not a lot of waders and shorebirds were present that I could see. Did have Reddish Egrets, Great Blue Egrets, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets and White Ibis. As for shore birds only found Dunlins, Blackbellied Plovers and Willets.

Great Egret

At stop #8 is were to look for the ducks. American Coots were by far the most numerous paddler. Next were probably American Wigeons. Also saw Green-winged teal, Blue-winged Teal, Redheads, Gadwell, Northern Shovelers, Mottled Ducks and Northern Pintail.  And I did locate the reported.Eurasian Wigeon. I assisted another birder, Jason, in locating the wigeon and he produced a photo that actually showed that there were at least two male eurasian wigeons present.

Others birds seen included an American Gallinule, Pied-billed Grebes,  a Bald Eagle and several Osprey.  On the fishing pull-offs at the bridge I looked for any black-backed gulls, but only added Laughing Gulls, FOS Ring-billed and Herring Gulls.  Dipped on avocets, white pelicans and the black-backed gulls.

Northern Shovelers

Ran out of day light as far as exploring the rock jetties, so maybe next year.

Snow Bunting - A Rare Bird in Florida

Tuesday December 14th



A Rare Viewing of a Snow Bunting at Palm Coast, Florida



It was a hard decision whether to chase after the sighting of a Florida rare bird, in a Snow Bunting at Palm Coast, Florida, or to head south toward the Everglades, were other intriguing reports are being posted. I had run into an active birder and photographer, Reinhard Geisler and his wife, on my last visit to Harn's Marsh. He was encouraging about going after the bunting and the continuing postings on how this bird has steadily remained on a very small patch of grass and should be an easy tick.

Met Tom and Cheryl Smith at Waterfront Park, who took this photo.  Far superior than what my camera could handle . See Tom's Flicker site

   Well I elected to chase after the snow bunting regardless of the four and a half hour drive to get there and the fact we are in the midst of record cold temperatures.  Left home at 4 am with temperatures in the 30's. The wind chill temperature at Waterfront Park had to be in the teens. Ice had formed on the sidewalk and the landscape plantings were decorated with ice as well. The buntings location was roped-off to provide a safe zone.  Seems the bird had almost been stepped on by the curious and now we have to kept back.  So far back that my photo attempts produced poor shots.  But those with the patience and the correct camera gear could still pervail. Photographers that were here before the barricade could step up to a few short feet for great shots. About seven freezing observers were already on site when I arrived and one nice lady offered looks through her scope. It is a beautiful bird.  But why was it it here so far from its normal territory. An a real irony was a bird from the far north is found in Florida during a record cold spell.

Ice Covered Landscaping.

I planned on stopping at Smyrna Dunes Park to look for resident purple sandpipers, but because of the cold I chose to drive onto Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. But first I did stop at Flagler Beach to check out for any interesting gulls or pelagics. Was able to easily spot and identify Northern Gannets, but most other interesting birds were to far out for my binoculars.  Needed a scope. A large flock of dark duck like birds flew past just above the surf. Again too far out for gathering good details for identification, but my guess were that they were a scoter species.  Maybe white-winged. Other birds included Brown Pelicans, Royal Terns, Forster's Terns, Laughing Gulls, Ring-billed Gulls, Ruddy Turnstones, Sanderlings and Black Skimmers.

Dunlin seen along the Black Point Wildlife Drive on Merritt Island

White Ibis

Roseate Spoonbills and Wood Storks



An unidentified bird over Merritt Island



Roseate Spoobill

Can you see the gator?

American Coots

A Dowitcher species

Got to Merritt Island at noon and spent about three hours on the Black Point Wildlife Drive and on the Lab Beach Road. I found Long-billed Dowitchers, lots of Dunlins and Sanderlings, a few Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs.  And a single Red Knot. Also had large numbers of wading birds like White Ibis, Wood Storks, Roseate Spoonbills, Great Egret, Snowy Egrets, Great Blue Herons and Little Blue Herons. American White Pelicans were plentiful and several Caspian, Royal and Forsters Terns were found. As for raptors I only saw one Osprey, one Northern Harrier and a couple of American Kestrels. No ducks were seen at all on the Black Point drive. Water levels seemed to be too low for them.  Also missed were any avocets, stilts and on the tundra swans reportedly seen earlier in the morning, but seen elsewhere on the refuge.

The Lab Road was very interesting.  Had hoped for another shot at any black-backed gulls or Bonaparte's gulls, but missed.  My best bird on the road was Peregrine Falcon. Was able to find some ducks and tons of American Coots.  The ducks included Ring-necked Ducks and Hooded Mergansers. Also had four warblers - Common Yellowthroat, Palm Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler and a lone Black-and-White warbler. Shore birds include a lot of Western Sandpipers, Dunlins, Sanderlings and Ruddy Turnstones. A couple of royal Terns a several Ring-billed Gulls, plus American White and Brown Pelicans were present too. Only spotted a single gator all day, but almost missed It because it was camouflaged with a coating of dried mud. And now time for the lone drive home.

NASA Space Center is located nearby

Masked Duck

Masked DuckMerritt Island and Viera Wetlands
January 23rd - Day #5 and final stops


Merritt Island
Spent the night in Titusville, which is on the doorstep to Merritt Island national Wildlife Refuge as well as cape Canaveral. So was able to enter the refuge at 8:00am. My first good hit for the day was on the causeway with a couple of second winter Lesser Black-Backed Gulls. What had originally caught my eye with this group of gulls was a pair of adult black-backed gulls. Could be sure if they were greater or lesser black-backed gulls as they immediately flew off.
Took the Black Point Wildlife Drive were many good hits were made including American Avocets, Roseate Spoonbills (only sighting all month of spoonbills), more American White Pelicans, Caspian Terns, Northern Pintails, American Widgeons, Blue-Winged Teal, Northern Shovelers, Bald Eagle and a Sora. Missed on the Eurasian Widgeon, but I did not hear about its presence till later and besides there were hundreds of ducks with many in bad light.
At stop #8 was able to call up a sora.. On last years visit to the refuge a sora was called up by another birder’s recording at this spot. This is also an excellent habitat for other rails species, as well, which would have been nice to locate. As for calling up the sora, I remembered someone telling me once that a rail could be called up by a clap of your hands. So with nothing to lose I tried it and the sora began to chatter and made its appearance. Not sure if the clapping really worked, but I was finally able to get a picture of a sora.
After completing Black Point I drove over to the Bio Lab Road, which parallels Mosquito Lagoon. Last year I was able to locate Florida Scrub Jays near to the Bio Lab Road, on cr406, but not today. They can often be found along the roadways in the scrub areas.
The Bio Lab Road had Blue-Winged, American Coots, Mottled Ducks, most of the waders and several shore birds like Dunlins and Sanderlings. Found Forster’s Terns and another lifer in a Bonaparte’s Gull.
Sadly a dead loggerhead turtle was seen close to the shore. I later reported the turtle at the visitors center. I was informed that the turtle probably died from cold stress from the resent two weeks of freezing weather we just experienced. Something like 2,500 cold-stressed sea turtles had been collected by wildlife management from around the state in an effort to try to save as many as possible, yet hundreds still did not make.
The visit to the refuge was a success with fifty-three species.http://www.nbbd.com/godo/minwr/BlackPoint/index.html

My list - American Wigeon, Mottled Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Pied-billed Grebe, American White Pelican, Anhinga, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Cattle Egret, Glossy Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Sora, American Coot, Black-bellied Plover, Killdeer, American Avocet, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Dunlin, Laughing Gull, Bonaparte's Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Caspian Tern, Forster's Tern, Royal Tern, Rock Pigeon, Belted Kingfisher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Loggerhead Shrike, Fish Crow, Tree Swallow, American Robin, Gray Catbird, European Starling, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Savannah Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Boat-tailed Grackle

Great Blue Heron - Bio Lab Road on Merritt Island

Bonaparte's Gull - a poor photo but a lifer. Was preening on shore along Bio Lab Road, Merritt Island.

Sora on Merritt Island

Savannah Sparrow on Merritt Island

Next and the last stop of the vacation was Viera Wetlands near Melbourne. The wetlands are a discharge ponds for a Brevard County wastewater plant and has become quit well known as a good birding location. Most utility plants are off-limits to the general public these days, especially since 9/11. But the Viera facility continues to welcome public access to the wetlands on a controlled basis.

The big draw these days at Viera Wetlands is a wintering male Masked Duck. Very rare to Florida. This is a tropical species usually found in the Caribbean or Mexico on south. I was able to get a tick last year on a female that wintered on Alligator Lake near Lake City.

Spent about an hour and a half here and was able to locate the duck by watching were the serious birders were gathering. Other good hits here were a Crested Caracara, a pair of Limpkins and two pair of Sandhill Cranes. Also present was Caspian Tern and several species of ducks including Hooded Mergansers.

This stop concluded the birding vacation and was now time to head for home. Originally my plans included the panhandle to seek more rare and regional birds like a green-tailed towhee, lark sparrow and pacific loon at Ft Pickens, Florida Caverns State park for more northern birds like brown creeper, golden-crowned kinglets and winter wrens and St Marks NF for all the waterfowl and diving birds. Maybe next winter.

My list - Muscovy Duck, Mottled Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Hooded Merganser, Masked Duck, Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Tricolored Heron, Green Heron, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Wood Stork, Crested Caracara, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Limpkin, Sandhill Crane, Caspian Tern, Palm Warbler, Common Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle

Viera Wetlands