Looking For Birds in Gainesville

Monday, February 1st

It's vacation time and I've planned a five birding trip around North Florida looking for seasonal specialties. On Day One, Bob Pelkey and I, started out from Ft Myers to bird our way up to Gainesville.

A scene from Bayport Park

Double-Crested Cormorant at Bayport Park

But not all plans work out as scheduled. First off, a bad weather front was expecting to move in by Wednesday, spoiling our itinerary. But as were passing by Tampa, there was flat tire. Luckily the the delay was only a couple of hours. 

Horned Grebe with it catch

Red-Breasted Merganser at Bayport

Ruddy Turnstone

Our next stop was a visit to Bayport Park near Hernando Beach to look for a brewers blackbird that has wintered here the past few years. Missed the blackbird but found Horned Grebes, Common Loon,  and Forster's, Laughing and Ring-billed Gulls.

History of the Battle of Bayport

History of the town of Bayport

Then we stopped briefly at Tuscawilla Prairie Preserve at Micanopy in Alachua County. The target was a brown creeper. This are a very uncommon bird in Florida and would have been a nice to find one.  But not today.  We did add a Hermit Thrush, White-eyed Vireo and Yellow-rumped Warbler.

A View at Tuscawilla Preserve in Micanopy

By now time is getting tight. We'll have to pass on stops in Gainesville at the La Chua Trail and Magnolia Parke. We have an option to check them out on Tuesday morning before leaving town, but that approaching  weather front had to be eliminated that option. 

Blue-Winged Teal at Sweetwater

We did stop at Sweetwater Wetlands Preserve in south Gainesville. A new venue for us and outstanding property for birding. We only spent a couple of hours, but could have spent twice the time. We found Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shovelers, Limpkins, Coots, Common Gallinules, Glossy and White Ibis, lots of other waders, Osprey, Soras, Wilson's Snipe

Limpkin at Sweetwater

Black-Bellied Whistling Duck

A Northern Shoveler

Sora

A Wilson's Snipe

A Gainesville Gator

Lastly we had to be at Dauer Hall on the U of Florida campus before sundown to witness the wintering Vaux's Swift as they came into roost in the chimney of this building. We arrived by 5 pm and had almost a hour's wait till we spotted the first swift at 5:57 as it circled the building. No more were seen till the flock arrived about 6:10 and enter the chimney in a sudden burst. Due to the diminished light and the birds rapid movement we could not capture any photos.

Vaux's Swift are a far western bird and it is highly irregular. though not unheard of, for these birds to winter in Florida instead of Mexico. The swifts were Lifer's for both of us

Dauer Hall, University of Florida

Mergansers at Ding Darling

Thursday April 19th

Headed over to the Sanibel Lighthouse to look for any migrants. But no migrants were on-hand today.  Just the usual Ospreys, Starlings, Fish Crows, Eurasian Collared Doves and Brown pelicans.  Did see a Magnificent Frighetbird while crossing the Sanibel Causeway.

Snowy Egret

Found Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge to be very quite as well. With a high tide, waders and shore birds were scarse.  Got a few pics of Willets and Red-breasted Mergansers. The only songbirds I saw were Northern Cardinals, a Pileated Woodpecker and Mourning Doves. Kept a look-out for any mangrove cuckoos or black-whiskered vireos that might be active near the wildlife drive. An articule in the local paper reported on a year long survey being conducted at Ding Darling on the mangrove cuckoo.

Mottled Duck

Red-breasted Mergansers

Willet

Red-breasted Merganser

Red-breasted Mergansers

Willets

Lark Sparrow at Ft DeSoto

Thursday, February 2nd

Lark Sparrow at Ft DeSoto

Royal Tern

Headed back to Ft DeSoto to look for the Lark Sparrow and rose-breasted grosbeak reported there. Made a quick stop in Sarasota and checked out Ackerman Park (mostly Northern Shovelers) and Founders Club ponds.  The Common Goldeneye was easily seen at the Flounders Club and can add Lesser Scaup, Ring-billed Ducks, Hooded Mergansers, Blue-winged Teal and Mottled Duck.  Also had a couple dozen Black-bellied Whistling Ducks on a pond at Tadum and Fruitville Roads

Red-breasted Merganser

Spent four hour at Ft DeSoto enjoying a beautiful day.  A group of birders but me onto the Lark Sparrow and they had successfully sighted the rose-breasted grosbeak earlier in the day.  However I was not so lucky on the grosbeak. Did observe several Common Loons and Red-breasted Mergansers off the beaches and a Horned Grebe at the East Beach turnaround. Also saw most the expected shorebirds and gulls including about 25 Red Knots.  Did come across a Great Horned Owl and a small group of warblers - Pine, Palm, Northern Parula and Yellow-rumps. Had a flock of seventeen Nanday Parakeets show up at the bay pier parking lot.

Great Horned Owl

On the way home I rechecked on the Fork-tailed Flycatcher near Cockroach Bay and was rewarded to see that it was still present

It was a good day

Ring-billed Gull

Fork-tailed Flycatcher

Day's List - (81)

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Mottled Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Common Loon, Pied-billed Grebe, Horned Grebe, Wood Stork,  Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga, American White Pelican, Brown Pelican, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Cattle Egret, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, American Coot, Sandhill Crane,  Black-bellied Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Piping Plover, Willet,  Ruddy Turnstone, Red Knot, Sanderling, Dunlin, Short-billed Dowitcher, Laughing Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Forster's Tern, Royal Tern, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collard-Dove, Mourning Dove, Common Ground-Dove, Nanday Parakeet, Great Horned Owl,  Belted Kingfisher, Fish Crow,  Red-bellied Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Loggerhead Shrike, Tree Swallow, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Northern Parula, Palm Warbler, Pine Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Lark Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird

Horned Grebe at Sanibel Island

Horned Grebe at Sanibel Lighthouse

December 1st

Missed out on lots of birding lately and  even,  reluctantly, had to cancel participating in the Tropical Audubon Society's Exotic Bird Tour this Saturday in Miami.  Had looked forward to this event for months. I had Bob Pelkey physiced up for it too

Yellow-crowned Nightheron

But today I managed to take some time to bird on Sanibel Island. Started at Ding Darling NWR. The tide was very low and we had a lot of wading birds on hand. Most common were White Ibis, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets and a lot of Little Blue Herons. Counted about a dozen Roseate Spoonsbills and nine Yellow-crowned Nightherons. Had several Great Blue Herons, included a Great White Heron. Reddish and Tricolored Herons were on-hand. American White Pelicans were plentiful and several Laughing Gulls were busy harassing any wader to get it's newly caught meal. Lots of Dunlins, Short-billed Dowitchers, Willets and Sanderlings. Located three Spotted Sandpipers and only was able to identify a couple of Least Sandpipers. Double-crested Cormorants were much more numerous than Anhingas today. Ospreys were were numerous and had a Red-shouldered Hawk too. Found a couple of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, a couple of Yellow-rumped Warblers and a Prairie Warbler too. No red-breasted mergansers had been yet here this season.

Juvenile Yellow-crowned Nightheron

Anhinga

Tri-colored Heron

Snowy Egret

Great Egrets, White Ibis, Snowy Egrets and a Little Blue Heron

Ruddy Turnstone

Next I stopped at the Sanibel Lighthouse with the idea of perhaps locating indigo or painted buntings. But actually there were virtually no birds around aside from the beach. But the beach was active. Brown Pelicans, Forster's and Sandwich Terns, Red-breasted Mergansers and an unexpected Horned Grebe were feeding with feet of the shore. Several Ring-billed and Herring Gulls were here too. This was only the second sighting of a horned grebe and the first for Lee County. This makes 198 birds for Lee County for the year. Just need two more.

Snowy Egret

Black-bellied Plover

Red-breasted Merganser

Red-breasted Mergansers

Ring-billed Gull

Herring Gull

Sandwich Tern and Sanderling

Forster's Tern

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Sanderling



Groove-billed Ani - Boyd Hill Preserve

Tuesday, April 5th

The day was spent in hopes of a fall-out of spring migrants and a chase after three reported Florida rarities.

The weather for the day was a strong, rainy cold front to sweep down the state, which can result in migrants being forced to land and wait out the winds. So I was heading to Ft DeSoto Park in Tampa Bay.  But first were stops at Cockroach Bay Road, near Ruskin for reported upland plover and white-faced ibis and then to Boyd Hill Preserve in St Petersburg for a reported Grooved-billed Ani.

Cockroach Bay Road

Arrived about 8:30 just before the rains and spent a couple of hours in searching through the sod fields for the upland plover and sorting through the Glossy Ibis for a white-faced ibis. Didn't locate either of these birds but find a trio of Gull-billed Terns working over the mitigation ponds and six Forster's Terns at rest in the sod fields along with hundred Laughing Gulls, a few Ring-billed Gulls, several Ospreys, a dozen Black-bellied Plovers and lone Dunlin. The ponds held about twenty Black-necked Stilts, Long-billed Dowitchers, Solitary Sandpiper, Coots, Moorhens, a couple of Redhead ducks, dozens of Blue-wing Teal and Lesser Scaups. Plus a half a dozen Black-bellied Whistling Ducks Also had all of the waders - Roseate Spoonbills, Great Blue Herons, Tricolored Herons, White Ibis etc. A large Red-tailed hawk was hunting the fields and Bald Eagle was observed toting some kind of recent kill.

An Armadillo sculpture at Boyd Hill Preserve

Boyd Hill Preserve -
St Petersburg

I had never been to this location before, but it is becoming very popular for spot for birders in search of the Grooved-billed Ani. The bird is a lifer for me and the possibility of finding one so close to home was an opportunity I could not pass up. Arrived about 10:45 as the rain was letting up. Paid my entrance fee and received directions and maps to the ani's favorite spot. The preserve was very quite. But managed to locate a Black-crowned Night-heron hiding along the lake shore. Had several Anhingas, lots of Ospreys and a trio of Nanday Parakeets. By eleven o'clock I had arrived at the spot and after about five minutes of scouting the area the ani flew right to my feet. Seems the bird is fearless of people and uses the opportunity to feed on the insects stirred up by our shoes. Got great looks. Hope it sticks around.

Fort DeSoto County Park

After lunch with my daughter and son-in-law headed over to Fort DeSoto. After seeing little evidence of any kind of migration action at Boyd Hill I did not expect much at Fort DeSoto, which is a migrant magnet. First stopped at the ponds in Tierra Verde to see if any ducks were still around. Was surprised to find two pair of Ruddy Ducks with several Lesser Scaups  still on hand. One of the adults Bald Eagles could be seen in the nest tree. On the causeway to the park I was able to spott acouple of FOS Least Terns

Red-breasted Merganser out for a stroll

Willet in breeding plumage

Reddish Egret

Forster's Terns

Marbled Godwit



My camera is not fast enough to capture the wing action on this hummingbird



Ruby-throated Hummingbird at rest

Western Sandpiper

At Fort DeSoto, the East Beach area was very birdy with shore birds including Forster's Terns, Western and Least Sandpipers, Black-bellied Plovers, Short-billed Dowitchers, Willets, Dunlins and a Marbled Godwit. Several Red-breasted Mergansers were seen off-shore and a resting merganser was located on the shore. Here I ran into John Mangold and joined him in checking out the Privit Trail.  There we met with Dan Irizarry.  I had ran into John previously at Merritt Island and Six-mile Cypress Slough and I had seen Dan's postings and photos many times on Birdbrains.

Next we moved on to the mulberry trees near the pier, which can been a very good location for birds. It was here that I had my lifer in a blackburian warbler last spring. Today we only had hits on a male Hooded Warbler, several Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and a White-eyed and Blue-headed Vireos.  Plus another trio of Nanday Parakeets.  From here I joined John with checking out the North Beach area. and could only add a lone Herring Gull and a beautiful male Orchard Oriole. Seems the migration hasn't hit its stide yet.

Days List (78) - Black-belled Whistling Ducks, Mottled Ducks, Blue-winged Teal, Redhead, Lesser Scaup, Red-breasted Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Pied-billed Grebe, Wood Stork, Double-crested Cormorant. Anhinga, Brown Pelican, 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, Osprey, Bald eagle, Cooper's Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Sandhill Crane, Black-bellied Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Black-necked Stilt, Solitary sandpiper, Willet, Lesser Yellowlegs, Marbled Godwit, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Western Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Dunlin, Short-billed Dowitcher, Long-billed Dowitcher, Laughing Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Least Tern, Gull-billed Tern, Forster's Tern, Royal Tern, Black Skimmer, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mouring Dove, Common Ground-Dove, Nanday parakeet, Groove-billed Ani, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Loggerhead Shrike, White-eyed Vireo, Blue-headed Vireo, Blue Jay, Fish Crow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Purple Martin, Barn Swallow, House Wren, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Hooded Warbler, Savannah Sparrow, Northern cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle, Orchard Oriole.