Fort Myers Beach

Sunday August 14th

Recently stopped by Bowditch Point Park on Fort Myers Beach. Not many pelicans, gulls or terns were present.  Had heard from Dave McQuade about a recent pelagic trip out into the Gulf where they had found absolutely zero pelagic birds, aside from frigatebirds. May mean that their food source has become scarce. 

Semipalmated Plover

Did find lots of Sanderlings and a few Semipalmated Plovers, Western Sandpipers, Semipalmated Sandpipers and Spotted Sandpipers. 

Reddish Egret

Ruddy Turnstone

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Western Sandpipers

Spotted this lone Short-billed Dowitcher

Counted four Spotted Sandpipers who had probably just arrived from up north

Lots of sanderlings and turnstones

Laughing Gull

USCG Crocodile 

Back to the Ag Fields

Lesser Yellowlegs and Black Tern

Friday August 17th

Least Sandpiper

Returned yesterday to the Everglades Ag Fields. Again the most productive flooded area was at Browns Farm Road. Present here were several Black Terns, lots of Black-necked Stilts, Pectoral Sandpipers, American Avocets, Western, Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers, Plus Lesser Yellowlegs, Roseate Spoonbills, lots of Wood Storks and a FOS Belted Kingfisher.

Black-necked Stilt

The nearby Six Bend Sod Farm was much more active than on my last visit. Lots of Pectoral Sandpipers and Killdeer, plus far to the back of the property were a pair of Upland Sandpipers.  Couldn't of spotted them without a scoop.

Dipped on any whistling ducks or gull-billed terns, but get fifty-eight species for the day -

Wood Stork

Mottled Duck, Wood Stork, Anhinga, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret , Snowy egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Cattle Egret, Green Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Limpkin, Roseate Spoonbill, Black Vulture, Snail Kite, Osprey, Red-shouldered Hawk, Crested Caracara, Common gallinule, Black-necked Stilt, Sandhill Crane, American Avocet, Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Upland Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, Laughing Gull, Black Tern, Gray kingbird, Fish Crow, Rock Pigeon, Common Ground-Dove, Mourning Dove, Eurasian collared Dove, Great Horned Owl, Common Nighthawk, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Purple Martin, Bank Swallow, Barn Swallow, Northern Mockingbird, Common Myna, Eastern Meadowlark, Red-winged Blackbird, Boat-tailed Grackle,  Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird and House Sparrow

Black-necked Stilt

Juvy Black-necked Stilt

Bank Swallow

Barn Swallow

Counted twenty-two Black Terns resting here

Black Tern

Distant look at a pair of American Avocets

Black-necked Stilt

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Common Nighthawk seen at the Ag Fields

Gray Kingbird found in Belle Glade

A poor photo of a Common Myna

seen at shopping center in Belle Glade.

Pectoral Sandpiper

Red-necked Phalarope

Tuesday, September16th

A young Red-necked Phalarope on Siesta Key



Snowy Plover



Recently, a young Red-necked Phalarope had spent several days feeding in a tidal pool on a Siesta Key beach near Sarasota.  I couldn't get there for several days following its discovery and was not hopeful that it would still be on-hand.  Well It was gratifying to be able to find he was still here. This tidal pool was very active with scores of Willets, Black Skimmers, Laughing Gulls, Royal Terns, Sandwich Terns, Red Knots, Semipalmated Plovers, Snowy Plovers, Black-bellied Plovers, Semipalmated sandpipers,  Ruddy Turnstones, Great Blue Heron, Reddish Egret, Snowy Egrets, Rosette Spoonbill, and both Lesser and Greater Yellow-legs.

 Additionally White-rumped Sandpiper has been reported here and I really though I had scored with a Baird's Sandpiper. These are not commonly seen in Florida. Was disappointed to learn that it was only a juvy Semipalmated Sandpiper.

Tried to claim this was a baird's sandpiper, but am told its just a juvenile semipalmated sandpiper. Very disappointing

Greater Yellow-legs

Rosette Spoonbill

Black-bellied Plover

Red Knot

June Birds

The month of June is pretty much the slowest time of the year to look for birds in south Florida. To try to spice things up several enterprising birders started the June Challenge.  I'm not officially participating, but I did manage to find one hundred birds in Lee County.  Soon migration will slowly see a trickle of shore birds back to our waters from breeding in the arctic and this will kick-off our fall migration experience




I've added a few photos of some of the birds seen here this past month. .

Red-headed Woodpecker

Black Skimmer

A White- Morphed Reddish Egret

Reddish Egret

Least Tern

A nesting Black-necked Stilt

Osprey

Great Blue Heron

Roseate Spoonbill

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Fledgling Great Egrets

A fledgling Northern Cardinal

Mottled Ducks

Spring Migration at Sanibel Lighthouse

Monday April 23rd

The past two days the spring migration birding along the Florida Gulf Coast has been awesome. All the migrant traps along the coast have hosted many of the warblers, tanagers, orioles, grosbeaks etc. that have usually just fly past us.  But weather conditions brought them in on Saturday night and the projected winds for tomorrow should carry them away.

Sunday I had some time to bird and was not sure if we want any fall-out from the weather. I had already a had a couple of unsatisfying attempts on Sanibel Island in the past week, which can get expensive to make extensive visits, with all of the tolls and parking fees. So I first tried Bunche Beach for any interesting pelagics that may have blown in. Found a very high tide and heavy surf and few birds. My best find was an FOS Semipalmated Sandpiper and a Marbled Godwit. Next tryed Six-mile Cypress Slough Preserve which was also very quite save for a Scarlet tanager that showed up just as I was leaving.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak at Sanibel Lighthouse. Photo by Dr Jose Padilla-Lopez

Called Dr Jose to report my find, but he and about every other local birder were at the Sanibel Lighthouse and at Ding Darling Refuge. He reported an awesome assortment of birds were on-hand. I was there in about 20 minutes. To bad my camera was out-of-order as there several photo opportunities such as a male Summer Tanager posing right off the trail.  Would have been a great shot. Indigo Buntings were everywhere and lots of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Baltimore Orioles, Orchard Orioles, Scarlet Tanagers and FOS Eastern Kingbirds. Other sights included a Gray-cheeked Thrush, Swainsen's Thrush, Northern Waterthrushs, Black-and-White Warblers, American Redstart, a Blue Grosbeak, Tennessee Warbler, Red-eyed Vireo, Dickcissel, a Black-throated Green Warbler, a female Painted Bunting ( the males have already left), Barn Swallows and Chimney Swifts.

Additional species witnessed by other birders on Sunday and Monday included  a scissor-tailed flycatcher, verry, wood thrush, yellow-billed cuckoos, bank swallows, northern rough-winged swallows, ruby-throated hummingbirds, cedar waxwings, blue-winged warblers, ovenbird, magnolia warbler, yellow warbler, black-throated blue warbler, hooded warbler and Lincoln sparrow.