Lake Apopka - Merritt Island

Saturday January 9th

Ran up to Lake Apopka on Saturday to do some birding on the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive. Vehicle traffic is only permitted on the weekends on the Wildlife Drive, but other trail head locations are usually open everyday to foot traffic.   

Wildlife viewing is popular here, especially for birders, in the winter months when thousands of waterfowl and other birds use the marshes to wait out the freezing weather up north.

Swamp Sparrow

Arrived early on a chilly, blustery morning. Lots of wading birds like Great Blue Herons, some standing on nests, Snowy Egrets, Tricolored Herons, Great Egrets, White Ibis and Glossy Ibis. Didn't spot any black-necked stilts, but lots of Cormorants and Anhingas. There are thousands of American Coots and Common Gallinules to sort through to identify any waterfowl. There are a great many Blue-winged Teal and Ring-necked Ducks, plus Northern Shovelers, Green-winged Teal and Mottled Ducks.  Both Black-bellied and Fulvous Whistling Ducks are common year round residents here.  Other waterfowl seen today included a lone Lesser Scaup, Ruddy Ducks and Pied-billed Grebes. Other birds today included Purple Gallinule, Limpkin, Green Heron, Swamp Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbirds, Osprey, Northern Harriers, Belted Kingfishers and American Robins. 

Dipped on spotting any American wigeons, gadwall and the ash-throated flycatcher that has been hanging out at the gate entrance to the drive.

Blue-winged Teal

American Coot

Ruddy Duck

Fulvous Whistling-Duck

Ring-necked Ducks

Glossy Ibis

Fulvous Whistling-Duck

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

Limpkin

Green Heron

After completing the Lake Apopka drive, I had options.  Either head home or extend my day trip with a visit to Merritt Island NWR. Chose to extend the trip and arrived at Blackpoint Wildlife Drive at Merritt Island just past lunch and was greeted by a mommy Bobcat with her half-grown kitten making a dash across the road ahead of me. 

The marshes and wetlands had dried down some since my last visit a few weeks ago, and the variety of waterfowl had diminished. Didn't see any pintails today, but did have a lot of Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shovelers and a large flock of Hooded Mergansers. Also present in smaller numbers Mottled Ducks, Green-winged Teal and a couple of Redheads. The cinnamon teal that has been hanging out at stop #4 wasn't seen, but this location had lots of Dunlin, Western Sandpipers and Ring-billed Gulls.  Other species seen included American White Pelicans, American Coots, Common Gallinules, Caspian and Forster's Terns, Reddish Egrets, a Wilson's Sniped, Sanderlings, Roseate Spoonbills, Wood Storks, Greater & Lesser Yellowlegs, Willets, Pied-billed Grebes and Killdeer. Dipped on American avocets, gadwall, the northern pintails, any rails, sparrows or falcons

Checked out the Biolab Drive, but not much happening there. Also stopped at the visitor center feeders before heading home and ended the stop with four Painted Buntings.

A large of of Hooded Mergansers were actively feeding

White Ibis

Ring-billed Gull

Reddish Egret

Armadillo

Wilson's Snipe

Greater Yellowlegs

The Keys

 Friday January 8th

Last weekend I drove back down to the Florida Keys for some first of the year birding, plus some birding at Lucky Hammock at Frog Pond WMA.  

Purple Sandpiper

First birds of the day were Common Mynas in Florida City, then it was onto Key Largo. White-crowned Pigeons frequently seen in flight along with Eurasian Collared Doves and Magnificent Frigatebirds. At Tavernier, made a stop at Harry Harris Beach Park for the Purple Sandpiper. His shorebird is wintering far south of its traditionally range. 

A distant look at the Cuban Pewee

Got to Big Pine Key about 11am and had to do a bit of search for the Cuban Pewee at Blue Hole, in the National Key Deer Preserve.  But I did get a distance look. The alligators at Blue Hole are a bit more uncommon here in then in most of Florida because there is little fresh water habitat available in the Keys. 

Then went onto Key West for the the Red-legged Thrush at the Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Gardens. Dipped on this bird, but had met some birders who had just seen the American Flamingo at Sammy's Creek Landing WEA on Sugarloaf Key.  Hadn't heard about this flamingo sighting till now and quickly ran down the details and was looking at this bird about forty-five minutes later. Finding the flamingo was a surprise.

American Flamingo at Sugarloaf Key

Tried to get back up to Florida City before dark, but traffic can be so bad here and it was. 

Gray Catbirds were very numerous at Lucky Hammock

On Day 2 headed over to Lucky Hammock.  Lots of potential special birds to see. I actually had a lifer with spotting a Scaly-breasted Munia in the tall elephant grass. Could hear the 'Whit' calls of the Brown-crested Flycatcher. A pair of Painted Buntings, Limpkins, Brown Thrasher, Gray catbirds, Cowbirds and a Northern Harrier were also present. But had to leave before some of the more interesting birds popped up. Still was a fun weekend. Will need to return soon.

Autograph Tree at Key West Tropical Forest

Florida Silver Palm at Blue Hole

Great Crested Flycatcher at Blue Hole

Green Iguana at Blue Hole

Alligator at Blue Hole

Turtle basking at Blue Hole

Spotted Sandpiper at Harry Harris Beach Park

A New Year

 Friday January First

Spent the day looking to start my new year's list with visits to a few local hot spots. 

Snowy Plover at Bunche Beach

Had  a good start at Bunche Beach, arriving at a low tide.  Best bird was perhaps seeing a Snowy Plover. We occasionally will find a Snowy Plover at Bunche, but the sandier beaches on Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel are better places to look for them.  Other sightings at Bunche included several Reddish Egrets, American White Pelicans, Piping Plovers, Dunlin, Short-billed Dowitcher, Least Sandpipers and Spotted Sandpiper. Dipped on several expected species, which turned out to be the trend of the day. 

American White Pelican at Bunche Beach

Next made a quick check of Lakes Park. Looking for least bitterns here, but settled for a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, a Cooper's Hawk and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. 

Mottled Duck at Lakes Park

Moved on to the boardwalk at Six-mile Cypress Slough Preserve. Which was very quite today.  The same for Rotary Park in Cape Coral. Next were the burrowing owls and Monk Parakeets at the nearby Pelican Boulevard Ballfields. The noisy parakeets can be easy to locate, but the owls were in hiding today. 

Loggerhead Shrike at Lakes Park

Cattle Egret at Harns Marsh

The Florida Scrub jays were absent today too.  Looked for them in Cape Coral and Lehigh Acres.  Ended the day at Harns Marsh. Lots of Pied-billed Grebes, a few Grey-headed Swamphens and the expected wading birds. So the day's tally wasn't very high. And that's OK

Least Sandpiper at Bunche Beach

Common Gallinule at Harns Marsh

Northern Mockingbird at Lakes Park

Little Blue Heron at Harns Marsh

Great Southern White 

At Harns Marsh

2020 Year List and Gallery

 Thursday December 31st

Today completes a very odd year. Lock downs, closed venues, travel restrictions all made life a bit tougher. Hopefully 2021 will find better times.

Didn't have a very strong year for birding.  Missed a lot of species. We were locked out of most all of the good venues during spring migration because of the sickness. 

2020 Year List and Gallery (246)

Ringed Teal

1       Gray Catbird

2       Northern Cardinal

3       Black Vulture

4       Turkey Vulture

Turkey Vulture

Harns Marsh - Marsh 2020

5       Mottled Duck

6      Common Gallinule

7      Limpkin

Limpkin

Myakka River SP - January 2020

8      American Coot

American Coot

Harns Marsh - January 2020

9      Boat-tailed Grackle

Male Boat-tailed Grackle

Harns Marsh - January 2020

10     House Wren

11     Little Blue Heron

12     Glossy Ibis

13     Tricolored Heron

14     Fish Crow

15     Double-crested Cormorant

Double-crested Cormorant

Everglades National Park - February 2020

16     Ring-necked Duck

17     Gray-headed Swamphen

18     Killdeer

19     Anhinga

20     Sandhill Crane

21     Pied-billed Grebe

22     Tree Swallows

23     American Robins

24     Great Egret

25     Great Blue Heron

26     Eastern Phoebe

27     Red-bellied Woodpecker

28     Blue Jay

29     Yellow-rumped Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Celery Fields - February 2020

Yellow-rumped Warbler

St Marks NWR - January 2020

30     Palm Warbler

Palm Warbler

Harns Marsh - January 2020

31     Common Yellowthroat

32     Sora

33     Belted Kingfisher

34     Savannah Sparrow

35     Red-winged Blackbird

36     Common Grackle

37     Pileated Woodpecker

38     Hooded Merganser

39     Blue-winged Teal

40     Cattle Egret

41     Red-shouldered Hawk

42     White Ibis

43     Osprey

44     Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

45     Carolina Wren

46     Common Ground-Dove

47     Mourning Dove

48     Loggerhead Shrike

49     Florida Scrub Jay

Florida Scrub Jay

Lehigh Acres - March 2020

50    Northern Mockingbird

51     White-winged Dove

White-winged Dove

Fort Myers Shores - February 2020

52     Indigo Bunting

53     Painted Bunting

54     Red-headed Woodpecker

55     Downy Woodpecker

56     American Kestrel

57     European Starling

58     Wood Stork

59     Snowy Egret

60     American Crow

61     Brown Pelican

62     Spotted Sandpiper

63     Sandwich Tern

64     Sanderlings

65     Piping Plover

66     Black-bellied Plover

67     Laughing Gull

Laughing Gull

Siesta Key - February 2020

68     Lesser Black-backed Gull

69     Ring-billed Gull

70     American White Pelicans

71     Wilsons Plover

72     Semipalmated Plover

73     Ruddy Turnstone

74     Dunlin

Dunlin

Siesta Key - February 2020

75     Western Sandpiper

76     Short-billed Dowitcher

77     Royal Tern

78     Caspian Tern

79     Reddish Egret

80     Rock Pigeons

81     Bald Eagle

82     Black-bellied Whistling Duck

83     Greater Yellowlegs

84     Northern Harrier

85     Red-cockaded Woodpecker

86     Northern Flicker

87     Eastern Bluebird

88     Eastern Towhee

89     Eastern Meadowlark

90     Pine Warbler

Pine Warbler

Babcock-Webb WMA - February 2020

91    Brown-headed Cowbird

92   Muscovy Duck

93   House Sparrow

94   Lesser Scaup

95   Great Crested Flycatcher

96   Eurasian Collared Dove

97   Wilson's Snipe

98   Black-crowned Night-heron

99   Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

100  Snail Kite

101  Audubon's Crested Caracara

102  Snow Goose

103  Wild Turkey

104  Black-necked Stilt

105  American Avocet

106  Lesser Yellowlegs

107  Roseate Spoonbill

108  Purple Martin

109  House Finch

110  Short-tailed Hawk

111  Monk Parakeet

112  Burrowing Owl

113  White-cheeked Pintail

114  Green Heron

115  Chipping Sparrow

116  Brewer's Blackbird

117  Blue-headed Vireo

118  Carolina Chickadee

119  White-breasted Nuthatch

120  Bufflehead

121  Ruddy Duck

122  Bonaparte's Gull

123  Gadwall

124  American Wigeon

125  Canvasback

126  Redhead

127  Common Goldeneye

128  Red-breasted Merganser

129  American Flamingo

130  King Rail

131  Virginia Rail

132  Willet

133  Forster's Tern

Forster's Tern

Siesta tern - February 2020

134  Common Loon

135  Great Horned Owl

136  Barred Owl

137  Vermilion Flycatcher

138  Brown-headed Nuthatch

139  Sedge Wren

140  Marsh Wren

141  Song Sparrow

142  Lincoln Sparrow

143  Swamp Sparrow

144  Orange-crowned Warbler

145  Tufted Titmouse

146  Winter Wren

147  American Goldfinch

148  Canada Goose

149  Red-tailed Hawk

150  Fulvous Whistling-duck

151  Peregrine Falcon

152  Purple Gallinule

153  Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

154  Hammond's Flycatcher

155  White-eyed Vireo

156  Ovenbird

157  Black-and-White Warbler

158  Black-throated Green Warbler

159  American Redstart

160  Rose-breasted Grosbeak

161  Nanday Parakeet

162  Black Skimmer

163  Yellow-crowned Night-heron

164  Northern Parula

165  Northern Shoveler

166  Least Sandpiper

167  Northern Rough-winged Swallow

168  Gull-bill Tern

169  Long-billed Dowitcher

170  Prairie Warbler

171  Cedar Waxwing

Cedar Waxwing

Lakes Regional Park - Fort Myers, Florida

January 2020

172  Wood Duck

173  Solitary Sandpiper

174  Bronzed Cowbird

Bronzed Cowbird

Lakes Regional Park - Fort Myers, Florida

January 2020

175  Brown-crested Flycatcher

176  White-crowned Pigeon

177  Common Myna

178  Swallow-tailed Kite

179   Herring Gull

180  Northern Bobwhite

181  Cooper's Hawk

182  Least Bittern

183  Hairy Woodpecker

184  Mountain Bluebird

Mountain Bluebird

Trebly Road, Dade City - March 2020

185  Vesper Sparrow

Vesper Sparrow

Auton road, Dade City - March 2020

186  Yellow-throated Warbler

187   Chuck-will-widow

188  Barn Swallow

189  Western Kingbird

190  Mangrove Cuckoo

191  Broad-winged Hawk

192  Red Knot

193  Summer Tanager

194  Magnificent Frigatebird

195  Blackpoll Warbler

196  Gray Kingbird

197  Yellow-billed Cuckoo

198  Red-eyed Vireo


199  Chimney Swift

200  Magnolia Warbler

201  Black-throated Blue Warbler

202  Cape May Warbler

203  Ruby-throated Hummingbird

204  Gray Cheeked Thrush

205  Tennessee Warbler

206  Scarlet Tanager

207  Swanson's Thrush

208  Bay-breasted Warbler

209  Veery

210  Least Tern

211  Snowy Plover

212  Bachman's Sparrow

213  Common Nighthawk

214  Marbled Godwit

215  Common Tern

216  Brown Thrasher

217  Eastern Kingbird

218 Semipalmated Sanderling

219 Barn Owl

220  Cave Swallow

221  Black Tern

222  Pectoral Sandpiper

223  Cliff Swallow

224  Stilt Sandpiper

225  American Oystercatcher

226  Merlin

227 Hooded Warbler

228  Least Flycatcher

229  Baltimore Oriole

230  Whimbrel 

231  Northern Waterthrush

232  Blackburnian Warbler

233  Yellow Throated Vireo

234  Chestnut-sided Warbler

235  Eastern Wood-Pewee

236  American Bittern

237  Cuban Pewee

238  Tropical Kingbird

239  Hermit Thrush

240  Green-winged Teal

241  Northern Pintail

242  Cinnamon Teal

243  Horned Grebe

244  Black Scoter

245  White-crowned Sparrow

246  Ash-throated Flycatcher