Payne's Prairie - La Chua Trail

Tuesday December 6th

Spent several hours on Tuesday and Wednesday birding the La Chua Trail situated on the north side of the Payne's Prairie State Park near Gainesville, Florida. I'm here looking for specialty birds we don't see much, wintering in southwest Florida. Targets today include wintering sparrows, the resident Whooping Crane, a wintering Vermilion Flycatcher and wintering water fowl.

White-crowned Sparrow

On Tuesday, there was a late start due to inclement weather. But as the rain abated about 9 am, I made my initial stop at Magnolia Parke in northwestern Gainesville. Historically, Rusty Blackbirds have been roosting here as they wintered in Gainesville. It was actually a bit early on the calendar to expect these blackbirds, and I didn't see any but did have some White-crowned Sparrows, Eastern Bluebirds, a Red-headed Woodpecker and Yellow-rumped Warblers. 

The weather was improving so I moved onto the La Chua Trail, arriving about 10:45 am. The only other birder I encounter was Yve Morrell. Yve is a very active birder from Naples, Florida, whom I have met several times in various birding venues. Currently she's aggressively running a recon in preparation of conducting an ABA Big Year in 2017.  Just a few weeks away.

Yve was already heading out after a successful morning. She had braved the rain and was rewarded in seeing the Lincoln's Sparrow that's been reported here. She also added Savannah, Song, Swamp and White-crowned Sparrows. As for the Vermilion Flycatcher she outlined that access to it was being blocked by construction. 

One of the wild Spanish Cracker Horses that roam the prairie

Spent four hours in birding the area. Even though the rains had stopped it was still windy. Much of  the wetlands have dried up and the Spanish Cracker horse herd could be seen to the east. Huge alligators, as usual, are sunning themselves along the canals and hundreds of Greater Sandhill Cranes are spread across the the flats.

The Sparrows are Staying Low

 Amongst the Sandhills is a lone Whooping Crane. It can be seen from the observation tower, but is a long was off. Due to distance and poor lighting, good photography was a problem. Was also a problem in identifying the hundreds of water fowl and shorebirds present by the tower, due to the bad lighting.

 Was able to identify Mottle Ducks, Blue-winged Teal, Green-winged Teal, Northern Shovelers, Long-billed Dowitchers, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Killdeers, Wilson's Snipes, American Coots, Common Gallinules, White and Glossy Ibis and lots of waders.

Other species included an Armadillo, Ribbon Snake, American Crows, Red-shouldered Hawks, Bald Eagle, House Wrens, Carolina Wrens Red-winged Blackbirds, Savannah Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows. Palm and Yellow-rumped Warblers, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and a female Painted Bunting.  But no Lincoln's Sparrow

The Florida State Bird

From here I headed over to the nearby Sweetwater Wetlands. Best sighting at Sweetwater were Northern Harrier, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, Northern Shovelers, Blue-wing Teal Wood Storks and Limpkins.

Black-bellied Whistling Duck

Wednesday, December 7th

Returned to the La Chua Trail for another morning of birding. The weather was nicer and the trail was a lot busier. The horses were out east of the trail and the bison herd was close by on the western side. Counted fifteen of them today. I believe there are probably about 50 cows, left after a recent removal of the bulls. The Bison, Cracker Horse and Cracker Cattle Management Plan

The birding wasn't much different than yesterday. So much of the same. But not all. Was able to add Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee, Kestrel, Black-and-White Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Swamp Sparrow, Marsh Wren and Roseate Spoonbill.

Savannah Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Glossy Ibis

Long-billed Dowitcher

A very distant pic of the Whooping Crane

From here I traveled to Clay County and the Ronnie Van Zant Memorial Park to see the Canada Geese and Muscovy Ducks. These ducks are everywhere.                                                       Then, on the long drive home, I made one last stop.  A return visit to try for the Brewer's Blackbird at Bayport Park near Weeki Watchee, After dipping a couple of times this year, I was able to observe the blackbird in the company of a flock of Boat-tailed Grackles.

This female Brewer's Blackbird was been a winter visitor
to his area for several seasons now.

Boat-tailed Grackle

Groove-billed Anis

Monday December 5th

 Today was a travel day. Heading up to Gainesville for a couple of days of birding.  Try to get there two or three times a year. The winter months sometimes can offer varieties of birds that normally don't venture into south Florida.

 Made a few stops on the way, with best avian sighting being the pair of Groove-billed Anis found near the observation tower on the Clay Island Trail at the Lake Apopka North Shore venue.

Groove-billed Ani

Northern Shovelers at Ackerman Park

Other good sightings on the Clay Island Trail included hearing calling Soras and a King Rail. On the nearby North Shore Trail  had a Peregrine Falcon fly by.

Groove-billed Ani

A stop at Ackerman Park in Sarasota, added Blue-wing Teal. Northern Shovelers and a Northern Harrier.  Auton Road near Dade City can be very good for sparrows, but I didn't see any today.  Did find Hooded Mergansers, Ring-necked Ducks and a couple of calling American Pipits

American Kestrel seen on the Clay Island Trail

Today's Birds (56)

Blue-winged Teal, Mottled Duck, Northern Shoveler, Hooded Merganser, Ring-necked Duck, Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Cattle Egret, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Wood Stork, Sandhill Crane, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Northern Harrier, Red-shouldered Hawk, Bald Eagle, King Rail, Sora, Common Gallinule, American Coot, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Rock Pigeon, Groove-billed Ani, Belted Kingfisher, American Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Eastern Phoebe, Loggerhead Shrike, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Blue Jay,  American Crow, Fish Crow, House Wren, Marsh Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, American Pipit, Common Yellowthroat, Palm Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Northern Cardinal, European Starling, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle

Ding Darling

Monday November 28th

Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge

Last February we had a surprise visitor hanging out with the American White Pelicans at  the Wildlife Drive at Ding Darling on Sanibel Island. For two or three day a Great White Pelican, a native from the Old World, was a star attraction.  I don't believe that its provenance has been determined yet or were it went off to, but it did draw a lot of attention.

Back in January, 2010 we experienced a terrible cold spell which resulted it a great deal of damage to agriculture and to wildlife. We had major fish kills, which decimated the local snook population and had even effected larger cold sensitive animals such as sharks, sea turtles and manatees. Even iguanas fell frozen from the trees. And at Ding Darling the cold is suspected in the death of Wilma, an old, rare, female American Crocodile. She was another star attraction at Ding, as she was the only American Crocodile found on the Gulf Coast. Today, her bones are on display at the visitor center.

In the Spring we come out to Ding in search of Mangrove Cuckoos, Black-whiskered Vireos and migrating songbirds. The last couple of year we had another star attraction with a lone White-Crowned Pigeon taking advantage of the Tropical Hardwood Hammock found along the Shell Mound Trail. 

Right now we are seeing some interesting waterfowl making rare appearances at Ding. Last Saturday a lone Long-tailed Duck was photographed along the Wildlife Drive and last weak we have a report of a Brant.  Both appear to be one day wonders. I didn't expect to find anything unusual today, but you never know. 

I arrived at low tide, which is very important for your best wildlife observation experience. We had hundreds of wading birds - White Ibis, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Reddish Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Yellow-Crowned Night-herons, Little Blue Herons, Roseate Spoonbills, and Wood Storks. There were dozens of American White Pelicans, Brown Pelicans, Double-Crested Cormorants, Pied-billed Grebes and Blue-winged Teal.  We also had Anhinga, Osprey, Magnificent Frigatebird, Vultures, Laughing Gulls, a Ring-billed Gull, Willets, Greater Yellowlegs, Ruddy Turnstones, Semipalmated Plovers, Black-bellied Plovers, Dunlin and  Least Sandpipers . E-Bird Report

Great Egret

 Also saw a lot of Mullets, Both living and dead.  As the tide was moving in a large number of dead and blotted mullets came into the lagoons. This speaks of a fish kill from a recent Red Tide incident in the waters around Sanibel.

An American White and a Brown Pelican

An Immature Little Blue Heron

Reddish Egret Sporting a Tracking Radio

Looking for Birds

Wednesday November 23rd

Well it seems that I am not a very good birder.  Through out the year I've  chased after many interesting birds.  Many I was able to see, but those misses can be so disappointing and annoying.

 

American White Pelicans

Yesterday, I toured birding venues around Pasco County were so many interesting birds are being reported.  Started out at Hudson Beach Park. I hadn't been here since I was kid back in the 60s. Back then, my family took our yearly  vacation to visit my Grandparents, who lived in New Port Ricky. We spent a lot of time at Hudson Beach. That was before much of anything had been developed out there. The beach was really just a rocky shoreline, where we caught tiny blowfish and sea horses. There was a cinder block snack shop on site and there was very little shade. Our sunburns were terrible.

I arrived at Hudson Beach at seven-thirty to a much more modern beach setting. The air was cool and Monk Parakeets were squeaking nearby. Was hoping to be successful in adding my name to the list of birders who have sighted a rare-to-Florida Red-necked Grebe. Well after an hour of scanning, it appeared that I had dipped. There was a grebe, but it seemed to me to be a Horned Grebe. A trio of Buffleheads (first of the season for me), a pair of Bald Eagles perched together on  signage in the channel and some Mallards were present.

 

American Bittern

From here I went twelve mile north to Bayport Park and Jenkins Creek Park for the female Brewer's Blackbird. This lone Brewers has been a reliable winter visitor to this location for a few years now always in the company of Boat-tail Grackles. Back in February, Bob Pelkey and I dipped on this bird, and now I dipped on it again. Several birders reported seeing it at Bayport on the same day as my visit. Interesting birds seen here included an American Bittern at Bayport and a huge flock of American Pelicans soaring southward over Jenkins Creek.

Wood Storks

Plus a flock of resting Wood Storks at nearby Linda Pedersen Park

Next stop was Key Vista Nature Park in Holiday. Made a second stop at Hudson Beach Park first, were results were not better. Arrived at Key Vista Park a bit after eleven where I did, finally, see one of my target birds in a Red-breasted Nuthatch of maybe two. Not a Lifer for me , but the a first for me in Florida. Normally this species doesn't venture this far south in the winter, but several have now been reported in Alachua, Pasco and Pinellas Counties. Tried to get pics before they moved out of sight, but they were much to active. Another species that shouldn't be this far south was a confirmed Winter Wren.  I couldn't get a photo of the wren either but heard it several times close to the parking lot. Other interesting birds seen here included  a FOS Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Tufted Titmice.

Next stop was Philippe County Park in Safety Harbor. I've never been there before but it was quite nice. Came here to look for Brown Boobies know to seen resting on the power line towers located off-shore. Needed to use my scope, but could pick out at least three boobies among the scores of Double-crested Cormorants and Brown Pelicans on the furthest tower. Other interesting birds included Ospreys and a Bald Eagle.

 

Northern Harrier

A final stop was to look for the yellow-headed blackbird at Ackerman Park in Sarasota. It was supposed to be easy. Others had seen it that day. But I dipped. Interesting birds present included Brown-headed Cowbirds, a Northern Harrier and a few Northern Shovelers.

 

Brown-headed Cowbird

In reflection, it wasn't a bad trip.  But the most annoying thing about missing some of the birds, and you never get all of them, is that you can build up expectations based on all the successful results others have reported.

Just this past Monday I entered the Winkler Point section of Estero Bay Buffer State Park in Ft Myers. This is always a tough hike. Its usually wet and mucky, subject to hordes of mosquitoes and exposure to the elements can be draining. But the salt marshes here can host some very good birds.

Elected to give it try, based on some great, recent reports by friends on the bird activity here. The weather was good that day, cool with a light breeze, and there was no insect activity. But I could not replicate my friends list. Did see the hundred-plus American Avocets in the bay and a few Blue-winged Teal, a Green-winged Teal, Cooper's Hawk and heard a Clapper Rail,  but that was about all.

So, its actual quite unimportant, to fall a little short. Look for satisfaction in what you have accomplished. 

So What Kind of Grebe IS This?

Some of the Faces at Six-Mile Cypress

Wednesday, November 9th

Gray Squirrel

Today I spent about an hour at the Six-Mile Cypress Slough boardwalk. Basically was interested in a bit of walking and a bit of photography. The weather was nice, the light was good and the parking lot was quite full.

Double-Crested Cormorant

Anhinga

Carolina Wren

Red-Bellied Woodpecker dining on Dahoon Holly berries

Downy Woodpecker

Pileated Woodpecker

A Napping Black-Crowned Night-Heron

Florida Banded Watersnake