Flamingo

 Sunday September 17th

Hurricane Idalia had a significant impact on the northern Florida. One very interesting affect was the dispersal of American Flamingos across Florida and other southeastern states. Having spotted as far north as Ohio. Locally we had a large gathering of birds at Estero Bay Preserve State Park, but to reach their location required a rather difficult hike through flooded salt flats and biting insects. So for me, I elected to visit Fort DeSoto Park in Pinellas County to see another flamingo, nicknamed Peaches. 

Lots of shorebirds at DeSoto today

Wilson's Plover

Piping Plover

Red Knot

American Oystercatcher

Pectoral Sandpiper

Sanderling

Reddish Heron

Semipalmated Plover

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Fall Migration Starts

 Sunday July 23rd

Wilson's Phalarope

Its time again to head to the Everglades Ag Area south of Lake Okeechobee to explore the flooded sugar cane fields and the sod farm for migrating grass peeps, swallows, shorebirds, terns, gulls and more. 

It was nice to find Wilson's Phalarope, Stilt Sandpipers, Pectoral Sandpipers, Fulvous Whistling Ducks, American Avocets, Cave Swallows, Least Sandpipers, 

eBird Checklist - 23 Jul 2023 - 6 Mile Bend Ponds - (No Public Access, View From Road) - 18 species

eBird Checklist - 23 Jul 2023 - Browns Farm Rd. - 44 species

eBird Checklist - 23 Jul 2023 - Gladeview Rd. - 26 species

American Avocet

Stilt Sandpiper

Pectoral Sandpiper 

Least Sandpiper

Long-billed Dowitchers

Swallow-tailed Kites

 Friday July 14th

One of our most favorite birds are the Swallow-tailed Kites. Often seen soaring tree top high as they search for their next meal. A beautiful delicate looking white and black raptor that arrives in Florida around the end of February. 

That is when small numbers emigrate from Central and South American population to nest in the American Southeast. By July, after nesting, we see these birds gathering in roosts and in impressive kettles, before their return to the wintering grounds in Brazil. Most will be gone by the end of July.

Some Yard Birds

 Sunday, June 11th

Some recent yard bird photos

Brown Thrasher

Brown Thrasher

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

Muscovy Duck

European Starling

Fledgling Starling

Blue Jay

Blue Jay

Cardinal

Cardinal

Common Grackle

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

Black-bellied Whistling Duck

Black-bellied Whistling Duck

White-winged Dove

Mourning Dove

The Muscovy getting too comfortable.

Somebody Lost Thier Pet Budgie

The Florida Keys

 May 12th

On a recent trip down to The Keys. I had gone to the Dry Tortugas but did some birding around the Keys a bit in the Miami area.  Target birds that lures birders to the Keys included Roseate Terns, Antillian Nighthawks, White-crowned Pigeons, Gray Kingbirds and Black-whiskered Vireos.

Marathon can be a good location for the terns and nighthawks. Historically Roseate Terns nest on the roof of the Marathon Government Center. I dipped on the terns as had some of my friends. Not sure why we couldn't find them then, but they have been reported. Plenty of Least Terns nesting on the roof of the building. There are a number of locations around the Keys to find them. At Marathon, be at the Marathon Airport at sundown. This year we had a pair of Antillean Nighthawks flying over the airport with Common Nighthawks to give contrast to the sights and sounds of the two species.

Key Deer
a diminutive subspecies of white-tailed deer found mostly on Big Pine Key

At Fort Zachiary Taylor State Park on Key West is a place to look for migrating birds and Carribean vagrants. I lucked out with spotting a rare Fork-tailed Flycatcher. As I was walking the path along the moat, a black & white bird trailing a very long tail fly overhead. I immediately considered it to be a fork-tailed flycatcher and dismissed it because of its rarity and lack of any prior reporting from here. But other birders in the park were seeing and photographing the bird. Seems only a handful of folks who were already on site spotted the bird which quickly disappeared.

Other species seen here included several Black-throated Blue Warblers, American Redstarts, Bay breasted Warbler, Dickcissels, White-crowned Pigeons, Gray Kingbirds, Ovenbirds, Black-whiskered Vireo.

Egyptian Goose at Kendall Baptist Hospital

Egyptian Goose goslings at Kendall Baptist

On my final day on this trip I checked out what's happening at Pine Woods Park and Mathesson Hammock Park in Miami-Dade. At Pine Woods Park the Scaly-breasted Munies were easy to find and a Red-whiskered Bulbul was seen along with a pair of nesting Monk Parakeets. Mathesson was a bit quiet. Spotted a red-masked Parakeet pocking its head out of a nest hole and an Orange-winged Parrot doing the same. Its also a place to look for reptiles. Today we had lots of Green Iguanas, African Agamis and Curly tailed Lizards.

Common Yellowthroat up in an
Australian Pine at Ft Zachiary Taylor State Park in Key West

Fork-tailed Flycatcher
made a surprising and very brief visit to Fort Zachiary Talyor

White-crowned Pigeon
Fort Zachiary Taylor, Key West

Red-masked Parakeet at Matthesen Hammock Park in Coral Gables

Harns Marsh

Thursday, June 1st

Made my monthly visit to Harns Marsh as a part of my Lee County Bird Patrol assignment. Even with some recent heavy rain, the water levels were still very low. The canals were almost dry. Won't be long till the rains of summer fill them up.

It was fun getting watch a trio of river otters as they were fishing for their breakfast.  

Had several Florida Sandhill Cranes including an adolescent colt. A female Snail Kite was hanging out near the start of the trail. As I was leaving researchers from the University of Florida were on hand to do a survey on the kites.

Other sightings included Little Blue Herons, Mottled Ducks, Black-crowned Night-heron, Gray-headed Swamphens, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, Common Gallinules, Limpkins and Anhingas 

Little Blue Heron

Gray-headed Swamphen

Black-crowned Night-heron

Common Gallinule

Anhinga

Limpkin

Snail Kite

Snail Kite