I am a birder from
Massachusetts, and have been seriously birding for about 4 months. I decided to
start a blog, detailing my sightings and observations while birding.
I will start my blog with a trip
report from Florida. My family and I took
a vacation in February for 12 days in Florida. While there, we saw 113
different species, 5 of which were lifers. On our first day there, I went for a
walk at a state park near where we were staying. We didn’t see anything too
special there, just a collection of terns, shorebirds, and raptors such as
Black Skimmers, Royal Terns, Willets, Ruddy Turnstones, Sanderlings, and
Ospreys (on a nest).
Day 1
Total: 16
Cumulative
Total: 16
Lifers: 0
Best Bird of
the Day: Loggerhead Shrike
Ruddy Turnstone
Day 2: Our
second day started off with a trip to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Immokalee,
FL. Well known as one of the U.S.’s best birding locations, Corkscrew Swamp has
a wide variety of bird species, from waders to vireos to woodpeckers to
buntings. We started at the feeders at the main building. After just a couple
of seconds, a male Painted Bunting landed in the bushes next to the feeder. As he flew over to the feeder, he was joined by another male, which was very exciting to see. We continued down the boardwalk towards another feeder. On the way we saw Palm and Yellow-rumped Warblers, and at the feeders found an Ovenbird. We continued on into the Cypress Forest, finding a Northern Parula and a Black-and-White Warbler, as well as some Carolina Wrens, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Red-shouldered Hawks, and Great-Crested Flycatchers.
Red-Shouldered Hawk
We soon made our way to the Lettuce Lakes, small ponds that hold lots of waders. We found Glossy and White Ibises, Yellow and Black-crowned Night Herons, a Wood Stork, Great Blue, Little Blue, and Tricolored Herons. We also saw Great and Snowy Egrets, as well as Double-crested Cormorants and Anhingas. A nice surprise was a Barred Owl perched overhead.
Barred Owl
We made our way back to the beginning of the loop, and once again found Painted Buntings at the feeders, this time 3 males and a female. The buntings left the feeders and perched in some scrub behind the main building, providing a great photo opportunity.
Painted Buntings
This concluded our very successful trip to Corkscrew Swamp.
Day Total: 44 species
Cumulative Total: 55 species
Lifers: 0
Best Bird of the Day: Painted Bunting
Day 3: Day 3 involved little birding, a day at the beach. Only 2 new birds were added to the list: Red Knot and Sandwich Tern.
Day Total: 15 species
Cumulative Total: 57 species
Lifers: 0
Best Bird of the Day: Red Knot
Day 4: On Day 4 I traveled to a new birding location: Estero Beach Lagoon in Fort Myers, FL. Looking at it, you wouldn't expect a top birding location. The lagoon is nestled between Fort Myers beach and rows of high-rises, but offers a great way to find lots of waders and shorebirds. There are three separate lagoons. The first lagoon was more or less bird-less, with a couple of herons and egrets. The second lagoon was much more birdy. In the sand along the side of the lagoon, I found a Piping Plover. Piping Plovers are endangered, with only about 8000 left in the wild. Beaches where they nest are often closed off to the public, such as Parker River NWR in Newburyport, MA. The second lagoon also brought a Spotted Sandpiper, Belted Kingfisher, Black-bellied Plover, Semipalmated Plover, and a Wilson's Plover.
Piping Plover
The third Lagoon was filled with herons and egrets. As we entered, we almost overlooked an endangered Reddish Egret. There are only about 1750 Reddish Egrets in the United States, and most of them are in Texas. Needles to say, we were thrilled. The third pool also had a Black-crowned Night Heron and a Wood Stork.
Reddish Egret
Great Blue Heron
Belted Kingfisher
Day Total: 34
Cumulative Total: 63
Lifers: 4 (Wilson's Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Piping Plover, Spotted Sandpiper)
Best Bird of the Day: Reddish Egret
Day 5: Day 5 was a pretty exciting day. After about 40 minutes of driving on the way to Harnes Marsh Preserve, I looked out the window and saw a Snail Kite! I immediately jumped out of the car, and started snapping pictures. 3 more joined the 1st as they flew towards the preserve.
Snail Kite - One of 1000 in the US!
Harnes Marsh Preserve is a big place, with a dirt road surrounding a large marsh. Within 5 minutes we had found our first American Coots, Common Gallinule, Blue-winged Teal, Tree Swallows, and Pied-billed Grebes. Later on, we found 2 Northern Harriers, an American Kestrel, a Red-tailed Hawk, and 3 Sandhill Cranes, one sitting on a nest!
Sandhill Crane on nest
Tree Swallow
Day 5 Total: 41 species
Cumulative Total: 74 species
Day 5 Lifers: 1 Snail Kite
Total Lifers: 5
Best Bird of the Day: Snail Kite
Day 6: Day 6 was a travel day, driving from Naples to Sarasota, but I was able to stop at J.N. Ding Darling NWR on the way. However, I arrived midday, and only found a couple of new trip birds: American White Pelicans and Red-breasted Mergansers. There were also swarms of Willets, and a conspicuous Yellow-crowned Night Heron.
American White Pelican
Willets. Willets. Willets.
Yellow-Crowned Night Heron
Day 6 Total: 15 species
Cumulative Total: 76 Species
Day 6 Lifers: 0
Total Lifers: 5
Best Bird of the Day: American White Pelican
Day 7: In my first day in Sarasota, I birded Celery Fields. My target birds for the trip included Black-necked Stilt, both Yellowlegs, Roseate Spoonbill, Limpkin, and a lot of ducks. My quest for the shorebirds, however, was halted by the drained pond where most of them hang out. Last year, the pond held lots of water, but this year it was dry. We still managed to get a lot of new birds, like Savannah and Song Sparrow, Greater and Lesser Scaup, Northern Shoveler, Caspian Tern, Common Yellowthroat, Boat-tailed Grackle, and Killdeer.
Roseate Spoonbill
American White Pelicans
American Coot
Limpkin
Day 7 Total: 47 species
Cumulative Total: 87 species
Day 7 Lifers: 2 (Northern Shoveler, Caspian Tern)
Total Lifers: 7
Best Bird of the Day: Roseate Spoonbill
Day 8: The trip to Myakka State Park is long and repetitive. The side of the road is a replay of tall, light brown grasses with scattered trees. This is, however, a great place to look for Crested Caracara and Loggerhead Shrikes. I only found Loggerhead Shrikes on the way, but not for lack of trying! Once we arrived at the Park, we headed to the Weir, a river with some forested area. As soon as we arrived at the trailhead, an explosion of warblers occurred in the trees above us. We saw a Northern Parula, Palm Warblers, a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and a Yellow-throated Warbler. Continuing down the trail, we found a Roseate Spoonbill, a Greater Yellowlegs, a Glossy Ibis, and a Caspian Tern.
Caspian Tern
We continued on to the birdwalk, a boardwalk overlooking Upper Myakka Lake. In past years, this overlook has yielded Bald Eagles, Swallow-Tailed Kite, Black-necked Stilt, Dunlin, and Short and Long Billed Dowitchers. This year was less plentiful, with Green-winged Teal, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Monk Parakeets, Wild Turkey, and Greater Yellowlegs being the highlights.
Day 8 Total: 48 species
Cumulative Total: 95 species
Day 8 Lifers: 1
Total Lifers: 8
Best Bird of the Day: Bald Eagle
Day 9: The Venice Rookery is a well-known spot among birders for the photography opportunities it provides. However, I was here for one bird in particular - Black-bellied Whistling Duck. The rookery is quite incredible, a island in a small pond with at least 10 pairs of nesting waders.
Venice Rookery
The Black-bellied Whistling Ducks were located in a fenced-in pond behind the actual rookery. There were about 50 and they were very cooperative in allowing me to get close and photograph them.
Black-bellied Whistling Ducks
That ended the trip to Venice Rookery, and on the way back we stopped at a little pond behind a business area, and found lots of new duck species, including Red-breasted and Hooded Merganser, Bufflehead, Ruddy Ducks, Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Duck, and a Pied-billed Grebe. Also present were two playful Snowy Egrets.
Snowy Egrets
Day 9 Total: 35 species
Cumulative Total: 99 species
Day 9 Lifers: 1
Total Lifers: 9
Best Bird of the Day: Black-bellied Whistling Duck
Day 10 - The Final Day: The Florida vacation was wrapped up with a final trip to Celery Fields. I wasn't expecting much, certainly not the explosion of new species that was to be had. We started out walking up the large hill by the parking lot to survey the area. On the hill, we found our first new bird of the day - Northern Rough-winged Swallow. We continued down the hill, and at the bottom found an Eastern Meadowlark perched in a tree. The Meadowlark eventually flew to the ground, providing great photo ops.
Eastern Meadowlark
Trooping onwards, we found the trip's first Mottled Duck, a Florida specialty I had been hoping to get. In the same pond as the Mottled Duck, we found our first Muscovy Duck, a remarkably large and ugly introduced species from Central America. We then traveled to an overlook of a marsh, finding the first Swamp Sparrow of the trip, and of my life! At another boardwalk, we found a Purple Gallinule, one of the most beautiful birds of the trip.
Purple Gallinule
Later in the day, at the beach, I found a Snowy Plover, an American Oystercatcher, and a Forster's Tern, bringing the trip total to 113.
Day 10 Total: 54 species
Cumulative Total: 113 species
Day 10 Lifers: 3
Total Lifers: 12
Best Bird of the Day: Purple Gallinule
Trip List:
1. Ring-necked Duck
2. Brown Pelican
3. Osprey
4. Common Loon
5. Cattle Egret
6. Common Egret
7. European Starling
8. Northern Mockingbird
9. Loggerhead Shrike
10. Laughing Gull
11. Ring-billed Gull
12. Rock Dove
13. Mourning Dove
14. American Crow
15. Ruddy Turnstone
16. Double-crested Cormorant
17. Willet
18. Sanderling
19. Red Knot
20. Red-shouldered Hawk
21. Black Skimmer
22. Royal Tern
23. Glossy Ibis
24. White Ibis
25. Painted Bunting
26. Snowy Egret
27. Great-blue Heron
28. Little-blue Heron
29. Tri-colored Heron
30. Wood Stork
31. Anhinga
32. Yellow-crowned Night Heron
33. Black-crowned Night Heron
34. Northern Cardinal
35. Ground Dove
36. Carolina Wren
37. Barred Owl
38. Ovenbird
39. Northern Parula
40. Palm Warbler
41. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
42. Black-and-white Warbler
43. Yellow-rumped Warbler
44. Pileated Woodpecker
45. Red-bellied Woodpecker
46. Great Crested Flycatcher
47. American Kestrel
48. Common Grackle
49. Brown-headed Cowbird
50. Catbird
51. Turkey Vulture
52. Black Vulture
53. American Robin
54. Tree Swallow
55. Blue Jay
56. Sandwich Tern
57. Mallard
58. Fish Crow
59. Spotted Sandpiper
60. Piping Plover
61. Semipalmated Sandpiper
62. Reddish Egret
63. Belted Kingfisher
64. Red-Tailed Hawk
65. Muscovy Duck
66. Blue-winged Teal
67. American Coot
68. Common Gallinule
69. Sandhill Crane
70. Marsh Hawk (a.k.a Northern Harrier)
71. Pied-billed Grebe
72. House Sparrow
73. Red-winged Blackbird
74. Snail Kite
75. Black-bellied Whistling Duck
76. Mottled Duck
77. Northern Shoveler
78. Green-winged Teal
79. Lesser Scaup
80. Greater Scaup
81. Bufflehead
82. Hooded Merganser
83. Red-breasted Merganser
84. Wild Turkey
85. American White Pelican
86. Roseate Spoonbill
87. Bald Eagle
88. Purple Gallinule
89. Limpkin
90. Snowy Plover
91. Caspian Tern
92. Forster’s Tern
93. Common Tern
94. Downy Woodpecker
95. Monk Parakeet
96. Eastern Phoebe
97. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
98. Swamp Sparrow
99. Eastern Meadowlark
100. Cedar Waxwing
101. American Oystercatcher
102. Common Yellowthroat
103. Yellow-throated Warbler
104. Savannah Sparrow
105. Song Sparrow
106. Killdeer
107. Greater Yellowlegs
108. Eurasian Collared Dove
109. Great-Crested Flycatcher
110. Boat-tailed Grackle
111. American Goldfinch
112. Chipping Sparrow
113. Black-bellied Plover
