The Florida summer doldrums were finally over and it was time to look for fall migrants. Six months ago many birds stopped in west coast Florida to rest and eat before finishing their trek to northern places. Now that their breeding is done it’s time to head south across the Gulf of Mexico to warmer climates. On Saturday, September 19, 40 birders met at Sawgrass Lake Park to bird with the St. Petersburg Audubon Society (SPAS). This is always a great time to catch up with friends. Our group led by Ron Smith managed 32 species, including 5 warblers (Black-and-White, Hooded, Yellow, Yellow-throated and Prairie). The Black-and-White Warbler is the only warbler that can walk both up and down a tree. While at Sawgrass we also had nice looks at a Least Bittern.
Black-and-White Warbler
Least Bittern
The next day was another SPAS birding trip to Fort DeSoto Park. Thirty birders spent 3 1/2 hours and our group found 45 species, with 10 warbler and two vireo species. The St. Petersburg Audubon splits into groups to bird several areas around the park. The leaders keep in touch and pass on the good findings. Our group birded several of the parks best spots to look for migrants including the Mulberry Tree and East Beach Woods areas along with the roped off lagoon and East Beach turnaround. You can stop by the park headquarters for a birding map of the park. Highlights included Eastern Wood-Pewee, Red-eyed and Yellow-throated Vireo and American Redstart.
Eastern Wood-Pewee
American Redstart
Yellow-throated Vireo
On September 26, we visited Pinecraft Park in Sarasota County. It was pretty quiet during our brief visit but we managed to locate eight species including Carolina Wren and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Most say the Carolina Wren’s call is Tea-kettle, Tea-kettle but it sounds more like Vi-deo, Vi-deo to us. The one thing we know for sure is the wren family is (usually) quite small and has more volume per ounce than most other species. Their voices can carry quite a distance which makes them a little easier to see.
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
For Sunday, September 27, it was back to Fort DeSoto where we spent three hours locating 45 species. Not as much luck with the migrant warblers but we did find great birds at the East Beach Turnaround. This is usually a very reliable place for both good varieties and quantities of shore birds and this day did not disappoint with 11 species. We found two of our favorites; the Wilson’s Plover with it’s big, honker bill and the beautiful Marbled Godwit.
Wilson’s Plover
Marbled Godwit
The next weekend, October 3rd, we drove across the Sunshine Skyway Bridge for another trip to Siesta Key Marker 5 in Sarasota County to look for the Pectoral Sandpiper that has been reported almost everyday. This bird must hide when it knows we are coming since it was absent again. There were plenty of other great birds including American Avocet and our best ever looks at Stilt Sandpiper (a year bird). We saw 25 species including an unexpected Blue-gray Gnatcatcher in the parking lot.
American Avocet
Stilt Sandpiper
So we made five trips birding the local hotspots over the three weekends and only managed to find one year bird. This may sound discouraging but at least we know that we have been diligent in Florida about not leaving any birds behind.
Next up: Owling with the Master
Trip : Total Species: 85 Year Birds: 1 Life Birds: 0
2015 : Year Birds: 458 Life Birds: 71
Here’s the list: 2015 Bird List