December 2017 – Christmas Bird Count
Every year, volunteers across the Northern Hemisphere participate in local Christmas Bird Counts to benefit important science and conservation work. It’s been a few years since I participated in the St. Pete Christmas Bird Count and this year I was available and didn’t hesitate to sign up. Wendy Meehan and I were assigned to the Area 1 territory from the Don Cesar to Mid Treasure Island. We met in Treasure Island and headed to the beach before the sun was fully up. Just a few gulls and willets at the first stop so we moved on to Sunset Beach where we found American Oystercatcher, Snowy Egret, Brown Pelican and a few others.
St. Pete Beach Sunrise
Snowy Egret
From there Wendy drove through some neighborhoods where we located quite a few interesting birds: American Kestrel, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Nanday Parakeet and unexpected House Finch. A stop by the Pasadena bridge rewarded us with great looks at a juvenile Bald Eagle. Thanks for sharing your great photo Wendy.
American Kestrel
Bald Eagle by Wendy Meehan
Another Christmas Bird Count volunteer saw a Glaucous Gull an hour earlier and said it was fat and waiting for me. We headed to the northernmost point of Treasure Island near the Nordvind Resort and started our search for the target bird. No sign of the Gull so I walked down the beach for about a mile and saw a bird that matched the description. Eureka, another life bird for me, the Glaucous Gull. Life birds are getting harder to find all the time and this one was number 581 in the lower 48.
Glaucous Gull
Next stop was mid Treasure Island where the Sanding Ovations Masters Cup was recently held. Sand sculptors from all over the world compete and the work is amazing. Here are two of my favorites.
By Abe Waterman – 2nd Place
By Ilya Filmonstev – 3rd Place
We walked toward the gulf to start counting and had good numbers of gulls and terns. Over 150 gulls and almost 300 terns were on the beach.
CBC Terns
Our last stop was the Treasure Island Yacht Club Golf Course in hopes of ducks and other new species. We met others on the CBC and were happy to see Bonnie Jenks, my group leader for several years. All in all, Wendy and I found 46 species, Group 1 ended with 89 species and 150 for the St. Pete CBC. Thank you to all the volunteers and especially Don Margeson who coordinates the entire St. Petersburg Christmas Bird Count.
Trip Birds: 46 Life Birds: 1 Glaucous Gull
Next up: New Jersey Winter Birding
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