Florida

We decided to spend time looking for some of the West Coast Florida specialty birds before the summer doldrums set in. Summer in Florida is notoriously slow for birding; so slow that a June Challenge has started to give people an incentive to look for birds.

Based on reports from the SRQ Bird Alerts we wanted to look for the reported Wilson’s Phalarope at Siesta Key Beach. Stop Number 5 has nice tidal pools that attract great shorebirds. We located the Wilson’s and two Snowy Plovers. There were actually two Phalarope’s that day and one was reported to be a Red-necked Phalarope. We will never know for sure since we left the camera battery at home and didn’t get a picture.

Following up on another lead from the SRQ Bird Alerts we went to St. Armands Circle to look for Dot, the local celebrity Tropical Kingbird that hangs out by the Columbia Restaurant. According to Stu Wilson: “Dot produced 4, 3, and 2 Tropical Kingbird x Gray Kingbird hybrid fledglings in 2013, 2014, and 2015, respectively (it’s possible she was present before 2013 but went unnoticed). Dot’s 2013 exploits were the first confirmed case of Tropical Kingbird nesting east of the Mississippi River.” We located Dot and a Gray Kingbird. Thanks to Susan Daughtrey for sharing the photo of Dot!

Before heading back to St. Petersburg we stopped at a local preserve in hopes of seeing or hearing a Mangrove Cuckoo. This bird is such a rarity that we are not providing the exact location. We were lucky on our quest and came across a gentleman making audio recordings so it was a very successful day of birding. The Mangrove Cuckoo was a lifer for Mike; Sharon saw one during 2010 in Grenada.

There are more specialties to see and we made plans to head south the following Saturday. First stop is back at the Celery Fields in search of a reported Shiny Cowbird which is a rare bird in the US. We found the bird along with Brown-headed Cowbirds and a Purple Gallinule.

No big year will be satisfying if we don’t see the only bird endemic to Florida, the Florida Scrub-Jay. One of the most reliable locations is Oscar Scherer State Park because it has the perfect habitat of low oak scrub. The park has excellent camping and a small lake for swimming and is in close proximity to the beautiful Venice beaches. No luck on the Florida Scrub-Jay but we did find Northern Bobwhite, Eastern Towhee and Red-headed, Red-bellied and Pileated Woodpeckers. We met friends at Sharky’s for lunch before continuing south.

One of our favorite birds in Florida is the Burrowing Owl that can be found in Cape Coral. Checking the neighborhoods off Burnt Store Road, the Cape Coral Public Library and the ball field we saw a total of 34 Burrowing Owls. The best time to look is just before dusk but we arrived in a light rain to find the owls enjoying the shower. Look for the cross posts in the vacant lots and hopefully you will see these beauties.

We headed to our hotel on Fort Myers Beach. The Hideaway Village is a great old Florida motel amidst the surrounding high rises. Up early Sunday for two purposes: to eat breakfast at the Heavenly Biscuit and to go birding on the beach. The Heavenly Biscuit has great breakfast sandwiches but you absolutely have to try the cinnamon rolls that are freshly iced when you order. Get there early because there is always a line. With coffee and full bellies we head to Carlos Pointe for some beach birding. There were several roped off areas for the breeding birds with bird stewards to answer all your questions. We did not have any expectations and could not believe our good fortune to witness 200 Least Terns, 150 Black Skimmers, 7 Snowy Plovers and 8 Wilson’s Plovers.

Time for one more stop at Bowditch Point Park on our way out of town. Bowditch is a beautiful beach park at the northern tip of Estero Island. Nice finds included: Magnificent Frigatebird, Reddish Egret, 27 Willets and 2 year bird Red Knots. On the drive home we had an incidental sighting of 15 Swallow-tail Kites flying over the intestate near Prairie Pines.

 

 

Next up: Ponce Inlet Pelagic 

Trip : Total Species:  54  Year Birds:  9  Life Birds: 0 

2015 : Year Birds: 340   Life Birds: 25

Here’s the list: 2015 Bird List