This weekend, we headed to the Kissimmee area on a mission to find a Whooping Crane. North Canoe Creek Road, near the Double C Bar Ranch, is a known location for one of the last remaining cranes from a now-abandoned reintroduction program to establish a resident breeding population in Florida.
While driving along Joe Overstreet and Canoe Creek Road, we were amazed by the number of Sandhill Cranes—our final tally for three hours was 125! Other great birds included six Bald Eagles, two Crested Caracaras, and 21 Wild Turkeys. Next, we went to the Three Lakes WMA, a great habitat for the Red-cockaded Woodpecker, where we saw not only our target but also Red-bellied and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers.
On our way to the Lakeside Inn and Café, we took one more drive on Canoe Creek Road to look for the Whooping Crane. The Lakeside Inn is an old-style Florida motel on Alligator Lake, with a nice dock, BBQ area, and screened picnic tables—a great place to bring the family and your boat. For dinner, we went to Meat and Fire Barbeque and highly recommend their brisket burnt ends.
The next morning, we finally found the Whooping Crane with a van full of birders on tour from the Space Coast Bird Festival, right across from the Double C Bar Ranch. When we saw it, the crane was in the company of two Sandhill Cranes. A special thanks to Bonnie Jenks for providing a photo of the Whooping Crane.
While working on this blog, we realized that all the pictures from this trip were accidentally deleted. There was only one thing to do: go back again! We are happy to report that the Whooping Crane was still at the Double C Bar as of January 16, 2016, but be sure to bring a scope, as it is too far away for binoculars or photos.
We ended this trip at Cockroach Bay in Hillsborough County, a well-known area for ducks and other winter migrants. Here, we added Blue-winged Teal, Lesser Scaup, and an American Robin to our list.
It was another wonderful Florida winter weekend, with perfect weather: a high of 74, a low of 49, mostly sunny skies, and light winds.
Trip : Total Species: 63 Year Birds: 27 Life Birds: 1
2015 : Year Birds: 83 Life Birds: 1
Here’s the list: 2015 Bird List
You must be logged in to post a comment.