Spring has officially arrived, and with it, a welcome wave of migrating birds. Many species fly incredible distances in the spring and fall, and their routes often include stopovers on the west coast of Florida. One of the best parts of spring migration is seeing the birds in their vibrant breeding plumage. The colors of their feathers, beaks, and legs change, making for some truly spectacular sightings. Take a look at these pictures of a White Ibis to see the difference between its non-breeding and breeding plumage.
On Saturday, March 28th, the St. Petersburg Audubon Society led a field trip to Fort DeSoto Park. As a group, we saw 41 species, including seven different warblers and both White-eyed and Yellow-throated Vireos. Other highlights were a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, an Indigo Bunting, and an Orchard Oriole. We dipped on the Swainson’s Warbler that had been reported the day before.
The next morning, we were up at the crack of dawn to look for ducks with our good friend, Phil Eicher. Phil is a famous duck hunter, but lucky for us, duck season was closed. We met at 5 a.m. to catch the sunrise over Tampa Bay and had an absolute blast in Phil’s custom, Louisiana-style duck boat, complete with lawn chairs. We saw an impressive 400 Lesser Scaup along with a few remaining Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shovelers, and Ring-necked Ducks. We stopped at four different spots and picked up three new year birds: Short-billed Dowitcher, Semipalmated Plover, and Spotted Sandpiper.
We went back to Fort DeSoto three more times during the week and saw some great birds, but still had no luck with the Swainson’s Warbler. A beautiful Cape May Warbler was a very nice consolation prize!
Next up: California and a last-minute trip to Texas.
Trip : Total Species: 83 Year Birds: 16 Life Birds: 0
2015 : Year Birds: 176 Life Birds: 5
Here’s the list: 2015 Bird List
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