The place where we stay in Florida has wonderful birding right out back – a tidal estuary which at times, can tax the ability of a northern birder who hasn’t seen a shorebird in six months. We decide just to enjoy them and not worry about getting everything sorted out – in fact that’s our general approach to birding.
Cedar Key has hundreds of Ospreys – nesting on platforms, pine tree snags, rooftops, and even the tower of the local Episcopal church. Like the Bald Eagle and Peregrine Falcon, Ospreys have overcome many complex threats—including DDT damage to eggs and habitat loss. We have an Osprey family living next door on a shed roof and another across the street. They are wonderful birds to watch flying, fishing, or just tending the nest.
They had a nest a stone’s throw away and were continually adding materials such as sticks and moss.
On every walk we saw Osprey nests.
We have returned to Vermont as spring migration arrives. The car is unpacked, the camera files are next. Happy Spring.
Yesterday, we combined a grocery trip to Gainesville with a birding visit to a new spot for us: Sweetwater Wetlands Park, a birding mecca of 125 acres of wetlands and ponds right in the city. While we saw dozens of neat birds, the star attraction was this small Sandhill Crane family.
I took Ginger on a short walk yesterday around the neighborhood, leaving my binoculars at home but carrying the camera. As we strolled on the quiet back streets, seeing our usual bird suspects, I heard and saw some Great Crested Flycatchers. I lost them and while searching the trees, came across these two lumps which, once I got my camera on them, were a wonderful surprise – a pair of Barred Owls staring back at me.
Most owls I have seen were pointed out to me by others, either in person or by location description — these are one of the few that I saw on my own. What a great treat.
While the warmth is nice, the birding with full foliage can be challenging. Here is an example of a mystery bird — answer is at end of post.
The first bird is an Orchard Oriole – I saw it without my camera earlier.
I’m calling the last bird a female Indigo Bunting. Good birding to you.
While the weather holds, we’ve gotten some good walking and birding done. Our cottage is nestled between some clamming operations: here’s a look to the southwest.
Yesterday, we encountered a few Purple Martins trying to hold on to their room reservations.
Ginger loves the small black lizards that dart in front of her but missed this critter, who thought he was hidden right by the path.
We missed the April snowstorm in New England but got hammered by thunderstorms last night. I had forgotten how intense these tropical deluges can be. Stay safe.
After a long but uneventful trip in the Subaru and LaQuintas, we are settled in Cedar Key for a nice change of scenery. This morning, as we sat on the back deck, we were treated to this visitor – a Little Blue Heron.
On a long walk later on, these were among the many birds we saw.
As a pilot, I’ve often thought of vultures as graceful in the air but ugly on the ground. Their soaring abilities always catch my attention and adoration. Yeah, I kind of love them.
Aside from South Texas trips, most of my experience has been with Turkey Vultures but the recent Florida journey put me up close and personal with hundreds of Black Vultures. Myakka River State Park was crawling with them and while they drove my dog Penny nuts, they gave me a chance for a number of interesting photos.
The campsites have warnings that Rangers may use explosive devices to move vultures away from the campground and parking areas.
“Are you as bored with these birders as I am?”
“You know, I could go for some carry-out carrion about now.”
“Who passed gas?”
Vultures may not grace the covers of bird magazines or birders’ license plates but they have some redeeming values – well, perhaps not that many. They are, like many of us, best appreciated from a distance. So in any case, give my vulture pals some love.
One of the reasons we are traveling to Florida is to see some birds which I’ve never seen; many of the birds we’ll encounter are those that also frequent the Southwest but there are some that are more unique to Florida. Here are a few of my top ones (photos are by an excellent photographer, Mark Vance, who has a gallery on Flickr here.
A large, white, bald-headed wading bird of the southeastern swamps, the Wood Stork is the only stork breeding in the United States. Its late winter breeding season is timed to the Florida dry season when its fish prey become concentrated in shrinking pools. Photo by Mark Vance
An unusual bird of southern swamps and marshes, the Limpkin reaches the northern limits of its breeding range in Florida. There, it feeds almost exclusively on apple snails, which it extracts from their shells with its long bill. Its screaming cry is unmistakable and evocative. Photo by Mark Vance
A strikingly marked raptor of wetlands in the southeastern United States, the Swallow-tailed Kite captures flying insects or plucks insects and lizards from the tops of trees. Photo by Mark Vance
A bold and curious bird, the Florida Scrub-Jay can become hand-tame in areas where it comes in contact with people. Unfortunately, it is restricted to the rare oak scrub community of Florida, a habitat under constant threat of development, and is classified as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Photo by Mark Vance
I’ve mapped out a three month trip to Florida. It was much tougher than planning to go to the Southwest because Florida state parks fill up fast — often I grabbed the last site available — and the state wants all the money up front. So I’m sitting with over a thousand dollars on my AMEX card so I guess we’d better go.
I got some advice from my brother and sister-in-law, some birding friends, and used two birding guide books: Birding Florida by Brian Rapoza and the slightly-dated A Birder’s Guide to Florida by Bill Pranty.
Right now, we are planning to head out right after New Year’s, subject to weather forecasts. We take the Airstream to Georgia and then down to a big birding festival in Titusville in January.
We then hit some good birding spots in southern Florida for February. (The Keys were out of the question since everything there is tied up 10 months ahead of time.)
In March, we work ourselves up the western side of Florida, hoping to hook up with some old friends from Central New York who winter there. We end up in the Pensacola area as we think about heading home in mid-April.
One of the nice things about hauling your own lodging is that you are flexible. If we find Florida to crowded, too wet, to0 Republican (just kidding!), we can head back to our old haunts along the Gulf Coast, and just eat some of the deposits. The long-range forecast (30% cooler and wetter down south and 30% warmer up here) adds another element but we’ve done the rainy slushy winter and Florida’s got to be better. In my next post, I’m going to pick a few target birds for the trip.