Myakka River SP
let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:22-23 NKJV)
Yesterday we rode down to Myakka River State Park, then over to an Amish restuarant in Sarasota and back. A birdwatching adventure of almost 200 miles . What a beautiful the Lord gave to see some more of His Creation.
As Dan drives I keep a list of the birds spotted. Just finished posting them to eBird. Counting the State Park and the different county lists, we saw a total of 43 species today. Not bad.
This was sort of a survey trip to check out the park. We have never been there before. We spotted 23 species there and saw lots of alligators floating in their lake. It was foggy driving down and it was starting to clear some by the time we arrived. At the first little pond the water was quite reflective. Myakka is the largest park in the State system.
Great Blue Heron by Lee Myakka SP
Actually, compared to Circle B Bar Reserve, which is only about 5 miles from the house, it was sparse on birds. Guess we have gotten spoiled having Circle B so close.
But still, it was an enjoyable trip. I was able to get a photo of a Catbird and chased a Northern Parula with my camera all over the place. Finally got a bad shot which at least help nail down the ID. A Carolina Wren was singing away, but never got a decent shot of him either. Also saw 9 Wild Turkeys.
On the ride down, my highlight was spotting 4 Crested Caracaras and 5 Belted Kingfishers. Of course since we were traveling, no photos taken.
Haven’t gone through all photos yet, but here are a few from yesterday.
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Taxonomic order – 04 Mar 2014
1 Wild Turkey – 9
2 Pied-billed Grebe – 1
3 Wood Stork – 4
4 Double-crested Cormorant – 1
5 Great Blue Heron – 2
6 Great Egret – 2
7 Snowy Egret – 1
8 Little Blue Heron – 1
9 Tricolored Heron – 1
10 Cattle Egret – 53
11 White Ibis – 25
12 Glossy Ibis – 1
13 Black Vulture – 35
14 Turkey Vulture – 11
15 Osprey – 21
16 Red-shouldered Hawk – 2
17 Red-tailed Hawk – 1
18 Common Gallinule – 4
19 American Coot – 1
20 Limpkin – 1
21 Sandhill Crane – 2
22 Eurasian Collared-Dove – 1
23 White-winged Dove – 1
24 Mourning Dove – 5
25 Belted Kingfisher – 5
26 Downy Woodpecker – 1
27 Crested Caracara – 4
28 American Kestrel – 1
29 Loggerhead Shrike – 2
30 Blue Jay – 3
31 American Crow – 1
32 Fish Crow – 6
33 Tree Swallow – 10
34 Carolina Wren – 3
35 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – 2
36 Gray Catbird – 2
37 Northern Mockingbird – 2
38 Northern Parula – 1
39 Palm Warbler – 4
40 Yellow-rumped Warbler – 3
41 Red-winged Blackbird – 1
42 Common Grackle – 3
43 Boat-tailed Grackle – 8
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Lee's Birdwatching Adventures Plus 