Tag Archives: Birdwatching Trips

Day Four at the Space Coast Birding Festival

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Today was another interesting day at the Birding Festival. I started the day off with Reinier Munguia’s (of Wildstock Photos) seminar on the “Life of Birds.” He did a very good job even though he still isn’t feeling all that well yet. He made it entertaining as well as informative.

Hundreds of Coots at Merritt Is NWR

Hundreds of Coots at Merritt Is NWR

Then, I attended the two seminars by Sharon Stiteler of the BirdChick Blog. She did one on “City Bird, Country Bird Housing and Feeding,” which helped clear up some questions I had about using meal worms and some other feeding questions. Her other seminar was, “BirdChick Blog: The New Nature Journal.” She did an excellent presentation and I learned many things that will help me with this blog. She is a very enthusiastic person. Thanks, Sharon. It was nice meeting you.

I finished up the day with the “Great Florida Birding Trail“, by Mark Kiser.  He showed many of the great places around the state to bird and what birds to expect there. He also introduced their new birding trip planning website which will be a great help. Poor Dan, he is going to have to take us on some more birding trips. He has been learning all those photography tips, so I doubt he won’t mind too much.

A new thing is in the mail for me to use, but that information will just have to wait to be told later. Needless to say, this Birding Festival has been very well run and it has been right enjoyable. I have seen some mighty great pictures and learned more facinating facts about the great birds the Lord has created. His creative Hand is so evident.

Day Three at the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival

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Wilson's Snipe - Merritt Is. NWR by Dan

Wilson's Snipe - Merritt Is. NWR by Dan

Off we went again to the festival in 28 degree weather. Sure be glad when this cold front departs. Today’s seminars and workshops were very good. First, Dan and I attended “Bird Photography” by Joel Rosenthal, who gave a very good presentation on some ins and outs of photographing birds. Later, it was “Wading Birds” by Dr. Eric Stolen from Kennedy Space Center who studies the environment for the Wading Birds there on the Center.
Then I attended Alvaro Jaramillo’s “Field Marks We Haven’t Met Yet – Birding Outside the Box.” His idea of learning to ID birds is to observe and study them to where you just “know them”, like you would “just know” a person’s face. It was a very interesting lecture.
Then one of the highlights of the day was when I met up with Dawn, from Dawn’s Bloggy Blog. We enjoyed meeting each other and I hope to spend some more time chatting with her and Jeff. We were also concerned about Reinier Munguia, who was very sick yesterday and today. He does photography workshops here and is our friend who’s photos I use on the blog. He was a little better this afternoon.

So far, the Festival has been going very well, minus a small power outage this afternoon.

Day Two at the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival

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We are enjoying our time here at the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival in Titusville, Florida. We left home yesterday (48 degrees) and drove the 90 miles and saw 23 species of birds on the way over including: 11 Wild Turkeys, American Kestrel, and 5 Robins. After arriving we spent 2 1/2 hours driving through the Black Point drive at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. We were chilled to the bones with it still being only 48 degrees with 20-25 mph winds. But, it was worth it. Among the 36 species spotted were 5 new “life birds.”

Clappper Rail at Merritt Is. NWR

Clappper Rail at Merritt Is. NWR

Here is what we saw: 50 American Wigeons (Life), 40 Mottled Ducks, 50 Blue-winged Teal, 50 Northern Shoveler, 50 Northern Pintail, 15 Pied-billed Grebe, 5 Brown Pelican, 25 Double-crested Cormorants, 5 Anhinga, 7 Great Blue Heron, 8 Great Egret, 15 Little Blue Heron, 10 Tricolored Heron, 1 Green Heron, 30 White Ibis, 10 Glossy Ibis, 16 Roseate Spoonbill, 3 Wood Stork, 15 Black Vulture, 15 Turkey Vulture, 5 Osprey, 1 Bald Eagle, 1 Clapper Rail (Life), 5 Common Moorhen, 1000 American Coot (never seen so many), 2 Sandhill Crane, 1 Killdeer, 50 Avocet (Life), 1 Spotted Sandpiper (Life), 20 Greater Yellowlegs, 25 Lesser Yellowlegs, 10 Short-billed Dowitcher (Life), 3 Wilson’s Snipe, 5 Ring-billed Gull, and 2 Belted Kingfisher.

Snowy Egret at Merritt Is. NWR

Snowy Egret at Merritt Is. NWR

We were fortunate to keep running into Peter, from Massachusetts, who was a big help with some of the IDs. He is here for the Birding Festival also. He had his telescope which was a big help.
Today, they really started the seminars, workshops, trips, and other activities. The festival runs until Sunday. This morning I attended an informative “Beginning Photography” seminar, by Milton Heiberg Photography, and then this afternoon, I went to a great workshop about “Kingfishers” by Jeffrey A. Gordon from Leica. Today I had the privilege of having conversations with Bill Thompson III (Bird Watcher’s Digest, editor) and Pete Dunn at Cape May Bird Observatory who has written many bird books and both are well known in the “birding world.”

Bird Watcher Passes Goal – from The Ledger

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The following is an article in today’s The Ledger, our local newspaper: (the bold type is mine)

THE NATURE OF THINGS
Bird Watcher Hits Goal, Finding 216 Species in Polk

By Tom Palmer, Published: Monday, January 12, 2009 at 9:50 p.m.

Roy Morris‘ quest to see how many species of birds a person could find in Polk County in a year is over.
The total was 216 species, one species more than the minimum of 215 species he said was his goal a year ago.
His total would have been a little higher if he hadn’t been out of town when a couple of species showed up at Saddle Creek Park one fall weekend.
Nevertheless, his list includes some surprises.
This is the first time I know of that anyone has set out intentionally to see how many species they could check off in a year in Polk County. In bird-watching parlance, this is what is known as a “Big Year.”
Morris said the way he looks at it, he has now set a benchmark for others to try to top.
He said his quest revealed a few things about bird-watching opportunities in Polk County. For one, there’s no one place where there are mass gatherings of waterfowl or shorebirds that compare with some of the coastal areas of Florida.
Some local birdwatchers have broached the idea of building “scrapes” in section of wetlands areas of local parks. These are areas that are open, wet and sparsely vegetated, which would attract more shorebirds.
The advantage to something like that is that uncommon species sometimes join the masses of common species in this kind of area.
Although other sites looked promising, Saddle Creek Park near Lakeland remained the best and most dependable place to see songbirds during the fall migration.
Circle B Bar Reserve, one of the better local bird-watching parks, was closed during most of 2008 because of construction.
During the spring migration, songbirds are more commonly seen in coastal parks.
Morris said his quest reinforced the idea that Polk County is a good place to see Florida specialties, such as snail kites, caracaras and burrowing owls.
Morris said he had fun tackling the project and it did get him out of his normal bird-watching haunts to explore new areas of Polk County. He had hoped to reach 220 species or so and that could have been possible if he had found birds that he knows were present in the county because other people saw them.
So what did Morris see?
The list is long and varied. His first bird of the year was a pied-bill grebe, which he saw on Jan. 1, along with 91 other species.
The last bird of the year was an American woodcock he found on Dec. 2.
The most unexpected bird he saw was a magnificent frigatebird, which he spotted among a large group of vultures soaring over Saddle Creek Park on Oct. 25.
Frigatebirds are seabirds. I’ve seen several in Polk, but only after they were pushed inland by a hurricane or tropical storm. This bird’s appearance didn’t appear to be weather-related, which makes the sighting particularly notable.
Some other notable finds included a peregrine falcon, a black-throated green warbler, Canada warbler, red-cockaded woodpecker, dunlin (a kind of shorebird), lark sparrow and scissor-tailed flycatcher.
In case you’re wondering, the official Polk County bird list contains 306 species, but many of them were one-time wonders that showed up years ago, never to be seen again locally.
There is a Web site on Polk County birds that’s maintained by local birdwatcher Chuck Geanangel.
To learn more go to www.polkcountybirds.com.

 

First Bird and Birding Trip of 2009

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Here we are in 2009 and it’s time to start listing the birds we see this year. I hope last year was very

1st photo of 2009 - Female Ring-necked Duck 1st photo of 2009

1st photo of 2009 - Female Ring-necked Duck

productive in the bird listing area. I am still checking my counts, due to a software glitch that knocked some of the lists out. With the year only three days old, I trust you have been spotting birds already. On “BRDBRAIN”, a listing service here in Florida, they have all been listing the first bird they saw this year.

The first birds all saw when I looked out at my feeders on New Year’s Day were two Mourning Doves. What was the first bird you saw? Post a comment to this blog and let’s find out what everyone saw.

Today, we took our first Birding Trip for the year and went to Lakes Morton and Hollingsworth in Lakeland, FL. That is about a 20 minute ride from our home. We were not disappointed. On the way we counted a Blue Jay, Boat-tailed Grackles, a Wood Stork flying by, 11 Cattle Egrets, Great Egret, 15 Fish Crows, Mourning Doves and Eurasian-collared Dove, Mallards and a Great Blue Heron.

When we got to Lake Morton we were overwhelmed by the number of Ring-necked Ducks (150+) that are down for their winter vacation. There was also 27 Ruddy Ducks, Ring-billed Gulls (lots), 15 White Pelicans with Double-crested Cormorants swimming right along with them, Mallards, 2 Great Blue Herons, Great Egret, White Swans and Black Swans, Geese, Pied-bill Grebe, Muscovy Ducks, Coots (lots), and 2 Rock Doves, and an Anhinga or two.

Then off to Lake Hollingsworth, but this time we were on the north side of the lake at a walkway they have at a small wetlands. Here is what we saw there: 50+ Fish Crows, 7 Double-crested Cormorants, Mallards, White Ibises, Anhinga, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Palm Warbler, 2 Limpkins, Great Blue Heron, 2 Coots, Boat-tailed Grackles, Common Grackles, 2 Common Moorhens, White Pelican, Ospreys, 2 Red-bellied Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe and some unknowns that we are trying to ID from photos.

All in all, it was a gorgeous day and the Lord provided lots to look at and enjoy. I trust your year will be loaded with much viewing of the beautiful birds and critters that have been created for ours and the Lords pleasure. Don’t forget to leave a comment as to what was the first bird you saw this year and where.

The photos have not really been touch up yet. Just wanted to get some posted to show what we saw today.

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Birdwatching on 12/18/08

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We went birdwatching last Thursday, the 18th of December, on a very foggy morning. We were at Circle B Bar Reserve at 7:10am. When we started it was 59 degrees F. We parked up by the new Nature Center and walked out to the “Heron Hideout” path. Here is a list of the birds observed there in the order we spotted them:
White Ibis 6+, Great Blue Herons, Killdeer, Carolina Wren, Wood Storks 75+, Palm Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Cormorants 15+, Kingfisher, Great Egrets 10+, Glossy Ibis 4+, Tricolored Herons, Eastern Phoebe, Sandhill Cranes 2, Limpkin, Pileated Woodpecker, (an Otter), Coots 10+, Pied-billed Grebe 2, Northern Harrier 1, Common Moorhens 10+, Blue-gray Gnatchatcher, Osprey 3, Roseate Spoonbills 4, Downy Woodpecker, Little Blue Herons, Tree Swallow, Green-Winged Teal, Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, Muscovy, Red-shoulder Hawk, (what I think is a Hooded Warbler), Red-bellied Woodpecker, Redwing Blackbirds, Boat-tailed Grackles, Blue Jay, Morning Doves 5, (36 species) plus several unknowns. Not a bad 2 hours of birding.

Me, feeding the beggars!

Me, feeding the beggars!

We left there at 9:00 am and drove over to Lake Hollingsworth in Lakeland. At 9:10 most of the fog had cleared and it was up to 66 already. With bread in hand, I was attacked again by the local beggars (see photo). After the Geese, Mallards, White Ibises, Ring-billed Gulls, Boat-tailed Grackles, Common Moorhens and Purple Gallinules got my offerings, I proceeded to go see what else was around. The rest of the adventure turned up Anhingas, Cormorants, Great Blue Herons, Mottled Ducks, Great Egrets, Muscovy, Limpkins 4, Osprey 10+, Tricolored Heron 2, Pied-billed Grebes, Coots, American White Pelicans 11, Brown Pelicans 5, Little Blue Heron, Wood Storks, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Eastern Phoebe, Common Grackles, Caspian Tern. (26) Not bad for an hour of viewing.
Putting the 36 plus the 8 different ones together, gives 44 bird species and a one Otter morning. Again, I am thankful for the opportunity to view and enjoy God’s critters and see His handiwork.

Here are a few photos:

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For other birdwatching trips to the Circle B Bar Reserve

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Circle B Bar Reserve – Birdwatching 11/28/08

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Today my husband and I went to the Circle B Bar Reserve and here is a list of what we saw. We were there from about 9-11 am and it was clear and 54 degrees when we got there. It warmed up nicely and was a gorgeous day. My ID’s of some of these were greatly helped when we were joined by Reinier (one of the photographers I use -Wildstock) about half way through our birdwatching trip. The list below is from a report I made to ebird.

Number of species:     46
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck     35
Mottled Duck     5
Blue-winged Teal     10
Ring-necked Duck     2

Black-bellied Whistling Duck and Babies

Black-bellied Whistling Duck and Babies

Pied-billed Grebe     2
Anhinga     3
American Bittern     2
Great Blue Heron     10
Great Egret     5
Snowy Egret     3
Little Blue Heron     4
Tricolored Heron     5
Cattle Egret     10
White Ibis     25
Glossy Ibis     5
Roseate Spoonbill     6
Wood Stork     25
Turkey Vulture     5
Osprey     1
Red-shouldered Hawk     1
Red-tailed Hawk     1
American Kestrel     1
Purple Gallinule     1
Common Moorhen     5
American Coot     70

Snowy Egret Reflected

Snowy Egret Reflected

Limpkin     1
Sandhill Crane     4
Killdeer     20
Greater Yellowlegs     1
Lesser Yellowlegs     2
Wilson’s Snipe     2
Ring-billed Gull     1
Mourning Dove     1
Belted Kingfisher     2
Red-bellied Woodpecker     1
Eastern Phoebe     1
White-eyed Vireo     1
Blue Jay     1
Fish Crow     10
Tree Swallow     5
House Wren     1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher     1
Northern Mockingbird     1
Pine Warbler     2
Palm Warbler     2
Boat-tailed Grackle     10

We definitely had a great time birdwatching today. Reminds me to be thankful for all the great and wonderful creation that God has created.

Psa 111:1-4 KJVR
(1) Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.
(2) The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.
(3) His work is honorable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth forever.
(4) He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.

For other birdwatching trips to the Circle B Bar Reserve

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Circle B Bar Reserve – Future of Birdwatching

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Wilson's Snipe at Circle B by Dan

Wilson’s Snipe at Circle B by Dan

As many of you know, Circle B Bar Reserve is one of the premier places to bird watch here in Central Florida. I love going out there to see all the wildlife, now that it has re-opened.

I just found out that there is a effort to prevent hunting at the Circle B Bar Reserve here in Polk County, FL. I just can’t imagine that going on out there. They just built a really nice Nature Center for the Reserve. It is suppose to host classes about preserving our environment and the plants, animals and birds. Now, they want to possibly approve hunting. Please look at the following link, and then let your thoughts be known.

UPDATE – As of now the hunting has been stopped, at least until a referendum is voted on. The link below was about that debate, but I kept it there because it is a nice video about the Circle B.

Great Blue Heron at Circle B by Dan

Great Blue Heron at Circle B by Dan

Black-necked Stilt at Circle B Bar Reserve

Black-necked Stilt at Circle B Bar Reserve by Me

 

Circle B Bar Reserve Grand Re-opening

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Wood Storks

Wood Storks

Yesterday, they re-opened the Circle B Bar Reserve and had a good time birding. I didn’t get more than about a quarter mile into marsh and back, but was able to ID 37 birds in about an hour and half. We got there at 8:30 and was able to park near the marsh. It was a one day only chance to park that close. In the future, we will have to park up by the new nature center and walk from there. That will present a problem for me since I have a walking problem.

The new nature center is very nice and they have provided classrooms and exhibits. This will help make a great setting for education and training. I was very impressed with it.

Here is what I was able to observe yesterday, mostly at the marsh: Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Mottled Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Pied-billed Grebe , Anhinga, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Cattle Egret, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Wood Stork, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Cooper’s Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Limpkin, Sandhill Crane, Belted Kingfisher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Blue Jay, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle. There were others I heard and saw that I couldn’t ID. It was not a good photography day. It was fully overcast.

Wood Stork

Wood Stork Just Landing

For other birdwatching trips to the Circle B Bar Reserve

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Circle B Bar Reserve Re-opening Nov 1, 2008

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Black-necked Stilt at Circle B Bar Reserve

Black-necked Stilt at Circle B Bar Reserve

I can hardly wait for the Circle B Bar Reserve to let me in to go birdwatching. Seems like forever since it closed. They opened it for a half-day in May. I have observed over 50 species in the two times we visited there. See Circle B Bar Ranch Reserve. I am including an excerpt I received today from the Bird Listing Service, “BRDBRAIN”, that I receive reports from.

After being closed for 1 1/2 years for construction of a nature center and restoration of the marsh system Circle B Bar Reserve is re-opening.

On Nov. 1, come celebrate all things natural at Water, Wings & Wild Things, Polk NatureFest 2008, in conjunction with the opening of Polk County’s Nature Discovery Center at Circle B Bar Reserve. Polk NatureFest 2008, which will take place from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., is a free event featuring native Florida animals, nature-based art vendors, wildlife and plant workshops and hands-on activities — such as tree climbing, kite-making, butterflies and more! As you and your family celebrate nature, get the first glimpse of Polk County’s Nature Discovery Center which will offer a variety of nature-based activities, wildlife viewing platform, exhibits highlighting various habitats, nature workshops and guided tours of the reserve. Circle B Bar Reserve is located just off Hwy 540 between Winter Haven and Lakeland. For more information, contact Polk County Tourism and Sports Marketing at (863) 534-2500 or visit www.visitcentralflorida.org.

Update Octorber 30th:
Was able to look around in the Reserve today for just a little while. I was able to observe the following birds in about 20 minutes. Blue Jay, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Osprey, Little Blue Heron, Tri-colored Heron, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Snipes, Black and Turkey Vultues, Wood Stork, Common Gallinule, Whistling Duck, Catbird plus others I couldn’t ID. We really didn’t have any gear with us, as we were just passing by and saw the gate open.

Birdwatching Trip – Lake Hollingsworth 7-29-08

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Today we went birdwatching again at Lake Hollingsworth in Lakeland. From previous post, you can see we go there often. I especially like the fact that it has an asphalt walkway around the lake. Those who know me, know that after my back surgery two years ago my legs were messed up. Makes it nice to have a level place to walk. Anyway, today when Dan suggested going, I jumped at the chance. I have been so busy fixing this new website up, that I hadn’t been out birdwatching.
When we got there, I was immediately “attacked” by the local geese and ducks. They have been well trained to expect “treats” from people. With bread in hand, I could not feed them fast enough for their liking. The geese (not sure what kind) started pecking at me and pulling my clothes and nipping at me. It actually was quite comical. We all survived and went on down the walkway.
Here is what we observed: The Geese, Mallards and their families, White Ibises, Common Moorhens and their babies, Purple Gallinules and their juveniles, Pigeons, Boat-tailed Grackles, Anhingas hanging out to dry, Limpkins and three babies, Redwing Blackbirds and their juveniles, Ospreys, Great Egrets, Tri-colored Herons, a Little Blue Heron, a Tern, and some Fish Crows.
It was one of our “cooler” days with a light breeze. About 84 degrees when we started. We have been having some much-needed rain lately and the lake was up quite a bit since our last trip there.
P.S. I’ll be glad when you up north will send your birds back down to us. We miss seeing our “winter visitors.”

Hope you enjoy the photos. I was just a birdwatcher today and Dan was our photographer. So the photos are better, even though he hasn’t worked on them yet.

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Birdwatching Trip – J. N. “Ding” Darling NWR – July 15, 2008

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We went to J. N. “Ding” Darling NWR on Sanibel Island, FL. It was an overcast and sometimes rainy day, we enjoyed birdwatching anyway. Here is what we saw:
Limpkin, Reddish Egret prancing around trying to scare up a meal, White Ibis, Cardinals-male and female, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron – first up close, raccoon, Mourning Dove, Ground Doves, Blue Jays, Snowy Egrets, Little Blue Heron, Great Blue Heron, Great Egrets, Osprey, a new life bird-Magnificent Frigatebird, Double-crested Cormorants, Anhingas, Alligator, Rosette Spoonbills resting, and a Black-crowned Night-Heron. We then drove to the split between Sanibel and Captiva. There was a Great Blue Heron standing on the rocks behind a fisherman. People were walking up and taking its picture, and he didn’t move. I think he wanted that man to feed him. It must have been to windy for him to do his own fishing. The gulls and osprey were flapping hard and going nowhere in the wind. They were suspended in air.
The Lord made a great day, even though the weather could have been better (from a camera’s perspective.)

The photos in the slideshow are mostly what I took. The much better ones are Dan’s.

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