Tricolored Heron, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Mar 18, 2022
Morning fog, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Mar 18, 2022
Black and White Warbler, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Mar 18, 2022
Purple Gallinule, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Mar 18, 2022
Glossy Ibis and White Ibis, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Mar 18, 2022
Limpkin, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Mar 18, 2022
Northern Parula, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Mar 18, 2022
Swallow tailed Kites, Signia by Hilton Hotel, Orlando, FL, Mar 18, 2022
Palm Warbler 'western', Signia by Hilton Hotel, Orlando, FL, Mar 18, 2022
Northern Parula collecting nest material, Signia by Hilton Hotel, Orlando, FL, Mar 18, 2022
Fulvous Whistling Ducks, Lake Apopka North Shore, Apopka, FL, Mar 19, 2022
Dawn, Lake Apopka North Shore, Apopka, FL, Mar 19, 2022
Palm Warbler 'western', Lake Apopka North Shore, Apopka, FL, Mar 19, 2022
Osprey, Lake Apopka North Shore, Apopka, FL, Mar 19, 2022
Swamp Sparrow, Lake Apopka North Shore, Apopka, FL, Mar 19, 2022
American Bittern, Lake Apopka North Shore, Apopka, FL, Mar 19, 2022
Boat tailed Grackle, Lake Apopka North Shore, Apopka, FL, Mar 19, 2022
Common Gallinule, Lake Apopka North Shore, Apopka, FL, Mar 19, 2022
Caspian Tern, Lake Apopka North Shore, Apopka, FL, Mar 19, 2022
Pileated Woodpecker, Oakland Nature Preserve, Oakland, FL, Mar 19, 2022
Red eyed Vireo, Oakland Nature Preserve, Oakland, FL, Mar 19, 2022
Hermit Thrush, Oakland Nature Preserve, Oakland, FL, Mar 19, 2022
On Saturday I decided to head north to check out some areas I have never been to before. My first stop of the morning was to the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive. The area around Lake Apopka (the third largest lake in Florida) had for years been farmland that heavily polluted the lake. Several years ago the government bought the area and have worked on restoring the lake and surrounding areas. This has resulted in a boon for wildlife and the area now has one of the largest bird lists for a single location in the state. The wildlife drive covers just a portion of the area and is only open a few days a week and thankfully Saturday was one of those days. I arrived when the drive opened at 7AM and then spent nearly three hours exploring the area and added a bunch of species for the trip plus a couple new species for me in the state with Fulvous Whistling Duck and Louisiana Waterthrush. The vast amount of the drive has various water impoundments on either side which held lots of waterfowl, waders, shorebirds and others. Once I completed the drive I decided to drive down the west side of the lake and made a few more stops before heading back to the hotel. My next stop was at the Green Mountain trailhead on the southwest side of the lake and this stop produced two new state species for me with Yellow throated Vireo and Red eyed Vireo (both of which were singing). My final stop of the morning was Oakland Nature Preserve at the south end of the lake. Some nice mixed flocks but nothing unusual in them although I did manage to add a fourth state bird for the morning with a couple Hermit Thrushes. I finally made it back to the hotel in the mid afternoon and made another walk around the woody edges nearby but didn’t find much (the 90 degree heat kept activity down a bit).
Cape May Warbler, West Beach Park, Orlando, FL, Mar 20, 2022
Carolina Chickadee, West Beach Park, Orlando, FL, Mar 20, 2022
Snowy Egret, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Mar 20, 2022
Beach, Melbourne Beach, FL, Mar 20, 2022
Sunday was the day when we would be heading east to the coast so I didn’t have a lot of time in the morning so I decided to stay fairly local. I had plans to go to the Tibet Butler Preserve but the gates there didn’t open until eight so I tried to come up with a spot to stop before the preserve opened and decided to try a small park on the way called West Beach Park. I hoped the gates to the area would be open there and I arrived there around 7:45 and found a worker had arrived and opened the gates just before I arrived. I didn’t expect much there given the tiny size of the park but I made a quick walk around and found a few species and then came across a mixed flock feeding in a few trees in the park and quickly picked up a Yellow throated Vireo and a Cape May Warbler among several other species. I quickly returned to the car and got the camera to document the Cape May Warbler as it is flagged as early. I eventually got some identifiable photos of the warbler. Sometimes you never know what even a small bit of habitat can produce. Tibet Butler Preserve was fairly quiet as I walked a few of the trails there. I then returned to the room around ten to pack up and start the journey east. We broke up the trip with a visit to the Orlando Wetlands Park and I tried in vain to find a reported Magnolia Warbler at the location. Even without the warbler and the midday sun the location was still active. We eventually made it to the coast and our lodging for the next four nights in the Melbourne area.
Mourning Dove, Pelican Island NWR, Vero Beach, FL, Mar 21, 2022
Common Ground Dove, Pelican Island NWR, Vero Beach, FL, Mar 21, 2022
Common Yellowthroat, Pelican Island NWR, Vero Beach, FL, Mar 21, 2022
The overall word for the first day of birding out on the coast was SLOW. I tried several areas and none were very active at all, especially in regards to passerines. I started the morning before dawn at Maritime Hammock Sanctuary and walked almost all of the trails and had few birds. I then headed north a bit to Coconut Point Sanctuary and that spot was even worse. I then made a brief stop off at our lodging before heading south to Pelican Island NWR where I walked nearly three miles but came up fairly empty for birds overall. After a break for lunch I decided to try my luck at an a spot I had never visited before (Barrier Island Sanctuary). The trail there was nice but not surprisingly quite quiet. The rest of the day was spent sitting outside enjoying the warm breezy weather.
Short billed Dowitcher, Pelican Island NWR, Vero Beach, FL, Mar 22, 2022
Black bellied Plover, Pelican Island NWR, Vero Beach, FL, Mar 22, 2022
Great crested Flycatcher, Pelican Island NWR, Vero Beach, FL, Mar 22, 2022
Prairie Warbler, Jungle Trail, Vero Beach, FL, Mar 22, 2022
Wood Ducks, Captain Forester's Hammock Preserve, Vero Beach, FL, Mar 22, 2022
After having little luck in finding birds on Monday I decided to head a bit further south on Tuesday in the hopes of having better luck. I started off at Captain Forester's Hammock Preserve and walked most of the trails. It was a little better but still less than I would expect given the date. At least there were some passerines around to see. The habitat at the location looked great for migrant birds and I’m certain the place can be hopping at times. I then covered various locations along an old road known as the Jungle Trail that has been known to be quite productive for migrants but I didn’t have much luck. I finished the morning with a walk at Pelican Island NWR and although slow for passerines I did have some decent looks at shorebirds. I was back to the lodging by late morning. At least it was another beautiful day with sun and warm temperatures (the strong winds persisted throughout the day).
Pine Warbler, Turkey Creek Sanctuary, Palm Bay, FL, Mar 23, 2022
Northern Cardinal, Turkey Creek Sanctuary, Palm Bay, FL, Mar 23, 2022
Prairie Warbler, Captain Forster Hammock Preserve, Vero Beach, FL, Mar 23, 2022
The last full day in Florida started out warm and just got warmer with highs in the upper 80’s. With the lackluster showing of birds nearby I decided to make a trip off the barrier island and went to Turkey Creek Sanctuary where I spent nearly three hours exploring most of the trails. I got there well before sunrise in the hopes of hearing a nightjar but nothing was heard calling (the wind was much less pronounced early on compared to the conditions on the barrier island). Once it got light enough to it see I started walking the trails. Although not as active as I hoped it was still much better than places on the island have been the previous two days. I ended my time there with 36 species although I was unable to locate the reported pair of Short tailed Hawks. Once I finished up there I headed back onto the island and made a stop for around an hour and a half at Captain Forester's Hammock Preserve. I had some warblers around including a few mixed flocks but nothing that indicated recently arrived migrants. I got back to the lodging for lunch and then we headed south to a winery and then came back to the lodging to enjoy our last afternoon in warm temperatures for awhile.
Sunrise, Melbourne Beach, FL, Mar 24, 2022
Cape May Warbler, Melbourne Beach, FL, Mar 24, 2022
Thursday was the travel day home and I only had a short time to get out in the morning before we made the drive back to Orlando. I got to see a great sunrise and turned up a nice male Cape May Warbler along the road near our lodging. With storms and a maintenance issue with our flight coming home we never got home until well after dark.
Overall I had 131 species in Florida with five of those being new for me in the state which brought my Florida state list up to 227. More details on the warblers seen on the trip can be found at the following link.
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