Dark eyed Junco, Pelican Island NWR, Vero Beach, FL, Nov 16, 2024
Sabine's Gull, Sebastian Inlet SP, Vero Beach, FL, Nov 17, 2024
White Ibis, Royal Palm Beach Pines Natural Area, Royal Palm Beach, FL, Nov 15, 2024
Common Gallinule, Peaceful Waters Sanctuary, Wellington, FL, Nov 15, 2024
Mottled Duck x Mallard hybrid, Peaceful Waters Sanctuary, Wellington, FL, Nov 15, 2024
Blue gray Gnatcatcher, Peaceful Waters Sanctuary, Wellington, FL, Nov 15, 2024
Limpkin, Peaceful Waters Sanctuary, Wellington, FL, Nov 15, 2024
Little Blue Heron, Peaceful Waters Sanctuary, Wellington, FL, Nov 15, 2024
Northern Waterthrush, Peaceful Waters Sanctuary, Wellington, FL, Nov 15, 2024
Yellow throated Warbler, Peaceful Waters Sanctuary, Wellington, FL, Nov 15, 2024
The first full day in Florida was spent in the Wellington area. I headed a little north before dawn to Royal Palm Beach Pines Natural Area where I spent a bit over an hour and a half exploring just a small area as many trails were fairly overgrown and I didn’t want to get my feet totally soaked. I still had a fairly productive stop. I headed back to our lodging a little before nine and then we headed to Peaceful Waters Sanctuary where we spent around two and a half hours exploring this small gem of an area. Nothing extremely unusual but a nice selection of birds with 56 species overall including some waterfowl, a variety of waders and nine species of warblers. The party was midday and after a few hours there we started the drive up to Melbourne Beach. We didn’t arrive until almost dinner time and I didn’t do much birding to end the day.
Sanderlings, Sebastian Inlet SP, Vero Beach, FL, Nov 16, 2024
White eyed Vireo, Pelican Island NWR, Vero Beach, FL, Nov 16, 2024
Nashville Warbler, Pelican Island NWR, Vero Beach, FL, Nov 16, 2024
Osprey, Pelican Island NWR, Vero Beach, FL, Nov 16, 2024
Dark eyed Junco, Pelican Island NWR, Vero Beach, FL, Nov 16, 2024
Ruddy Turnstone, Sebastian Inlet SP, Vero Beach, FL, Nov 16, 2024
Reddish Egret, Sebastian Inlet SP, Vero Beach, FL, Nov 16, 2024
On the first full day in Melbourne Beach I was out before dawn to head down to Sebastian Inlet State Park in the hopes of finding a Sabine’s Gull there. I started off a bit south of the inlet on the beach without having any luck with the gull. There were tons of Sanderlings around as well as big waves thanks to continued fairly windy conditions. I then walked up the bridge at the inlet and spent almost an hour looking for the gull, again with no luck. All was not lost as I had a small group of Black Scoters fly past, a new species for me in Florida. I then headed down to Pelican Island NWR with my main focus being on warblers. I had a Nashville Warbler near the centennial trail among more expected species and this added a second new species for me in the state just for the morning. I then decided to take a walk along the Bird's Impoundment Trail where I had the bird of the trip with a Dark eyed Junco. I was only perhaps a quarter mile in on the trail and noticed a Prairie Warbler and then another bird with it. The other bird was partially obstructed in the mangroves but I could see it was a Dark eyed Junco…I knew it had to be rare this far south so I concentrated on getting some photos and I had some success. I was certainly not expecting to see a Dark eyed Junco in a mangrove as I searched for warblers! Looking at records in eBird this appears to be a first county record for Indian River County. Obviously this was yet another new species for me in Florida…my third of the day (numbers 241,242 and 243). I got the word out as soon as I could as I’m sure some others would love to track that bird down. Always fun to find a good rarity no matter where you bird. I decided to try again for the Sabine’s Gull on my way back through and sadly I missed on finding it once again. I hit a few other areas before calling it a day and hanging out at our lodging.
Purple Sandpiper, Sebastian Inlet SP, Vero Beach, FL, Nov 17, 2024
Cooper's Hawk, Jungle Trail, Vero Beach, FL, Nov 17, 2024
Cape May Warbler, Jungle Trail, Vero Beach, FL, Nov 17, 2024
Broad winged Hawk, Jungle Trail, Vero Beach, FL, Nov 17, 2024
Black and White Warbler, Jungle Trail, Vero Beach, FL, Nov 17, 2024
Nashville Warbler, Pelican Island NWR, Vero Beach, FL, Nov 17, 2024
Sabine's Gull, Sebastian Inlet SP, Vero Beach, FL, Nov 17, 2024
Sabine's Gull, Sebastian Inlet SP, Vero Beach, FL, Nov 17, 2024
Hooded Warbler, Sebastian Inlet SP, Vero Beach, FL, Nov 17, 2024
On Sunday I once again headed south to start my day around Sebastian Inlet SP, trying again for the Sabine’s Gull. It was a bit windier to start the day which I knew would make finding passerines later in the morning tough. I walked up to the inlet and started scanning through the various species of gulls, terns, pelicans and shorebirds. Although I had no luck with ‘the gull’ I did find a Purple Sandpiper mixed in with the Ruddy Turnstones as well as a Parasitic Jaeger chasing gulls and terns offshore. These were the first two (of several) rarities for the day and added two new species for my Florida list. I didn’t want to wait too long to go searching for warblers so I headed out a bit after seven with my next destination being an area of the Jungle Trail (an old dirt road) which has been productive in the past for warblers. There were a number of recently reported warblers in the area and I figured I would try to track them down. I spent about an hour and a half covering a fairly small area. Initially I didn’t have much probably due to a combination of noise from a maintenance area and a Cooper’s Hawk sitting within the dense growth. I had a few species including my first Ovenbird of the trip and I almost gave up on finding a mixed flock but I then had a group that had a few species including my first Black and White Warbler of the trip. The more I looked, the more I found and I eventually had three Cape May Warblers and a Bay breasted Warbler (a new Florida species for me) plus several other species. I got photos of most but missed the Bay breasted Warbler as not long after I found it a Broad winged Hawk flew in and scattered the flock (the hawk was yet another rarity for the day). With the area a bit less active with another raptor around I headed north along the Jungle Trail and stopped near the Centennial Trail in Pelican Island NWR and easily turned up the Nashville Warbler again. I then tried the Bird’s Impoundment Trail again in an attempt to relocate the Dark eyed Junco I had there yesterday but came up empty. With still some time left in the morning I made my way back to Sebastian Inlet and this time I finally had success in seeing the Sabine’s Gull as it flew back and forth and occasionally settled on the water. Another big rarity in the bag! I then worked some of the nearby edges for warblers. I heard a Northern Waterthrush calling and another bird photographer was nearby trying to get a photo of it. He failed apparently and gave up after using playback and getting no results. I tried a different approach and found a good viewpoint and waited and got looks at it. I then noticed a yellow bird fly in nearby and a quick look turned up yet another rarity with a Hooded Warbler! I added a few more Cape May Warblers for good measure. I headed back for lunch and then we were going to go kayaking but the place was closed so we settled for ice cream, a walk on the beach and then relaxing at our lodging on the beach. I found yet another rarity as I seawatched and drank wine. A Cory’s Shearwater cruised by to the south at a fair distance and although I had decent looks at it I failed to get a photo. Oddly enough I have never had the species before so not only did I add another new Florida species I added a lifer for the trip (bringing me to 2015 species). The day added a total of five new species to my Florida list, bringing that total to 248.
Broad winged Hawk, Jungle Trail, Vero Beach, FL, Nov 18, 2024
Cape May Warbler, Jungle Trail, Vero Beach, FL, Nov 18, 2024
Painted Bunting, Pelican Island NWR, Vero Beach, FL, Nov 18, 2024
Black throated Green Warbler, Pelican Island NWR, Vero Beach, FL, Nov 18, 2024
Nashville Warblers, Pelican Island NWR, Vero Beach, FL, Nov 18, 2024
Palm Warbler 'western', Pelican Island NWR, Vero Beach, FL, Nov 18, 2024
Loggerhead Shrike, Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands, Viera, FL, Nov 18, 2024
The last day of our short trip started for me at Pelican Island NWR before dawn in the hopes of some nocturnal species and the only one of note was a Clapper Rail calling. I then went to the location on the Jungle Trail that produced warblers in previous days and once again it produced with seven species including a Hooded Warbler and Cape May Warblers. The apparently wintering Broad winged Hawk also made another appearance. Around eight I headed back into Pelican Island NWR to spend my last available hour and half looking for warblers. The Nashville Warbler I had on the previous two mornings was joined by a second individual and I also found a late Blackpoll Warbler (my third new warbler species for my Florida list on this trip). I then went back to our lodging, packed up and headed out around ten to work our way toward the Orlando Airport for our flight home. The original plan was to spend a few hours in the afternoon at Orlando Wetlands Park but when checking directions we found it was closed on Mondays (damn)…so we then thought of the wildlife drive at Merritt Island NWR but that is also closed on Mondays (double damn). After a little searching for spots we headed up to Viera to the Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands and walked the various impoundment trails. The place was very slow with little activity compared to previous visits several years ago. Not sure why as the area looked much the same as I remember it. After about an hour and a half there we had a quick lunch and then picked an area close to the airport in Orlando…Moss Park. By this point it was mid afternoon with activity fairly low but thankfully mainly overcast so not too uncomfortable out in the open. I added a few more species for the trip before we headed to the airport. I was feeling a little off and thought it might have been something I ate. After a flight home I was not feeling any better and took it easy the next day before heading back to work.
Despite the trip being quite short I had some decent luck with birds with a total of 123 species including a lifer (Cory’s Shearwater) and a total of ten new species for my Florida list (Black Scoter, Nashville Warbler, Dark eyed Junco, Purple Sandpiper, Parasitic Jaeger, Bay breasted Warbler, Sabine’s Gull, the previously mentioned Cory’s Shearwater, Clapper Rail and Blackpoll Warbler). The Dark eyed Junco might be a first county record for Indian River County. My Florida list now stands at 250. Warblers figured prominently for the trip and I have a more in depth post of them at the following link: Florida warblers.
