Sandhill Crane with missing foot, Blue Heron Nature Park, Deltona, FL, Jan 26, 2026
Sandhill Crane with missing foot, Blue Heron Nature Park, Deltona, FL, Jan 26, 2026
Ring necked Ducks, Blue Heron Nature Park, Deltona, FL, Jan 26, 2026
Florida Scrub Jay, Lyonia Preserve, Deltona, FL, Jan 26, 2026
Florida Scrub Jay, Lyonia Preserve, Deltona, FL, Jan 26, 2026
Eastern Towhee, Lyonia Preserve, Deltona, FL, Jan 26, 2026
The fourth week in Florida started with some rain around dawn so I was stuck at the house for awhile before there was a break in the weather. It was quite warm and humid to start the day and eventually the sun came out later in the day. I spent some time at a few nearby spots, dodging rain showers the entire time. I did run across some unique birds including a Sandhill Crane missing a foot and both a Florida Scrub Jay and Eastern Towhee with white dots on their heads.
Ruddy Ducks, Reed Canal Park, South Daytona, FL, Jan 27, 2026
Sunrise, Larry Fornari Park, Daytona Beach Shores, FL, Jan 27, 2026
Blue headed Vireo, Ormond Beach Sports Complex, Ormond Beach, FL, Jan 27, 2026
Blue gray Gnatcatcher, Ormond Beach Sports Complex, Ormond Beach, FL, Jan 27, 2026
Savannah Sparrow, Ormond Beach Sports Complex, Ormond Beach, FL, Jan 27, 2026
Palm Warbler 'western', Ormond Beach Sports Complex, Ormond Beach, FL, Jan 27, 2026
Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Ormond Beach Sports Complex, Ormond Beach, FL, Jan 27, 2026
Tuesday started the long stretch of very cold mornings and it was also windy. I was not really sure where to go for the day and I finally settled on heading out to the coast near Daytona Beach to try to track down some more coastal species that I had a decent chance of finding despite the wind. I started off at a small park to add a few waterfowl and then went out to the beach to Larry Fornari Park and did a seawatch for about half an hour before heading across the causeway to Port Orange Causeway Park. I then tried my luck inland a bit despite the wind to look for warblers at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex. I was hoping to find a Wilson's Warbler there but no luck with that although I did find an equally unusual Nashville Warbler for my effort. At least the day was sunny even if it was not too warm.
River Otter, Lake Woodruff NWR, De Leon Springs, FL, Jan 28, 2026
Black and White Warbler, Lake Woodruff NWR, De Leon Springs, FL, Jan 28, 2026
Great Blue Heron, Lake Woodruff NWR, De Leon Springs, FL, Jan 28, 2026
Sandhill Cranes, Lake Woodruff NWR, De Leon Springs, FL, Jan 28, 2026
Purple Gallinule, Lake Woodruff NWR, De Leon Springs, FL, Jan 28, 2026
Sunrise, Lake Woodruff NWR, De Leon Springs, FL, Jan 28, 2026
Sunrise, Lake Woodruff NWR, De Leon Springs, FL, Jan 28, 2026
Wednesday was yet another cold morning with frost to start the day. Thankfully the wind was light to start the day (although it picked up a bit later) and eventually turned mostly sunny. I started off before dawn at Lake Woodruff NWR and then spent two hours at the main area before moving south to make a brief visit to the Volusia Tract Trail. It seemed a bit slower than other mornings I have been there but there were still lots of birds around (as well as a couple groups of River Otters).
Pied billed Grebe, Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, FL, Jan 29, 2026
Ring necked Duck, Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, FL, Jan 29, 2026
Little Blue Heron, Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, FL, Jan 29, 2026
Red shouldered Hawks, Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, FL, Jan 29, 2026
Black bellied Whistling Ducks, Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, FL, Jan 29, 2026
Anhinga, Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, FL, Jan 29, 2026
Fulvous Whistling Ducks, Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, FL, Jan 29, 2026
Snow Goose, Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, FL, Jan 29, 2026
River Otter, Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, FL, Jan 29, 2026
River Otters, Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, FL, Jan 29, 2026
Ash throated Flycatcher, Apopka Birding Park, FL, Jan 29, 2026
Common Ground Dove, Apopka Birding Park, FL, Jan 29, 2026
Monarch, Apopka Birding Park, FL, Jan 29, 2026
Blue headed Vireo, Seminole SF, Eustis, FL, Jan 29, 2026
On Thursday I headed down to the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive where I planned to take advantage of the area being closed to cars (it is actually only open to cars on Friday-Sunday but I have tried the spot on a 'closed to cars' day). I walked about a mile and a half out on the drive and I had the place almost totally to myself (plus loads of birds and a family of River Otters). Yet again the waterfowl numbers were impressive and I caught up with a continued Snow Goose that showed up at the location a few days ago. After a couple hours on the drive I dropped off the scope at the car and then birded the Apopka Birding Park where I spent another couple hours and turned up the continued Ash throated Flycatcher and a Clay colored Sparrow for unusual species. By this time it was late morning so I headed toward the house with a brief stop at Seminole State Forest. Although cold to start the day once again, it warmed nicely into the mid 60's with sun.
American Bittern, Lake Woodruff NWR, De Leon Springs, FL, Jan 30, 2026
Sandhill Crane, Lake Woodruff NWR, De Leon Springs, FL, Jan 30, 2026
Black and White Warbler, Lake Woodruff NWR, De Leon Springs, FL, Jan 30, 2026
Pine Warbler, Lake Woodruff NWR, De Leon Springs, FL, Jan 30, 2026
Turkey Vulture, Lake Woodruff NWR, De Leon Springs, FL, Jan 30, 2026
Northern Yellow Warbler, Lake Woodruff NWR, De Leon Springs, FL, Jan 30, 2026
White eyed Vireo, Lake Woodruff NWR, De Leon Springs, FL, Jan 30, 2026
Little Blue Herons, Tricolored Herons and Snowy Egrets, Lake Woodruff NWR, De Leon Springs, FL, Jan 30, 2026
River Otters, Lake Woodruff NWR, De Leon Springs, FL, Jan 30, 2026
Fog over marsh, Lake Woodruff NWR, De Leon Springs, FL, Jan 30, 2026
Sunrise, Lake Woodruff NWR, De Leon Springs, FL, Jan 30, 2026
Friday I made another trip up to Lake Woodruff NWR where I arrived before dawn and tried to track down some nocturnal species. There were lots of Black bellied Whistling Ducks heading out early plus a variety of rail species. The sunrise was spectacular with just a little fog and some high thin clouds. Although cold again, at least there was no frost for the morning (temps in the upper 30's). I spent over three hours exploring the area and had over 75 species. Highlights included a nice flight of waders early on, great look at a very cooperative American Bittern and eight species of warblers (including the continued Northern Yellow Warbler). I also had a family of River Otters that came up out of the marsh early to play a little.
Wilson's Warbler, Ormond Beach Sports Complex, Ormond Beach, FL, Jan 31, 2026
Pine Warbler, Ormond Beach Sports Complex, Ormond Beach, FL, Jan 31, 2026
Pileated Woodpecker, Ormond Beach Sports Complex, Ormond Beach, FL, Jan 31, 2026
White throated Sparrow, Ormond Beach Sports Complex, Ormond Beach, FL, Jan 31, 2026
On Saturday (before the 'big cool down') I headed out toward the coast to try my luck once again on locating a Wilson's Warbler at a sports complex in Ormond Beach. I headed out before dawn and made a brief stop on the coast before heading to the sports complex. I found the Wilson's Warbler fairly quickly although it took another hour and a half to get some photos. The location held other birds too beyond the Wilson's and it was quieter than when I was there on Tuesday (although the continuous noise of planes from the small airport next door was a bit annoying at times). I was happy to get the Wilson's Warbler (which became warbler species #20 for the year). I then headed for home to get Wilson to take him for a walk at Gemini Spring Park. I ended January with 231 species overall.
White eyed Vireo, Lyonia Preserve, Deltona, FL, Feb 1, 2026
Prairie Warbler, Lyonia Preserve, Deltona, FL, Feb 1, 2026
Florida Scrub Jay, Lyonia Preserve, Deltona, FL, Feb 1, 2026
To end the fourth week in Florida and start the month of February record setting cold with wind arrived for Sunday. Temperatures started in the low 20's with a wind chill of 10 and only warmed into mid 40's. With the cold and wind it was not comfortable at all to be outside and I stayed very local with a few spots visited. Even the birds seemed to be cold and many were found in sunny spots trying to warm up.
For the fourth week in Florida I found a total of 148 species with one new one (Clay colored Sparrow) added to my Florida list (bringing that total to 263 species).
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