During the week I was back here in this Arctic hell I did manage to track down a number of new species in the county for the year including a few unusual ones with a Pine Warbler probably being the most unusual. The extreme cold let up a bit with more average temps overall. The snow pack is still well over a foot and half on average and most bodies of water remain frozen solid (including Quabbin). The few patches of open water have featured some unusual waterfowl (discussed more in depth here). I managed to track down twenty two new species for the year in the county while I was back and my total now stands at 88. I'm now off to Texas and then Arizona to soak in some more warmth and find more birds. Hopefully some of the snow and ice will be gone by the time I get back home.
To kick off the second week in Florida I headed down to a city park in Orlando (Ward Park) to look for a rare Western Tanager. The weather had changed a bit with a cool down and some wind that started the day before and continued into Monday. I arrived before dawn and started looking and after about 45 minutes I had brief looks at the Western Tanager but never got a photo. The park was quite birdy for such a small spot in the city and I managed over 50 species in about two and a half hours. Besides the Western Tanager I had two Summer Tanagers in the same area so added two new species to my Florida list for the effort.
On Tuesday I decided to make my way out to the coast for the first time and decided on taking the most direct route as I didn't have tons of time. I went out to the Ponce Inlet/Port Orange area and arrived there just before dawn. I checked a few beach access points and added some birds but the beaches were largely empty (besides some people) so I eventually decided on heading as far south as I could in Ponce Inlet down to the lighthouse. This area was much better for birds with a selection of shorebirds and gulls. The highlights included my first Red Knots for my Florida list plus an unusual for the area Purple Sandpiper. With still some time available I started my way off the barrier island and made a stop at Port Orange Causeway Park and this proved to be a great stop with a large gathering of birds on some exposed mudflats including more new species for the year and a huge gathering of Laughing Gulls.
On Wednesday I headed north to Lake Woodruff NWR before dawn and walked perhaps a mile before sunrise mainly listening for rails and having some decent luck. I then spent the next two hours exploring the area and adding multiple species for the year as well as one rarity with a Northern Yellow Warbler. An inland Royal Tern was also around and being very vocal. I then worked my way south with a brief stop at Painter's Pond and then onto Scrub Oak Preserve. A very productive day overall despite the cooler conditions and occasional breeze and I ended with a total of 93 species for the day.
Thursday dawned rainy and cool and I was not sure where to go. A look at the radar showed the back edge of the rain was approaching so I decided to try my luck off to the southeast to areas near Osteen. I had hoped to try for some nocturnal species but the rain never let up until it was too late to look for them. I visited a variety of areas once it was light enough to see including D Ranch Preserve, Lemon Bluff Boat Ramp, Hickory Bluff Preserve and Lake Monroe Conservation Area with the main focus being on adding some new species to my Volusia County list. I had some success with a half dozen new species bringing my total up to 150 for the year for the county.
Friday started out with record low temps with a low of 30 degrees. I actually had to scrape the windows when I headed out before dawn. Although I was not happy with having to wear the winter coat and hat again it was at least sunny with little wind. I spent the first four hours of the morning at Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive and then returned to the beginning of the drive late in the morning. It was another productive morning on the drive with 85 species including large numbers of a variety of species and rarities including Ash throated Flycatcher, Barn Swallow, Song Sparrow and Northern Yellow Warbler.
I had somewhat limited time available in the morning as I had to get back earlier than usual as I had to be back for Wilson. Given the forecast of mainly sunny weather and light winds I decided to make another quick trip out to coast with the main targets being mainly shorebirds. I went a bit further south then my previous trip to the coast on Tuesday and I started off the morning before sunrise on New Smyrna Beach with most of my time spent at Smyrna Dunes Park. I walked quite a bit before I finally ran across some new species including a high count of 26 Piping Plovers (two of which were color banded) plus some Wilson's Plovers....the Piping Plovers became species #200 for me for the year so far. I actually managed to get five species of plovers during my stop. Sadly the beach had multiple dogs off leash that harassed the shorebirds quite a bit...sad to see a federally listed species (the Piping Plovers) being given no protection on a state beach. With my available time dwindling I headed further south to the northern most section of Merritt Island NWR. After a brief stop I made the drive back to get Wilson to head out on a walk before it got too warm for him.
After Wilson had a tough evening yesterday I stayed with him in the morning for a bit until I was sure he was okay and then headed to a few nearby areas listening for owls and had some luck including an American Barn Owl. Once it was light enough I took a walk at Audubon park before heading back home to get Wilson to go on a long walk at Gemini Springs Park. The weather was decent initially but by midday it clouded up and got windy and the temps dropped into the 50's (there was actually snow on the ground in northern Florida for the morning). Rain showers also arrived in the afternoon thanks to another cold front.
For the week I had a total of 170 species with five new species added to my Florida list with Summer Tanager, Western Tanager, Red Knot, Ash throated Flycatcher and Common Tern. Warblers for the week can be found here.
