I visited several areas along Charlotte Harbor south of the US41 bridges this morning.  My first stop was Bay Shore Park.  The usual Laughing Gulls, Ring-billed Gulls, Royal Terns, Brown Pelicans, and a few Cormorants were on the posts of the old fishing pier.  Also observed along the shoreline were several Spotted Sandpipers, Least Sandpipers, Western Sandpipers, White Ibis, Little Blue Heron, and a single American Oystercatcher.  Far out in the water was a flock of Lesser Scaup numbering in the hundreds.  Also saw several Palm Warblers and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers in the trees.

My next stop was Port Charlotte Beach.  I saw the usual Laughing and Ring-billed Gulls.  A flock of about 100 Black Skimmers landed on the beach while I was there.  I then then went back to US41 and crossed over the bridge making a stop at Gilchrist Park. Again, I observed the usual Gulls.  Also saw about a dozen Hooded Mergansers.  Farther out I observed a small flock of Lesser Scaup.  My next stop was along Colony Point Drive.  I observed a pair of Burrowing Owls in one of the three areas that were marked off.  In the small lake next to the road were about 20 Mottled Ducks, a dozen or so Hooded Mergansers, and several dozen Lesser Scaup.  I also saw a group of five Black-bellied Plovers along the shore.

My final stop was Ponce de Leon Park.  The time was about 11:00 and the tide was high.  Very few birds were seen other than the Black Vultures and Turkey Vultures near the wildlife center.  Again, a few Hooded Mergansers were observed fairly far out in the water.  I saw three Yellow-crowned Night Heron along the public walk way.

One of my main reasons for this excursion was to see how many species of ducks I could observe in the Harbor.  I only saw three species: Lesser Scaup, Hooded Mergansers, and Mottled Ducks.  It’s surprising that more species of ducks were not observed.