Feb 2010

February 18: Bunche Beach

Our Thursday birding group (11 people) traveled south to Bunche Beach in Fort Myers. We arrived there about 8:30 am. The tide was out and the mud flats were exposed. Although quite cool (50’s), the sky was clear and it was sunny. We first walked south (to the right). Although birds weren’t numerous, there were a variety of species, including three species of Plovers (Black-bellied, Semipalmated, and Wilson’s). We saw two Yellow-crowned Night-Herons and a Spotted Sandpiper down by the inlet. We also walked north, although there weren’t as many birds. We did see several Red-breasted Mergansers and a Common Loon. Along the edge of the shrubs, we observed several Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and a Common Yellowthroat. Following is our eBird list.

Location:     Bunche Beach

Observation date:     2/18/10

Number of species:     32

Red-breasted Merganser     4		Red-shouldered Hawk   2

Common Loon     1			Black-bellied Plover   4

American White Pelican     7		Wilson's Plover   3

Brown Pelican     7			Semipalmated Plover   6

Double-crested Cormorant     3		Spotted Sandpiper   1

Anhinga     1				Willet   1

Great Blue Heron     2			Sanderling   19

Snowy Egret     2			Least Sandpiper   3

Little Blue Heron     3			Laughing Gull   15

Tricolored Heron     1			Ring-billed Gull   8

Reddish Egret     2			Royal Tern   1

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron     2	Black Skimmer   400

White Ibis     12			Red-bellied Woodpecker   1

Wood Stork     1			Tree Swallow   8

Turkey Vulture     20			Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   2

Osprey     1				Common Yellowthroat   1

Following are a few images taken during our trip. (For a larger view, double click on the desired image.)

February 25: Ollie’s Pond and Port Charlotte Beach

This morning our birding group visited Ollie’s Pond, arriving there about 8:00. Although sunny,
the weather was cool (50’s) and windy. We walked the trail around the pond. Highlights were
a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Prairie Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Merlin, and two Sora.
Following is a list of all the birds seen at the pond.

Mottled Duck     2		Mourning Dove   4

Blue-winged Teal     15		Eastern Phoebe   2

Hooded Merganser     8		Fish Crow   3

Pied-billed Grebe     3		Purple Martin   4

Great Blue Heron     1		Ruby-crowned Kinglet   1

Great Egret     2		Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   7

Little Blue Heron     2		Gray Catbird   2

Glossy Ibis     3		Yellow-rumped Warbler   12

Black Vulture     5		Prairie Warbler   1

Turkey Vulture     1		Palm Warbler   4

Merlin     1			Black-and-white Warbler   1

Sora     2			Northern Cardinal   2

Common Moorhen     25		Red-winged Blackbird   15

American Coot     20		Boat-tailed Grackle   8

Killdeer     2

We then drove over to Port Charlotte Beach Park, arriving there about 10:30.  It was
really quite windy by this time.  No birds, such as Grackles or Doves, were seen in the trees.
We worked the area along the beach.  In addition to the usual Gulls, we saw about 100 Black
Skimmers.  We also saw some Dunlins, Least Sandpipers, a Spotted Sandpiper, Killdeer, and 
two Black-bellied Plovers.  Following is a complete list of birds seen

Lesser Scaup     4		Black-bellied Plover   2

Hooded Merganser     3		Semipalmated Plover   3

Red-breasted Merganser     3	Killdeer   3

Brown Pelican     1		Spotted Sandpiper   1

Double-crested Cormorant     1	Least Sandpiper   4

Snowy Egret     1		Dunlin   12

Little Blue Heron     1		Laughing Gull   100

Tricolored Heron     1		Ring-billed Gull   7

White Ibis     20		Royal Tern 2

Turkey Vulture     3		Black Skimmer   100


Following are a few images taken during our trip.  (For a larger view, double click on the desired image.)