This morning, a friend and I drove up to the Celery Fields in Sarasota.  My main objective was to see and photograph the Virginia Rail.  We arrived at the gazebo about 8:00.  There were already five people, including one photographer with a long lens mounted on a tripod, down by the first pond where the Soras and Virginia Rails are usually seen.  Eventually, we saw four Wilson’s Snipe, one King Rail, two Soras, and one Virginia Rail.  Unfortunately, it was difficult to obtain good images because the birds were quite skittish, probably due to about a dozen people standing on the bank looking for them.  Some other birds seen in the front pond included pairs of  Hooded Mergansers, Wood Ducks, and Mottled Ducks.  Female Red-winged Blackbirds and Savannah Sparrows were quite numerous.

We then went to Ackerman Pond, where we saw the usual Laughing and Ring-necked Gulls, Forster’s Terns, Coots, and a few wading birds.  We did not see any Parakeets in the palm trees, which were occupied by Boat-tailed Grackles.  Our next stop was in Englewood to see the Great Horned Owl nest.  Again, there were about a dozen people watching the Owls.  Apparently, one of the two chicks had already flown away.  The second chick was out on a limb and close to testing his wings.  The mama Owl was close by keeping watch.

This morning I went over to the newly-opened Bayshore Live Oak Park, located on Bayshore Drive, just west of US41, in Port Charlotte.  This area has been closed to the public for almost a year as it was developed into a public park.  The Park now features a board walk along the bank of the river.  The old rotten pilings that gulls and terns roosted on were removed and replaced with a pier.  Other newly added amenities include restroom facilities, canoe/kayak launch, picnic tables including a covered area, and a community fireplace.

I arrived at the Park about 8 am at the peak of low tide.  There were a few shorebirds, such as Semipalmated Plovers, Least Sandpipers, a Spotted Sandpiper, and Willets on the exposed mudflats.  In the trees along the river, I observed a pair of Fish Crows and a Mockingbird.  The area was not very birdy this morning.

During the previous week, I visited a Great Horn Owl nest in Port Charlotte.  One adult and two young chicks were observed in the nest.  An American Kestrel was also observed nearby.