Members of the Cultural Center’s Bird ID class traveled to the Myakka River State Park this morning.  We traveled north on Kings Highway, then west on SR 72 to the Park’s entrance.  We observed quite a number of birds along SR 72, but one must be careful because there is a fair amount of traffic.  Notable birds observed along this road included Sandhill Cranes, Cattle and Great Egrets, Red-shouldered Hawks, Great Blue and Little Blue Herons, Killdeer, Kingfishers, Meadowlarks, Phoebes, Wild Turkeys, and Palm Warblers.

In the Park, we made several stops along Park Drive.  On the lower part of the drive, in the marshy areas between the Drive and the River, we observed several Snipe, Least and Western Sandpipers, Dunlins, Glossy Ibis, Killdeer, and Black-necked Stilts.  The most productive area was at the north end of the Lake, along the Birdwalk.  There were numerous species of birds feeding in the shallows.  The more notable species observed included American Avocets, Bald Eagles, a Peregrine Falcon, Northern Harriers, Black-bellied Plover, Least and Western Sandpipers, Spoonbills, Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal, Caspian Tern, and Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs.

Seventeen members and guests of the Peace River Audubon Society traveled north to Fort De Soto Park for a very productive day of birding.  We had a typical November day in Florida, sunny with the temperature in the upper 70s to low 80s.  The Tierra Verde ponds yielded five duck species: Ring-necked Ducks, Blue-winged Teal, Redheads, Northern Shovelers, and Lesser Scaup  Additional birds observed on the ponds included Coots, Moorhens, Great Egrets, Herons (Great Blue, Little Blue, Yellow-crowned and Black-crowned Night), White Ibis, and Pied-billed Grebes.  Several Black-hooded Parakeets flew over and landed nearby.

We then proceeded into the Park with stops at the East turn-around, North Beach, North Beach lagoon, the Gulf fishing pier, and the radio tower area.  More notable water birds observed included Long-billed Curlews, Marbled Godwits, Short-billed Dowitchers, Dunlins, Killdeer, Kingfisher, Red Knots, Red-breasted Merganser, Oystercatchers, Brown and White Pelicans, Plovers (Black-bellied, Semipalmated , and Wilson), Sandpipers (Least, Spotted, and Western), Black Skimmers, Ruddy Turnstones, Gulls (Herring, Laughing, Ring-billed), Terns (Caspian, Forster’s, Royal, Sandwich), and Willets.  Land birds observed included Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers, Kestrel, Merlin, Osprey, Monk Parakeets, Eastern Phoebes, Shrike, Tree Swallows, and Palm and Prairie Warblers.  Overall a very satisfying day with between 70-80 species observed by most persons.  Thanks to Dave Mathewson for leading the trip and providing us with his expertise on identifying some of the species.