I spent three hours yesterday afternoon and about three hours late this morning birding the area of the radio tower within Fort DeSoto Park.  There were still a few of the wood warblers around from the big fallout that occurred at the beginning of the week, but not many.  Most of the birds had departed by Wednesday or Thursday.  However, I was rewarded with some images of birds I hadn’t had before, including three lifers.

Birds seen in this area included: Red-winged Blackbirds, Cardinals, Ground Doves, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Blue Grosbeak, Mockingbirds, Eastern Wood Pewees, American Redstarts, Vireos (Red-eyed and White-eyed), Warblers (Black and White, Black-throated Blue, Palm, Prairie, Yellow-throated), and Woodpeckers (Red-bellied, Downy).  There were more Warblers present, but I was not able to identify them.  I did have a brief glimpse of the Mourning Warbler, which was pointed out to me by Lynn Atherton.

I attended the Florida Birding & Nature Festival held at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg.  The Festival consisted of field trips, seminars, workshops, several keynote talks, and exhibits.  In addition to attending several seminars, I took two of the sponsored field trips.

The first trip, on Friday morning from 7:00 to 12:30, was to Dunedin Hammock, about a 1-hour bus ride from the College.  Although Dunedin is known as a migrant trap, there were very few migrants observed this morning.   However, we did tally 38 bird species.  More notable birds observed included Egrets (Great, Snowy), Flickers, Red-tailed Hawk, Herons (Black-crowned Night, Green), Blue Jays, Belted Kingfisher, Summer Tanager, Red-eyed Vireo, Warblers (Black and White, Palm), Woodpeckers (Downy, Red-bellied), and a Carolina Wren.  We were also treated to a bird banding demonstration by Jerry Jackson.

The second trip, to Egmont Key, was on Saturday morning from 7:30 to 1:00.  The trip to Egmont, via bus and boat, took about 1.5 hrs each way.  We had a group of 40 people and five leaders.  On the island we split into four groups.  The group I was with spent most of the time in the trees and bushed looking for migrants.  Again, very few migrants were observed.  Very few shorebirds were observed along the beach.  We observed about two dozen different species.  Most notable were Gray Catbirds, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Egrets (Great, Snowy), Great Blue Heron, Ovenbird, Redstart, Sanderlings, Vireos (Red-eyed, White-eyed), Palm Warbler, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers.  There is no fresh water on the island, which may account for the scarcity of birds.

The first session of the Bird ID class offered by the Port Charlotte Cultural Center for the fall quarter was held today.  Lynn Bates is the new class coordinator, taking over from Bill Havill, who ran the class for the last 10 years.  After about an hour’s session at the Cultural Center on bird identification, the class (13 members) visited some local birding spots.

The first stop was along Bayshore Drive, by the old fishing pier.  The pier posts were loaded with Laughing Gulls, Terns (Forster’s, Royal, Sandwich), Brown Pelicans, and a few Cormorants.  A juvenile Little Blue Heron, several Ruddy Turnstones, and several Spotted Sandpipers were observed along the shore.  An Osprey also flew overhead.  The next stop was by the new fishing pier where we observed Egrets (Great, Snowy) and Herons (Great Blue, Little Blue). 

The group then continued to Port Charlotte Beach.  One Bald Eagle was observed in the nest on the far shore.  The same species of Gulls and Terns observed earlier were also in attendance along the Beach.  Other birds observed included Sandpipers (Least, Western), Sanderlings, Doves (Eurasian, Mourning), Boat-tailed Grackles, and a Red-bellied Woodpecker.  The final stop was at a small pond on Koala Road.  Several Moorhens and Mottled Ducks were swimming on the pond.  A Green Heron was observed on the opposite shore.  The highlight of the day was a female Belted Kingfisher flying and hovering over the pond looking for prey.  The group observed 33 different species during this short outing.

Fifteen members and guests of the Peace River Audubon Society traveled to Sanibel Island for a morning of birding.  The group, under the leadership of Bill Havill, started at the Ding Darling NWR.  Numerous wading birds, such as Egrets (Great, Reddish, Snowy), Herons (Great Blue, Little Blue, Tricolored), Pied-billed Grebes, White Ibis, Spoonbills, and Wood Storks were observed.  Unfortunately, very few shorebirds were observed due to the high tide.  We also had excellent views of several raptors, including a Bald Eagle, Ospreys, and Red-shouldered Hawks.

The group than went to the east part of the island around the lighthouse, hoping to catch a glimpse of some Warblers.  A Black and White and some Palm Warblers were observed in the area.  A Sharp-shinned Hawk was also observed flying overhead.  We finished a good birding morning with a bag lunch along the causeway.  Forty-five different species of birds were observed.

This morning, members of the Cultural Center’s Bird ID Class traveled south to the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve, located in Fort Myers.  We spent about two hours walking the boardwalk.  Water levels were high; however, very few bothersome insects were present.  Most of the birds we saw were water birds, such as Anhingas, Egrets (Cattle, Great), Herons (Great Blue, Green, Little Blue, Tricolored, Yellow-crowned Night), Belted Kingfisher, White Ibis, and Wood Storks.  It was interesting to watch an Anhinga slapping a fish it just caught on a log several times before swallowing it. Other birds seen included Red-shouldered Hawk, Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, White-eyed Vireo, Carolina Wren, and Red-bellied Woodpecker.

We then went over to Lakes Park.  We normally park in parking lot #3 near the Fragrance Garden.  However, the road to this parking lot was blocked because there was a carnival set up in that direction.  So we parked in parking lot #2 and walked down to the beach.  Only a few birds were seen in this area including a Little Blue Heron, Moorhens, and Muscovy Ducks.  Rather than make the long walk down to the other end of the Park, we decided to call it a day.  Altogether, about three dozen species of birds were observed.

Members of the Cultural Center’s Bird ID Class traveled north to Fort DeSoto this morning.  When we arrived the tide was quite low, which we were happy about.  However, we soon learned that low tide is not the best for observing shorebirds at Fort DeSoto.  There are vast areas of flats that are above water or very shallow during low tide.  Thus, the birds have large areas to feed in, mostly staying off shore quite a ways.  We saw a lot of birds at the east point and north beach, but they were quite far off.  The best tide at Fort DeSoto is medium tide.  For birds along the beach, it is high tide.  Live and learn.

However, we had a banner day, observing 75 different species.  One of the highlights was a Merlin that posed for us in the dead tree across from the road that goes to the radio tower.  While birding the area around the radio tower, we met Lyn Atherton, who quickly showed us a Bobolink.  Other birds observed in the radio tower area included Black and White Warblers, Palm Warblers, Prairie Warblers, and Common yellowthroats.

We birded the north lagoon area, the Fort area, the east point turn-around, and several areas along the road coming into Fort DeSoto.  Other notable birds observed included Short-billed Dowitchers, Dunlins, American Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Frigatebird, Marbled Godwits, Ring-billed Gulls, Herring Gulls, Glossy Ibis, American Kestrel, Killdeer, Kingfisher, Oystercatchers, Monk Parakeets, Eastern Phoebe, Spoonbills, Skimmers, and Blue-winged Teal.  It was a very an enjoyable day.