Ft DeSoto Park

After our trip out west, we were at 301 species for the year. It looks like our goal of 500 birds may be possible since we have eight months to go. We also know that only 20 or so people achieve this goal each year so there is a lot of work to do.

We spent the week birding the local patches. For those of you new to birding a patch is an area that you bird regularly. My work on Blue Heron Lake in St.Petersburg is one of my favorite patches since I look out my second-floor window facing the lake every day. On April 27th, I saw my 42nd bird at work, a Gray Kingbird. This was also the last time the Brown Thrashers were seen before their annual migration up north.

Our absolute favorite patch is Fort DeSoto Park and we went out after work on April 28th hoping a few migrants would still be around. The best birds of the 21 species seen were a Gray Kingbird (year bird for Mike) and Blackpoll Warbler, another year bird.

On Saturday, the St. Petersburg Audubon Society held its monthly bird walk at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve. The walk, led by Ron Smith never disappoints and this time we saw 31 species with one year bird, a gorgeous Scarlet Tanager. During the walk, JoAnna Clayton slipped away from the group so I decided to follow. She is an excellent birder and located a Yellow-billed Cuckoo and the entire group of 31 birders had good views.

Sunday morning we decided to head south over the Skyway Bridge to bird in Sarasota County. We follow another great group: the SRQ Bird Alerts YahooGroups Email List Service has about 800 subscribers that share information about rare and interesting birds and birding events in the SRQ (Sarasota, Manatee, northern Charlotte, Hardee, and DeSoto counties) area. Based on information from SRQ Bird Alerts we found out the Bobolinks were passing through near the Celery Fields. Our first stop was Pinecraft Park, a well-known migrant trap on a creek so it’s also good for herons and shorebirds. We found Black-and-white, American Redstart, Northern Parula, many Blackpoll Warblers, and Carolina Wrens. The highlight of the day was the two Barred Owls. A Solitary Sandpiper in the shallow part of the creek on the way out was a bonus.

Off to the Celery Fields in search of our target bird Bobolinks which are often seen in large flocks. We did locate three and added them to our year list. The Celery Fields is a wetlands site on the Great Florida Birding Trail, with an observation mound, trails, and ponds where you can see all the usual waders and sometimes a Sora or other rails. No rails for us but we did find Limpkin, Black-necked Stilt, and Glossy Ibis.

The photo at the top of this post is three Black-necked Stilt chicks. Hard to believe these little fuzz balls will grow up to wear tuxedos.

Next up: The Biggest Week

Trip : Total Species:   66  Year Birds:  5  Life Birds: 0

2015 : Year Birds: 306   Life Birds: 21

Here’s the list: 2015 Bird List