Remembering 2014

        Tomorrow ends a great birding year for us!  Some of our 2014 highlights include; Three new flycatchers, a Scissor-Tailed near Clewiston, a Vermilion at Orlando Wetlands Park, and a Say's Phoebe near Arcadia.  Warblers at Fort De Soto Park; Tennessee, Kentucky, Worm-Eating and Chestnut-Sided along with a Louisiana Waterthrush and a Northern Waterthrush in the spring, and our most recent life bird, the Magnolia Warbler in the fall.  In June we spent some time with our families in upstate New York.  Managing to get out a few times, we added 14 new birds, including a Hairy Woodpecker.  The Hairy has become a nemesis bird (the one we just can't get) for us in Florida, but eventually, we will prevail.  In all, we added 46 new birds in 2014, bringing our life list to 259 species.

        Our observations are recorded into a database at Ebird.org.  Ebird will keep track of your various lists; life, state, county and location lists and much more.  You can check the database to see where those hard-to-find species (like the Hairy Woodpecker) have been recently spotted.  You can explore a particular region or even a specific "hotspot".  It makes planning your next outing simple, and hopefully productive.       

        We have scored over 100 species in five different counties.  Sarasota County ranks #1 at 180, followed by our home county of Charlotte with 159.  We also have 100 plus species in Pinellas (143), Manatee (134) and Lee (117) counties.  Collier County is at 98, so we will reach a new milestone there, sometime in 2015.

        We take this time to wish our families, our friends and fellow birders our heartfelt wishes for a Happy New Year.  May you find good health, happiness, prosperity and abundant blessings.
        Our families will be visiting us in Englewood in February and April 2015.  We are looking forward to sharing the trails and the birds with them.  Remember, the early bird catches the worm.  Here are some of our favorite photos from 2014.....tweet.....tweet!!

TREE SWALLOWS
(A pair feeding insects to their young.)

(Taken in June, near Potsdam NY)

HAIRY WOODPECKER
(Our #1 nemesis bird in Florida.)
(Taken in June, my brother's backyard, Parishville NY)

SWALLOW-TAILED KITE
(One of over 300 flying over a melon field, hawking insects.)
(Taken in July, Oxford FL)

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE
(In winter plumage, this bird stuck around for nearly two weeks.)
(Taken in September, Siesta Key Beach, Sarasota FL)

MARSH WREN
(A tough bird to get a good photo of, our best shot by far.)
(Taken in October, The Celery Fields, Sarasota FL)

BURROWING OWLS
(These guys are just too cute.)
(Taken in July, Cape Coral FL)

MAGNOLIA WARBLER
(Male in non-breeding colors.)
(Taken in October, Ft. De Soto County Park, St. Petersburg FL)

PEREGRINE FALCON
(The fastest animal on the planet, reaching speeds of 230 MPH in a dive.)
(Taken in November, near the Charlotte County Airport, Punta Gorda FL)

SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER
(Our 159th Charlotte County species.)
(Taken in December, near the Charlotte/Lee County Line)

Red-Winged Blackbird

        Today's featured feathered friend is the Red-Winged Blackbird.  This abundant and familiar species can be seen year-round across most of the United States.  Only the northern most birds migrate south for the winter.  While growing up, we fondly remember their raspy "oak-a-lee" call as a sure sign of spring.  Their preferred habitat is around wetlands where tall grasses, reeds and cattails are present.  If you are near a marshy area, you should see them.

        For most of the species we have featured on our blog, the males and females are similar in appearance.  That is hardly the case for the Red-Winged Blackbird.  For them, their cone-shaped bills are similar and that's about it.  The male is glossy-black with beautiful red and yellow shoulder patches.  The female is streaked in brown with a buffy eyebrow.  Males are significantly larger than females.  The average male is around 9 inches in length (female is around 7), weighs about 2 1/2 ounces (female is about 1 1/2) with a wingspan of over 15 inches (female is over 12).   Immature Redwings resemble adult females.

        During the winter months our backyard is filled with a large mixed flock of Redwings, Brown-Headed Cowbirds and Common Grackles, often over 200 birds.  They empty our many feeders daily.  The noisy calls of that many birds is nearly deafening, but you can easily pick out the raspy trill of the Redwings.  When all the birds get spooked and take flight, the sound of hundreds of wingbeats at the same time is like a clap of thunder. 

        Click on the links below to learn more about this species.  Enjoy some of our favorite photos of the Red-Winged Blackbird.....tweet.....tweet!!

Male taking flight.
(Taken 10/12/14, The Celery Fields, Sarasota FL)

Female perched on reeds.
(Taken 1/12/14, The Celery Fields, Sarasota FL)

Immature Male

(Taken 11/20/12, our backyard)

Male displaying on a boardwalk railing.
(Taken 4/12/14, The Celery Fields, Sarasota FL)

Female blending in with her favorite habitat.
(Taken 10/12/14, The Celery Fields, Sarasota FL)


http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-winged_blackbird/id


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-winged_blackbird

Snowy Egret

        Today's featured feathered friend is the Snowy Egret.  This small, white Heron is a year-round resident of the Atlantic coast and Gulf coast states as well as most of South America and the Caribbean Islands. 

        Snowy Egrets are very sleek and elegant.  They are entirely white with black legs and bright yellow feet.  Their bill is long, black and needle like.  In breeding season their facial skin turns from bright yellow to a dull reddish-orange.  Adult males and females are similar in appearance.  Immature birds are similar to adults but with duller facial skin.  Snowy Egrets are 24 inches in length, weigh slightly less than a pound, with a wingspan of nearly 40 inches.

        There are several other white egrets in Florida; the Great Egret which is much larger with a very large yellow bill and the Cattle Egret which is slightly smaller with a thick yellow bill.  A more challenging I.D. is the immature Little Blue Heron.  A young Little Blue is also all white, but has a two-colored bill and green legs.

        Click on the links below to read how "plume" hunters threatened this species in the late 1800s and early 1900s.  Enjoy some of our favorite photos of the Snowy Egret.....tweet.....tweet!!  

Looking great in my yellow slippers.
(Taken 3/5/14, Ft. De Soto County Park, St. Petersburg FL)

In breeding plumage.
(Taken 4/11/14, Pinelands Preserve, Laurel FL)

In attack mode, this Snowy just flew in and chased
 off another Snowy in a territorial dispute.
(Taken 10/5/14, North Skyway Bridge rest area, Pinellas County FL)

Note the size difference
(Snowy Egret, left - Great Egret, right)
(Taken 7/16/14, Fort De Soto County Park, St. Petersburg FL)

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/snowy_egret/id

                                        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowy_egret

American Flamingo

        Today's featured feathered friend is the American Flamingo, one of six Flamingo species in the world.  At 46 inches in length (tip of bill to tip of tail), it is the second largest in size behind the Greater Flamingo (50 inches).  Their legs can be even longer than their body length, making them very tall birds.  Most other Flamingo species have differing shades of dull pink, making the American the most brightly colored Flamingo by far.  It has a pinkish/red plumage with stunning black flight feathers and long pink legs.  The bill is pink and white with a black tip.  Males and females are similar in appearance although males are much larger, much heavier and stand much taller than females. 

        On September 27th, we visited Flamingo Gardens in Davie Florida.  We finally saw a Flamingo.  We also saw lots of Indian Peafowl (Peacocks) roaming the park.  In the Wildlife Sanctuary, "rescued" birds are rehabilitated and released back into the wild.  However, depending on the severity of their injuries, some birds become permanent residents at the Gardens.

        Once native to south Florida, the American Flamingo has been eradicated from the U.S.  It breeds in Central America and the Caribbean Islands.  Occasionally, they will stray as far north as the Florida Keys or Everglades National Park.  Perhaps some lucky day we'll be in the right place at the right time to score a Flamingo on our life list.  We can't count this sighting on our list because the rules of birding require birds to be free, wild and unrestrained.  Regardless, we have now seen Flamingos.  Enjoy these photos of the American Flamingo.....tweet.....tweet!!

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Pileated Woodpecker

        Today's featured feathered friend is the Pileated Woodpecker.  It is the largest woodpecker in North America and one of eight woodpecker species seen in Florida.  Like most other woodpeckers, the Pileated is non-migratory and resides year-round in its range.

      The Pileated is a very large, long-necked, long-tailed woodpecker with a massive bill.  They have a brownish-black back, wings and tail, with bold white stripes down the neck and a flaming-red crest.  Males have a red "moustache" stripe and a red forehead.  Females have a black "moustache" stripe with a brownish-black forehead.  Juveniles are similar to adults but are a duller black with a dark eye and a pinkish crest, The average Pileated is 17 inches long, weighs 10 ounces and has a 28-inch wing span. 

         These birds eat mostly insects, especially carpenter ants.  They chip away large chunks of trees searching for ant colonies.  In breeding season they excavate nests in dead trees (snags), usually making multiple entrance holes.  After the young birds have left the nest, it is abandoned.  The site then becomes a home for song birds or other small animals.  Their distinctive "kekekeke" call is very loud and easily heard from long distances.

        Enjoy our favorite photos of the Pileated Woodpecker.....tweet.....tweet!!

Male Pileated Woodpecker
(Taken 2/27/13, Oyster Creek Regional Park, Englewood FL)

Female Pileated Woodpecker
(Taken 2/12/14, Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve, Fort Myers FL)

Pair of Pileated Woodpeckers
 (<--- male; female ---->) at nesting site (out of picture on the right)
(Taken 2/20/13, Oyster Creek Regional Park, Englewood FL)


http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/pileated_woodpecker/id


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pileated_woodpecker

  

SWALLOW-TAILED KITES, BLACK SKIMMERS, AND BLACK TERNS

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Black Skimmer

        Today's featured feathered friend is the Black Skimmer.  It is the largest of the three skimmer species in the world.  The Indian Skimmer and the African Skimmer are smaller with only minor differences in appearance.  The Black Skimmer can be found along U.S. coastlines from Cape Cod to Northern California and most of Central and South America.  They can also be found along the shorelines of inland lakes, such as Lake Okeechobee.

        Black Skimmers are large, long-winged, short-tailed, short-legged tern-like birds.  Their bill is unmistakable; it is long, deep-based, gradually tapered, and the lower mandible is much longer than the upper mandible.  From the side the bill appears long and thick, but is razor-thin which enables the bird to "skim" the surface of the water.  Without this bill the bird would merely "plow" through the water.

        The Black Skimmer is beautifully colored.  It has a black cap, neck, back and wings with a bright white forehead, face, neck and underparts.  Its long bill is black with a brilliant orange base.  Its legs are reddish-orange.  The average adult Skimmer is 18 inches long, weighs from eight ounces to a pound and has a wingspan of around four feet.  Males and females are similar in appearance, although males are slightly larger, heavier and have longer bills.  Juveniles are similar to adults but have a "mottled" appearance.  Young Skimmers and chicks have normal looking bills, the lower mandible becomes longer as they grow.

        We visited  Lido Beach, near Sarasota, and found a nesting colony of Skimmers and captured some great photos of parents with their chicks.  Skimmers like many other water and shore birds lay and hatch their eggs in a "scrape", a depression in the sand.  Here is a video of a parent with three chicks.  Click here ----->  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mZ2kJsTdVY&feature=youtu.be   

        We visited Fort De Soto, in St. Petersburg, and took this video of a Black Skimmer foraging along the surface of the water.  Click here ----->  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qai0czsryQ8&feature=youtu.be

        Click on the links below to learn more and enjoy some of our favorite photos of the Black Skimmer.....tweet.....tweet!!

Adult with chicks
(Taken 8/9/14, Lido Beach, Sarasota FL) 



Foraging for food
( Check out the wake left on the water)
 (Taken 8/12/14, Ft. De Soto Park, St. Petersburg FL)

Black Skimmer in flight
(Taken 8/12/14, Ft. De Soto Park, St. Petersburg FL)

Juvenile Black Skimmer
(Note the "mottled" appearance and the coloration of the bill)
(Taken 8/9/14, Lido Beach, Sarasota FL)

Up Close and Personal
(Taken 8/9/14, Lido Beach, Sarasota FL)

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/black_skimmer/id

                                      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_skimmer

Fall Migration Brings Black Terns, A New Life Bird

        Spring migration (north bound)  begins and ends in what seems like, the blink of an eye.  Migrating birds are on tight schedules in the spring.  They rush to their northern breeding grounds and get busy selecting mates, building nests and raising their young.  In contrast, fall migration (south bound) takes place at a leisurely pace, spread out from July through November each year.  Believe it or not, birds are on the move and the 2014 fall migration season is well underway.  Many species of shorebirds have already returned to Florida.  We have read reports of several species of warblers and raptors showing up in neighboring counties.
        Today's featured feathered friend is the Black Tern, a new life bird for us.  We spotted ten of them at Gandy Beach on Old Tampa Bay in Pinellas County, a location that is very reliable for this species, sometimes with hundreds of them present.  The Black Tern is a small, thin-billed and short-tailed Tern.  In breeding plumage it is black with a gray back, wings and tail and a white rump.  It is about 9.5 inches long, weighs just over 2 ounces and has a wingspan of 23 inches.

        During the summer in North America, the Black Tern breeds across most of Canada and the northern United States.  In the winter it migrates to the beaches of northern South America.  Prior to their southward migration, they begin to molt out of their breeding plumage.  First the head will display white feathers, followed by the breast and then the belly.  So, during their stay in Florida, they will appear in a variety of black and white plumages.  Enjoy these photos of the Black Tern, life bird #251, taken July 16th at Gandy Beach.....tweet.....tweet!!

Black Tern (Life Bird #251)

Black Tern in flight.

Black Tern with the smaller Least Tern.

Black Tern with the larger Sandwich Tern.

Molting into winter (non-breeding) plumage.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_tern

                                                       http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black_Tern/id

Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron

        Today's featured feathered friend is the Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron.  These wading birds stalk their prey along the water's edge, mainly at night, hence their name.  They can be found along coastlines in Central and South America.  In the summer they breed in the swamps of the southern United States.  After their breeding season is completed, they expand their range to Texas in the west, to near the Great Lakes in the north and to southern New England in the east.

        Yellow-Crowned Night-Herons are medium-sized stocky herons with short, deep-based bills, red eyes and yellow legs.  Males and females are similar in appearance with light gray underparts, darker gray backs and wings with pale gray margins.  Their black heads are "egg-shaped" with a yellow crown stripe and white cheek stripes.  During breeding season they grow long white plumes on their hind crowns.  Immature birds are brownish-gray with whitish streaks on the face, neck and breast, with spotting on the back and wings.  The average Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron is 24 inches long, weighs about 22 ounces and has a wingspan of nearly four feet.

        This species is perhaps the most "secretive" of the Heron family.  Although they are year-round Florida residents we don't see them often.  When we do spot them, they tend to be very still, making them pretty easy to photograph.  Enjoy our favorite photos of the Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron.....tweet.....tweet!!

Close-up face shot.
(Taken 11/18/12, Blind Pass Beach Park

on Manasota Key, near Englewood FL)

Adult Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron
(Taken 11/18/12, Blind Pass Beach Park
on Manasota Key, near Englewood FL)

Adult Yellow-Crowned Night Heron
(Taken 11/14/12, Blackburn Point, near Osprey FL)

Juvenile Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron
(Taken 4/24/12, J. N. Ding Darling National
Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel Island FL)

Adult with breeding plumes visible.
(Taken 4/29/14, The Celery Fields, Sarasota FL)

Bahama Mockingbird - Life bird #237

       Today's featured feathered friend is the Bahama Mockingbird, the "rarest" bird we've seen so far.  It was first observed on May 15th at Leffis Key on Anna Maria Island.  Our schedule opened up on May 17th, so we made it our "target bird" of the day.  We drove north to Leffis Key hoping it would still be there.  When we arrived we noticed many other birders at the site.  Hallelujah! the Bahama Mockingbird was still there.  We joined the others and followed the bird flying from one end of the parking lot to the other.  This bird knew that it was "a star".  It seemed to fully enjoy all of the attention it was receiving from the crowd.  It was certainly in the spotlight for nearly a week.  Sadly, it has not been reported seen since May 20th.

        The Bahama Mockingbird is native to the Caribbean.  It can be found in Cuba, Jamaica, the Turks and Cacaos Islands and in the Bahamas.  The American Birding Association (ABA) has given this species a code "4" status.  That means that this species is not recorded annually in North America, but has six or more total records, including three or more records in the past 30 years.  The last sighting on the Florida Gulf Coast was in May of 2010.

        Bahama Mockingbirds are brownish-gray above, white below, with streaking on the flanks and lower belly.  It also has a distinct malar streak (a moustache stripe).  They are more "secretive" and slightly larger than Northern Mockingbirds, with a slightly bigger body.  Both species are outstanding singers, although the Bahama is not known to mimic other bird species.
        Enjoy these photos of the Bahama Mockingbird, a rare bird indeed.....tweet.....tweet!!
     Listen to it singing by clicking here ------------->https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqz_xPNJ0M0&feature=youtu.be .

        
http://birds.audubon.org/birds/bahama-mockingbird


http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/652/overview/Bahama_Mockingbird.aspx

Warbler Mania at Fort De Soto (Part #2)

        Late arriving Warblers are featured here in part #2 of Warbler Mania at Fort De Soto.  As of May 20th, there are still a few stragglers being reported, including many Blackpoll Warblers.  

        The late arrivals that we spotted include the Black-Throated Blue, Black-Throated Green, Blue-Winged, Cape May, Chestnut-Sided (life bird #234), Kentucky (life bird #232), Tennessee (life bird #230), Yellow, American Redstart and the Northern Waterthrush (life bird #234).  Late arrivals that we dipped on were the Bay-Breasted, Blackburnian, Blackpoll, and Magnolia.  The Blackburnian and Magnolia would have been new life birds for us.  

        Now we can relax for the summer and look forward to fall migration.  That will be our best chance to see the Wilson's, Canada and Nashville Warblers, all will be life birds for us.  It seems that these species migrate through Florida in the fall on their way south, but not in the spring on their way north.  Enjoy some of our favorite warbler photos from Fort De Soto during spring migration 2014.....tweet.....tweet!! 

Chestnut-Sided Warbler (Male)
(Life Bird #235)  (Taken 4/19/14)

Kentucky Warbler (Male)
(Life Bird #232)  (Taken 4/16/14)

Tennessee Warbler (Male)
(Life Bird #230)  (Taken 4/16/14)

Cape May Warbler (Male)
(Taken 4/16/14)

Black-Throated Green Warbler (Male)
(Taken 4/16/14)

Black-Throated Blue Warbler (Male)
(Taken 4/16/14)

Yellow Warbler (Male)
(Taken 4/19/14)

Northern Waterthrush
(Life Bird #234)  (Taken 4/19/14)

Prairie Warbler (Male)
(Taken 4/19/14)

Palm Warbler
(Taken 4/16/14)