Counting Birds in the Rain for CBC

Well. That was fun. Forecasters were wrong. Again. We were suppose to have a few hours of good weather in the morning and then rain. The rain started just at 7 AM, the time we started searching for birds for the St. Pete Christmas Bird Count.

I met Bill Pranty at Sawgrass Lake Park at dawn. The rain had just started lightly but I stepped out to hear a Great Horned Owl. Good start, but the rain only got harder and the birds were avoiding the rain more than us.

It was so rainy I just left my camera in the car most of the day. Then, at 11 AM, the clouds broke and the Sun streamed forth. Meaning we only had 30 minutes of nice weather before lunch. Some birds began coming out and we eventually racked up 50 species.

At lunch we met up with another group and changed locations and eventually made it towards Roosevelt Wetlands. On the way (after getting lost for a bit) Bill spotted a large Monk Parakeet nest up in the power line structures.



Nothing too spectacular but there was a Blue-winged Teal and this massive alligator across the way.



Little Blue Herons are quiet common but I couldn't resist this shot of one feeding in the grasses.



Next, we moved to "The Wall" which is a mosquito control pond just outside of the landfill area. The water was full of ducks, gulls, and shorebirds. Spotted and Least Sandpipers were present but we saw more birds gathered down along the road. We shuttled down and tried to peek over the edge from the fence to count. Once the birds saw us they flushed but I did get a shot of a Greater Yellowlegs keeping watch.



Most of the ducks were Lesser Scaup. Canvasbacks were reported father out through scope views.



One batch of birds hiding beyond the fence was a flock of Northern Shovelers.



Heading off to a vacant spot near the interstate, we counted Killdeer (at least 14 in one small spot!) and other typical birds. I was transfixed by a large flock of Common grackles and tried to get some interesting shots as they streaked past just overhead.



Dark was fast approaching but we wanted to all get a look at the first pair of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks recorded for any St. Pete CBC. They were right where they have been seen for the past few days. This species is spreading rapidly all over the state.



When I look back on the day we actually had more birds than I thought. 72 species for me and Bill. I have compiled a list of things written down and remembered when I was without my notebook. Not a bad total considering the bad weather off and on. Reports after I got home are that we set a record of 167 species in the entire area! Previous high was 163.



Others have more counts to do this week but I cannot join them. Hope I can be part of future counts as it is always fun being out with good friends at any time. Next up, Christmas itself...