Other Birds of Anna Maria Island

The day after Christmas wasn't spent all on Razorbill photos despite the tons of them in the last post. While trying to get in position for the sea birds I did pass many other species along the beach line. Some of which were surprisingly unafraid as I walked back and forth. Right after the Sun came up there was a small flock of birds below the City Pier which included a Black-bellied Plover.



Along with the Plover, several Sanderlings were busy probing the sand for food.



When the Razorbills began hearding fish along the small jetty by the piers the Pelicans would begin to line up and wait for a chance to take advantage of the easy pickin's.



Once they spot a lot of fish bunched up they would jockey for position and dive for a snack. Surprised they didn't scoop up a Razorbill.



Brown Pelicans, Laughing Gulls and a Double-crested Cormorant joined in the feast as the Razorbills scurry for cover in the background.



Just because, here is a closer view of a Laughing Gull.



Half-way between the piers I discovered a little Christmas display tucked in the grass. Kinda odd but pretty.



I was heading back with the intention of leaving when I spotted another species moving toward the shoreline. A Common Loon.



Common Loons are much larger than the Razorbills so it was easy to pick it out once it popped up from foraging underwater.



A Great-blue Heron walked stoically back and forth near me. It stayed so close it was all I could do to get more than a head shot with the zoom lens on.



Eventually, Snowy Egrets arrived and also were fairly fearless.



The species that surprised me the most was the Willets. They acted like they hang out with people all the time. Made for some nice close shots.



I began the post with a Black-bellied Plover and I will bookend this thing with another which was one of the last shots I took before I headed back to cross Tampa Bay and rejoin the family.



A very excellent morning with the birds. Can't wait to see what 2013 might bring!

Razorbills

The title says it all. This post will be full of shots of Razorbills. It might just be long-ish. Why? Here's the story...

2012 will go down as the biggest 'invasion' of Razorbills into southern waters ever recorded. Sightings of the birds were being reported as far south as Georgis at the beginning of December, according to eBird. In the next couple of weeks all eyes turned to the beaches and just offshore and Razorbills were being found up and down the Florida Atlantic coast, along the Keys, and eventually even into the Gulf of Mexico. Previously, records indicate they typically don't Winter past the mid-Atlantic waters off Virginia and occasionally down to the Carolinas.

I knew I was to be on the Gulf Coast a couple times so I was hoping I might get to see a Razorbill for myself. We found none during our Pinellas Christmas Bird Count. We did find a Black Scoter, though, which is another rare visitor. By Christmas, reports were still coming out of Anna Maria Island so the next day I was out of bed and on the road to be on the City Pier at sunrise.



I turned to the West and scanned the water from the City Pier to the Rod and Reel Pier. Within moments I could see black and white birds which could only be one thing. I headed down to the beach between the piers to get a closer look. I got some distant shots and figured that might be the closest I would see them.



How was I to know that these birds would occasionally come close to shore while feeding? How close? Many times during my stay I had Razorbills driving small fish towards the beach and popping up out of the water about 10 feet away!



All I had to do was wait for the birds to swim close, follow the leaping bait fish, and try to focus in the correct place.



The only other drawback I had was waiting for the clouds to move out and not move back in too quickly, as forecast. In the meantime, I took every close shot I could get. I might never have this opportunity again.



If the birds did move out farther from shore they would often travel in small flocks, bobbing and diving as they swam.



During the next couple of hours, the birds just headed in both directions. I counted over 3 dozen birds out here today.



I was following the feeding of one particular bird at one point. This guy would get very close to the beach and seem to push off of the bottom to catch fish which amused me. The best shot I could get of the action was this shot but at least it shows one of the small fish it was after.



Soon they would leave for a brief time and then swim back close a little farther down the beach.



Most of the birds I was finding were juveniles. I did manage to get a shot of an adult, told by the white line on the bill, by going back on the City Pier.



Another interesting behavior was while the birds are in between dives they sometimes would take a peek below the surface.



Most of the time, they would simply motor along in groups or alone



Later research found that these birds have bright yellow linings of their mouth. I only got one shot where you can see some of the yellow.



Razorbills are a type of auk belonging to the group of birds known as Alcidae. This group includes, Guillemot, Puffin, Murre, and Auklets. They are mainly found in the Northern Atlantic where they breed on rocky cliffs.



To have them here in the waters of Florida is remarkable, especially in these kinds of numbers. Very few sightings have ever been recorded in the past.



That group of Razorbills above made their way toward the other pier. As they did, a family came out of their house along the shore and waded out to do a little swimming. I was quite surprised that the birds really didn't seem to care and swam really close to them.



These sea birds have been recorded at depths of 40 meters. There are plenty of deep waters around these area so I am even more surprised to see them chasing fish into a foot of water at the shoreline. Not that I am complaining.



When the birds would dive closely in more clear water, you can follow them as they fly under water. I like this shot that looks like a bat.



Around 10:30, three hours after I arrived, the birds began to head out a bit farther towards the channel of Tampa Bay. One by one they took off and headed away from the beach.



A truly amazing experience. I was surprised I only met one other birder out here. Seems most other die-hards found their Razorbills earlier in the month. Glad they were still around a while longer.



That being said, I also hope they can make it all the way back home. They are very far from 'home' and the reason why remains unclear. Recent storms could have interruped food supplies but eBird reports still show a large number of birds in the affected areas. Climate change? Perhaps. Some suggest that there was a very successful breeding year and these birds had to leave home just to get food. We may never know but I had to make sure I was a small part of it.

Hunting for Sparrows

I needed a Sparrow fix. Time to head out to the Marl Bed Flats at Lake Jesup. I hadn't been out there is a long time and there were some reports of some good activity out there in the past couple weeks. Plus, I probably wouldn't have much more time to bird in the coming week.

I was going to get back to the banding station today but the forecast was for mid-30s and frost. That was not too far off and as I got to the Marl Bed area I could see that most of the ground was covered with white. I could hear gunfire out in the distance which was weird for out here.



I tried to decide which trail to take. Sparrows would be just about anywhere. I figured I could head toward the sunrise and circle back. However, the weeds were too high on the eastern trail.

I doubled back and decided to go down the center trail. There were many birds half-way through but not many in the open. Catbirds, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Myrtle Warblers and American Robins were flying all around the trees. When I came to the opening of the flats I found this...



Hmmmm... Seems that either this fellow is just out and about illegally or they have opened hunting up in this pasture. Which ever, this guy was just shooting all over the place. I could see sparrows and Meadowlarks flying about but nothing that would make a meal. At one point I saw him pocket some small kill barely big enough for a snack.

I stood at the opening of the flats concealed in shadow and watched. I hoped that the guy would head the other way. I could see his boat beached in the distance. Instead, he continued to fire randomly. I know this photo looks a bit dangerous but I was shooting from a safe and distant spot.



So, back to the parking area and down the horse trail to the west side of the flats. Hopefully Elmer Fudd will stay on the far side. Once I arrived on the west end I was greeted by dozens of Palm Warblers and a Swamp Sparrow. By the time I got to a good viewing spot of the whole pasture I could see that the hunter was moving in the opposite direction.

Circling around to get deeper in the grassy areas, I tried to position myself near some Eastern Meadowlarks. They weren't letting me get too close. Probably still a bit jumpy from all the shotgun blasts.



The other thing I could see were lots and lots of Savannah Sparrows.



Savannah Sparrows were perching up on the grass in every direction out here. Every now and then they would fly up in a wave and find another spot for a lookout.



I thought I heard another sparrow species but it never showed itself as I made my way over the moist ground. Definitely a lot wetter out here since the last time I visited.



Only one other bird allowed a brief glimpse as I walked. A Sedge Wren.



Nothing else but Savannah Sparrows.



Oh, well. They are pretty enough in their own right.



I took a few more shots and decided that this morning was over. An Eastern Phoebe and American Kestrel made quick appearances but nothing else of note was out here this morning. With such a disappointing experience I am not sure when I might come back. Shame.

Around the Lake Before Our First Christmas

We have a kinda weird set-up for the Christmas Holidays. With other family scattered around the Central Florida are we have to split up visits. We also like to have 'official' Christmas morning at home and then need tome for both sets of Grandparents. That leads to 3 location (and days) of present opening. This year some of our relatives were spending Christmas Day elsewhere so we had to move our first day to Saturday. Before we headed over to the in-law's house I had a little time to do my daily lake checks. There were not any new species around but I did like some close shots like this one of one of the Blue-winged Teal.



Some might call them drab (especially when compared to the males) but I find those feathers plenty pretty enough.



Over on the shore, I found a Ring-necked Duck drake relaxing. I don't usually see this species just resting on land but I am glad I did today. Turned out nicely.



Usually, the Ring-necked Ducks are out in the water in flocks up to several hundreds. Half the time they are sleeping.



Some of the other ducks out with the flock are some Lesser Scaup. Only a few out there this year so far.



I was behind the cypress trees when I heard a familiar sound. Familiar but not at this location. Though Bald Eagles nest mere blocks away, they don't usually come by Lake Davis.



This Bald Eagle circled several times before heading over toward Lake Cherokee.



Perhaps the eagle was sizing up the copious number of American Coots. They are all over the lake this season.



Just when I thought our other 'special' ducks were gone, I finally found the Gadwalls but they were not together today but I got one shot of one swimming out toard the center of the lake.



Later in the day, after eating and opening gifts, I checked out another lake in Winter Park. There were only a few Pied-billed Grebes way out across the water but I did have a visit at sunset from a Wood Stork gilded in gold before the day ends.



One Christmas down, 2 to go...