Barber Park Gulls and Sparrows

I headed over to Barber Park which is on the outer edge of my birding loop from home. There was rain earlier but I have never seen the soccer area filled with water before. Surrounding that water were many, many gulls resting on the grass.



When you find a whole bunch of gulls around it is important to scan through them in case any rare species might show up. The most common gull in Central Florida is the Ring-billed Gull and most of the birds here where of that variety. They ranged in age from adult...



...to juvenile. Some would pick around in the grasses and water but the majority of the birds were just trying to catch a nap.



Standing alone near the edge of the ponding water was a Laughing Gull. They are found in large numbers on the coast so at least I got one stray in the flock.



I was trying to get back in the car while the wind continued to howl around but I heard a small sound off to my right. Out of the cloudy skies, a small flock of Savannah Sparrow landed in a tree and then dropped to the ground.



Savannah Sparrows are not uncommon in brushy areas around the state in Winter but I have never seen them in my urban area before. They picked around at the ground for a couple of minutes right in the parking lot.



One of the birds took a look to the sky and, suddenly, they all took wing and headed out toward the lake.



This park can hold some interesting things from time to time. I definitely wasn't expecting this particular grouping of birds. Tired of the wind, I headed home. Not much else was enjoying this weather, either.