2015 New Year's Day Hike, Part 2

Having already walked at least 10 miles, I rounded the bend and still had a little over a couple miles to go. At least I knew the car was way down that road and to the left. Somewhere down that road was a bird I would like to see so I kept moving and watched the bushes in hopes of finding it.



I got to a promising spot but all I could find was a small bird in the gloom. Once I was closer I could tell it was a Chipping Sparrow.



Pretty little birds. I wish I would get more closer to home.



A bit further up the road, a Swamp Sparrow darted out for a look around before heading back into the vegetation. I was hearing them all through the morning but they don't pop out that often.



Up ahead in the distance, I spotted a black bird perched in a tree. Could this be my bird? I walked slower and searched through my binoculars. It could be. Closer still and, yep, that was the Groove-billed Ani that was being reported.



Groove-billed Ani breed in South Texas and are mostly found through Mexico to northern South America so it is a rare treat to have them visit Florida. I had photos of Groove-billed Anis from years ago but that was still in the film days. They were very skittish back then but this bird was totally fine with me walking pretty close and snapping digitals.



I inched closer and was probably no more than 20 feet from the Ani.



I never noticed those beautiful feathers the last time I saw this species. It is actually in the Cuckoo family of birds. A gorgeous little dinosaur posing in the overcast morning. A nice experience added to my long hike.



Almost back to the car and there was not a lot of bird activity. Perhaps the American Kestrel looking for a meal played a part.



Exhausted, I climbed back in the car and prepared for the long drive home. A ton of exercise on the first day of 2015. Heres to a bunch of good trips and bird photos in the new year.

New Life Bird and a New Park

I had another brief window to run back to the coast to check for the Great Cormorant before we headed back home to Orlando. I got up a bit earlier so I could be at the spot at sunrise. I started my search across from the boat ramp and watched a as Willet, a couple Black-bellied Plovers and a few Least Sandpipers (below) began breakfast just after dawn.



I scanned the boat ramp from the other side of Bunches Pass and checked all of the pilings I could see but nothing was sitting in the open at the moment. Just as I was about to get back in the car a bird rose from the water and began flying toward the bridge. It was the Great Cormorant, no question. It slowed its course and swooped up to rest on a channel marker. Farther away than I would have liked but I at least got some kind of photo.

I thought I could head over to the boat ramp for a closer look but by the time I got up on the bridge it had flown off.



Nothing else held my interest so I headed to a new park I was finding out about nearby. Boyd Hill Preserve. Interesting place but I didn't have much time. I started on the Swamp Trail and soon found a Pied-billed Grebe just off shore.



The next trail led to a small island with a great view of downtown St. Petersburg. In one spot, a metal statue of a heron gleams in the water.



Across the lake I could make out a large raft of American Coots. Soon I noticed something else. A boater decided it would be a great idea to speed straight through the flock to get to his fishing spot. Jerk.



There are many trails in the park and the path overlap one another going from several different habitats. Some day I will have to spend hours going through them all. This morning I had the place virtually to myself



I decided it was time to head back and found a small field that was swarming with Palm Warblers. Both sub-species were here feeding on the small insects flying about the grasses. Usually Florida gets mostly Western Palms so it was nice to also see the Eastern variety in full sunlight.



I was wondering why I didn't see any sparrows here. A perfect spot for them. On queue, a Chipping Sparrow flew up from the ground and landed right in front of me.



I found another metal sculpture near the small pond in the center of the park. A giant Armadillo!



Another feeding flock was trying to get me to stay but I had to go. One more shot, though. A Northern Mockingbird kept a close watch on me as I advanced toward the exit and the car.



One Life Bird added to the list as well as a new park. Not a bad couple of hours of wandering.

Other Birds During the Robin Frenzy

The Robin post was already long enough so I decided to show the other bird shots from the same day in a separate post. I could hear a lot of other birds around but I didn't want to leave my spot and miss the Robin shots. Here are the other birds I got shots of.

As I mentioned on the previous post, I went to the cemetery to check out the status of the Bald Eagle nest. Reports are that there may already be hatched chicks and one of the eagles could be seen from the road. So yet another successful breeding season could well be on track.



I could hear Titmice, Cedar Waxwing, and saw Northern Flicker but the first bird that came into view after the Robins was a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher that stared at me for a second.



The one bird species that did surprise me was a small bird that flashed into view in a couple of directions. Chipping Sparrows.



"Chippies" show up in irregular locations in Central Florida this time of year at feeders so it is always nice to find them in the field.



Dropping down from the top canopy, a Pine Warbler spent its time browsing the Spanish Moss for insects.



Back home, I was happy to see an American Goldfinch in the backyard. They have been seen in larger numbers around this year but for some reason they haven't wanted to hang in my yard much this year. I suspect that the stray cats coming into the yard have something to do with it.



Not a bad wrap-up for a lazy Saturday.

Chipping Sparrow

To wrap up my Shingle Creek experience, I wanted to share a special bird for the day. In the previous post I mentioned that I had heard a tiny sound at the entrance of the East Pine Island Loop. The bird was in the pine trees and I could see the outline of it. I had a suspicion as to its identity but was not completely sure. I wanted a photo to confirm.

The bird quickly vanished back into the surrounding brush and I couldn't relocate it. I continued my walk around the pine island and got all my shots of the flowers in the last post. When I got to the entrance again I heard the sound again. The bird was still here and this time it landed a bit more in the open on a pine branch.

I moved slowly toward the tree and finally positioned myself in a spot almost clear of the pine needles. I was right. It as my first Chipping Sparrow of the season!



I spent a few minutes with this little sparrow before it moved back into the brush. I actually was doubting my identification when I looked at the bird on the computer at home. Chipping Sparrows are suppose to have clean breasts. This one has a bib line that is pretty prominent. Weird.



I am used to seeing a few Chippies, as we birders sometimes call them, in Orlando. I occasionally get them in the yard at the feeders but never in large numbers. I did find a lot of them in 2010 in the Palm Cemetery. So I enjoy any chance to see them and I especially like this pose.



Now to wait for them to come back to my yard this Winter. I great way to wrap up my hike sightings out in a place I am sure to revisit. For more information about Shingle Creek, head to the official site and if you are in the area, do make it a point to spend some time out there.

Skagway

Day 4 takes us into port at Skagway, a town 5 blocks wide and 22 long, which was the next step in the long, dangerous trip toward the Yukon where gold-hungry would-be rich would unload their supplies before heading up into the mountains.



We arrived under cloudy skies and a light rain, but that would later clear up before we disembarked for our excursions. The cliffside of the harbor is covered with company logos and messages from previous cruise lines.



Even in this far-flung place, we cannot escape The Mouse!



I could see Arctic Terns by the airport but there was another tern right outside the boat that appeared smaller. More like a Least Tern. But they don't come this far North, do they?



But, after seeing this photo, I guess I have to stick with a small Arctic Tern. No other tern has that distinctive all-red bill. The bird was busy picking small crabs from the rocks instead of diving for fish.



Looking to the left of the tern you can see Skagway and the trains that would take us on trips into White Pass.



A wide angle shot of the Zuiderdam. I high-lighted our room up on the 6th promenade which provided us with great scenery look-outs all trip long. A HUGE thanks to the generosity of my in-laws for a fabulous trip!!!



We had a little time for browsing in town before our excursion. In the little park next to the trains were Stellar's Jay, Ravens, Violet-green Swallows and this accommodating Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon sub-species). This was with the short lens! Let me get right up close.



We hopped aboard the train and headed toward White Pass. Snaking down into the valley was a huge waterfall. The shear walls and evergreens were gorgeous.



The steep climb quickly takes us up the pass. This view shows some trestles where we will be shortly.



As we near the Canadian border the view changes to a more bleak landscape but just as beautiful as the greenery below.



The train stops in Fraser, British Columbia. We have to wait for Customs Officials to menace us for a few minutes but I am staring at the birds flying near the lake. We are suppose to jump right onto the bus back to Skagway but I have to try and ID them. A flock of Pine Siskin are there but something else flies closer. Turns out to be just a Chipping Sparrow.



Then back on the bus. The steep decent back to town is rather uneventful. A cool bridge, the railway across the gorge, another trip through customs. Then we near town and the driver spots it. A Vampire Bear! Well, really just a Black Bear eating Dandelions, but cool. Black Bear live all around us in Florida but this is the first sighting I have ever had.



After stopping for a little faux mining town and seeing a fun show, we pan for a few flakes of gold and head back to the ship. Not a lot of wildlife but good enough. Landscapes galore. This is not a landscape blog, though. Tomorrow should prove eventful. Glacier Bay!

Lots of Little Birds Around

They kick up to the curb for lunch at school so I have to find something to do for 45 minutes everyday. My choice is to head to the nearby Palm Cemetery and look for birds. Cemeteries may be for the dead but they are great for finding all kinds of life. Especially bird life. Less human traffic usually equates to more wildlife.

In fact, you can find a ton of shots on this blog that originated in cemeteries.

Right now, there are large feeding flocks moving through the oaks at this spot consisting largely of warblers and a lot of local birds like woodpeckers, Titmice, etc. Today I brought out the camera instead of just the binoculars to see if I could catch anything. Though the auto focus is not working on the big lens right now I did get a fair shot of a Black and White Warbler.



What really made me break out the camera, though, was the large number of Chipping Sparrows I could see as soon as I pulled up. They were everywhere! I finally managed to get a bead on one bird when another dropped in right next to that one.



Not bad. While I was taking this shot a groundskeeper roared down on a mower and flushed most of the good birds (Pine Warblers, Orange-crowned Warblers and more). Wish the Chippies would make their way down the road to our house but I can wait. We have a long Winter ahead.

Backyard is Getting Quiet

The American Goldfinch flocks are thinning out but at least a new visitor stopped by this morning. A pair of Chipping Sparrows.

We get a few every year but not for very long. I still have trouble tracking them by calls since I rarely hear them. They did stop in the tree for a bit to preen and give me a few looks.



The Indigo Bunting continues to tease me by staying way back in the yard.



On the way home, I found a gorgeous female Northern Cardinal. Can't recall the last time I saw a bill so red on our local variety.

St. George Island Vacation, Pt. 3

I had read that a good spot to see some interesting birds was close to the park gate at the Youth Camp. Off I went early in the morning. I stopped at a boat launch along the way.

The tide was out so the oyster beds were exposed. Still not a lot of bird activity. A few Palm Warblers searched through the shrubs along the shore. Out in the channel, way out, there were a couple more Bufflehead and swimming with them were a few Red-breasted Mergansers. At least a new bird for the list today.



I reached the Youth Camp and found the parking lot quite full of birds. Over in the trees on the small incline, dozens of Myrtle Warblers snatched insects from the air while Ruby-crowned Kinglets searched the branches.

I tried to get some shots but the Myrtles did not want to play. The Ruby-crowned Kinglets, however, are pretty easy to watch close up as they are more concerned about finding a meal than worrying about some big mammal staring at them. They have the speed advantage.

So much speed that every time I took a picture of them here I ended up with ghost Kinglets!



I was really after Pine Siskins which were reported a few days ago but I never found them. I searched for a while and headed back to camp. There, a few Chipping Sparrows flitted through the sites.



While Northern Mockingbirds kept a careful watch.



The whole group went out to the Youth Camp later in the day but we still only found the same birds that I did in the morning. On the way back to the campsite I went alone via a side trail that seemed to head back the right way while everyone drove back.

It was a nice walk. There were some birds I could only hear but never see but I did find a good marsh section near a bridge that was being scanned by a Northern Harrier.



Much to my surprise, there were actually two of them. I have only seen them singularly in the past. I kept wanting a closer flyby
but they eventually moved in the direction of the campsite.



I made it back a bit before sunset. Tomorrow we pack up and head home.