2016 St. Pete CBC, Part 1

That time of year again! Time to head to St. Pete to count as many birds as we can in our selected count circle for the Christmas Bird Count. This year I was assigned to Area #5 in the very urban St. Pete area near Tropicana Field. Being so city like, we didn't get some species I would have expected nearly anywhere else (no Carolina Wren?) but we managed to get some nice birds along the way.

We began at Crescent Lake before dawn searching for owls in the neighborhoods. No luck. Right at dawn we returned to the lake park and started counting every thing we could see. Besides the huge number of Muscovy and Domestic duck all over the Northern side, we had a Wood Stork on a tree as the Sun rose just behind the treetops.



Nearby, a few Green Herons lurked in the shadows.



As we tried to ID a warbler in the underbrush we flushed a Black-crowned Night Heron that flew out to rest next to the stork.



There were other species added to the list but this little Gray Squirrel insisted on getting its photo taken. Fine...



Small flock of wintering duck were scattered around but we decided to come back later when the light was better for some photos. They will appear in the next post. For now, we headed to Coffee Pot Bayou to the roosting spot of Brown Pelicans and Double-crested Cormorants. There were a lot but I enjoyed having a couple right next to the road for some good shots.



We also spotted a Roseate Spoonbill trying to hide in the mangrove roost and numerous Anhinga.



Next, we headed to the beach as the tide was low and we hoped to get some good shorebirds to add to the list. Killian took up a spot on the end of a jetty to record bird numbers as Jim called them out while peering through his scope.



Many birds, like this Dunlin, were close enough to not need a scope.



There were a lot of Least Sandpipers in the close flock. I can't recall having so many shorebirds stay so close to me. They usually scatter upon approach. I guess this area is so full of visitors that the birds take little notice.



If something else would startle the flock they would quickly return right next to us.



There was a nice gathering of birds loafing farther down the beach so we headed in that direction. Along the way, a Eurasian Collared-Dove strolled the beach as a Loggerhead Shrike sat atop a light pole.



Our main target was counting the 65 American White Pelican jammed at the edge of the sand spit. There were also scores of terns and Black Skimmers behind them.



A Reddish Egret soon flew in and began its dancing through the shallow water in search of a meal.



We also spotted a single Herring Gull resting with a few Laughing Gulls and some Royal Terns.



We were hearing Monk Parakeets near the parking lot and Killian found them on our second trip out here. They were in a tree right over a few folks getting in some training. Not a care in the world.



Most of the Monk Parakeets were by themselves but I liked this cute pair getting their feathers blown about in the breeze.



Then they would snuggle and preen one another.



But, we needed to head to our next stop which was a small park by a boat slip. Not too much around but a Northern Mockingbird, some Mytle Warblers, and few White Ibis.



Finishing up our first areas so quickly, we decided to head to the golf course a little early. We were told to return later, however, as a lot of golfers were still arriving and they thought it would be better for us to return in the afternoon. OK. Time for lunch and then back to look for a Sapsucker and other birds at the lake.

We thought the golf course might not hold that many birds, though, so we weren't totally enthused about it anyway. Boy, would we be in for a surprise. All that in the next post!

Courtney Campbell Causeway

It's the day after Christmas so time to head out in search of more birds in the Tampa Bay area. I figured I had not been down Courtney Campbell Causeway in years so why not check it out? Wow. Time has surely changed the causeway. Most of the beaches I remember are now rock walls and bike trails! Oh, well. Let's see what is out here in the wind today.

There are a couple of drives that take you off the main road and travel along the water's edge. A lot of the way the view is obscured by mangrove and other plants but there are some openings. One of the first birds I found was an American Oystercatcher up on a rock. One of my favorite birds on the Gulf Coast.



Once the sunlight came through the clouds it was super bright and lit up a Yellow-crowned Night Heron as I rounded a bend. I couldn't believe how many of these herons were out here today.



There were not a lot of birds on the bay side as the wind was really strong, coming in from the south. A Herring Gull was just standing in the water making weird calls over and over.



A few Willet browsed the shore which was littered with too much trash.



Back on the other side a few Horned Grebes dove for food and flew along the boat wakes. Love those red eyes. I couldn't get a shot of the Common Loon I saw on both trips of this side.



I had to peek through the mangrove branches to get a final shot of another Yellow-crowned Night Heron before I headed back to the family.



Later in the afternoon my Dad and I stopped over at George C. McGough Nature Park to look for birds. There were only a few warblers around and, oddly, all but one nest box in the woods was full of honey bees! We were just about to get back into the car when I spotted a Red-shouldered Hawk in the distance. Of course, I had to see how close I could get. Pretty close, it turns out.



I took a bunch of shots and ended up with some different exposures. Not sure if I prefer the one above or below better. Whaddaya think?



Back home I stepped outside to start testing the new camera I got for Christmas. A Nikon CoolPix that I will be using primary at the bird banding site as the old Olympus is reaching the end of its days. I was coming around the corner of the house and was happy to see a sundog lighting up in the distance. Better still, I knew I could get a Mourning Dove silhouette in the same frame. Sweet.



Even though I was disappointed that the causeway has much less beach now I did get some fun shots for the day. Where to go tomorrow before heading back to Orlando? Hmmm...

St. Pete Birds

Our oldest is in the marching band at UCF and since the football team was in the Bitcoin Bowl this year we had to get him over to St. Pete. One of the events the day before the game was a Battle of the Bands which was held on the beach at the hotel. I took a ton of photos of the event but also noted the birds in the area, of course. Before we headed down to the beach, a few Black-hooded Parakeets noisily passed overhead.



In the slow rolling surf, a Laughing Gull stayed out of the way of the passing crowds.



I have never had one give me the stare down before.



Off to the right, a Herring Gull picked along the rack line.



Finally, a Ring-billed Gull joined in for a few minutes as the music got louder and louder.



The UCF Marching Knights won the battle and the band then enjoyed some activities and then rested before the game. A fun event. I might have a chance to find more birds before we head home on Saturday in between Christmas time.

2014 CBC in St. Pete, Part 1

That time of year again. Christmas Bird count in St. Petersburg, FL for another year. This time it would be at a new location for me and I was put on a team with Professor Elizabeth Forys from Eckerd College and Becki Smith, one of my volunteers from the Wekiva Basin Banding site. We started before dawn trying to locate some owls or Rails but were unsuccessful.

So, we headed to the water for a search for shorebirds at sunrise. We parked and hit the small beach right at dawn.



Even in low light we could quickly make out birds such as Short-billed Dowitchers, Black-bellied Plovers, and American Oystercatchers. It was the first time I have seen a juvenile (left) foraging with an adult.



Out in the open water we could see nearly a dozen Red-breasted Mergansers searching for breakfast by dipping their heads just under water to look for prey and then paddling off to a new spot.



Back near the bridge, a Herring Gull stood on the sea wall and was lit up by the rising Sun.



Soon, a pair of Ruddy Turnstones inched their way toward me until the first was right below my camera before scooting past to examine the beach again.



Before we left, I took note of the view to the South. The Sunshine Skyway bridge was jutting up in the morning glow



Making our way to Isla Del Sol, we parked along the road and searched the area for anything we could add to our growing list of birds. Monk Parakeets flocked by and landed on wires while an Osprey flew past with a morning meal.



Not far behind, a Wood Stork traversed to wires over the intersection for a feeding spot across the road.



I noted aloud the ever increasing stands of Brazilian Pepper everywhere we traveled today. Getting worse all the time.



We added a few more species before we moved along. House Wrens and Catbirds were playing hide-and-seek while a Northern Mockingbird proved to be not so shy.



Our next stop was Eckerd college. Becki and I ticked Northern Cardinals and another Catbird while Beth searched for Muscovy Ducks. I had to duck under several Spiny Orb Weaver webs along the way.



Near Beth's office, Myrtle Warblers were flocking in large numbers but I was drawn more to a spot that sounded like a larger bird thumping on tree trunks. It turned out to be a smaller bird tapping palm fonds. A Yellow-throated Warbler. It posed for a few seconds before disappearing into the gloom again. Nearby, we added a Black and White Warbler.



As we rounded the corner of a building we could hear a soft call from one of the palm trees. A Red-shouldered Hawk bolted out on approach and flew over to a nearby pine.



A couple of minutes later the Red-shouldered Hawk swooped to the ground to examine something int he grass. I was sure it had captured something but all it did was tap the ground a few times before flying off to another lot.



Immediately to my left, a Brown Pelican dove into the water and was followed by two more quickly afterward. The latter two flew off but the first drifted by to give me a once over.



We were about to leave this spot when we started hearing a strange call out in the pines. A short detour took us to a stand of trees where we finally found the source of the calls. A pair of Loggerhead Shrike. Don't usually hear that noise as Shrikes tend to be more solitary.



Beth said we should start finding more ducks in the next set of ponds and as we got to the next section of the campus we did find our first Winter ducks of the day. A trio of Ring-necked Ducks.



We then spent a while counting Mottled Ducks and a variety of hybrids in this pond. Seems they come in so many varieties. I need to delve into the full range of mixes soon but we don't get that many Mottled Ducks in Orlando proper.



In the next post I will conclude our discoveries. It was a faily short day but full of photos. Too many for one comfortable blog post. Part Two to follow soon!