Lust Road

I had to head over to Apopka to check on banding a Cooper's Hawk before it was going to be released after rehab. I didn't take any photos there but then I decided to stop over at Lust Road to see if I could find a rare bird being reported over there. A Western Tanager. A few birders were already there and reported seeing the bird a few minutes before. Just missed it.

Since I have now struck out on 3 Life birds of late, I wandered up and down the road looking for anything else to photograph. We could hear sparrows all around but most birds were staying low. Finally, a juvenile White-crowned Sparrow popped up onto the fence.



One of the other birders screamed out that there was an Ash-throated Flycatcher 100 yards from me. By the time I got there it had flown of. Now 4 Life Bird misses. All I got was a Northern Mockingbird on that walk back.



Back down by the gate I could see a Bald Eagle resting on one of the telephone poles.



The one good surprise was a pretty early male Prairie Warbler that flew in for a few seconds and then departed. A nice splash of yellow against a cold morning blue sky.



We hoped the Tanager would return but it was not to be. Other birds flew by and eventually Red-tailed Hawks took to the sky. The first in view was a darker morph adult.



It was soon joined by another individual.



This one is a very light morph variety. They decided to ride the increasing thermals instead of gracing us with closer views.



Time to head home. Over at Lake Weldona, a Great Blue Heron was wading in to search for prey.



Then a surprise at Lake Cherokee. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a large bird. By the time I rounded the corner I could see that it was a Brown Pelican but it decided to fly off before I could get a good shot. We don't get a lot of Brown Pelicans in the neighborhood but they occasionally can be found in Orlando lakes in the Winter.



Last stop before the house is almost always the cemetery. Bald Eagles were nowhere in sight but I did find the Coyote again.



Turned out to be an interesting Saturday spin but I really would have liked to get those other Lifers on my Lust Road stop. Maybe next time.

Searching for Flycatchers, Finding Kingbirds

Have been hearing an Ash-throated Flycatcher was haging out at Lust Road for a while. The last time I was there a couple of weeks ago it was getting near dark and I didn't not find it. I had a short window to head back there after banding so off I went. Again, no flycatcher. I did easily locate the reported Western Kingbird, though.



The Kingbird flew off every time I got too close in the van so I parked at the gate and walked the road. A Sharp-shinned Hawk bolted out in front of me along the way and flushed any birds at that end. Halfway down the road, the Kingbird flew over near me and landed on another wire.



Out over the fields I noticed my first Northern Harrier of the year.



A few sparrows, like this Savannah Sparrow, flew around in the low grass and through the chain-link fences.



I completed a full walk up and back but still could not find the Ash-throated Flycatcher. Gray Catbirds were getting loud and feeding on the trees just beyond the gate.



I was about to leave when I saw the Kingbird land nearby again so I decided to take one more shot. Oddly, when I was on foot, the bird was a lot more approachable. Even when I had to make my way through some noisy grasses it stayed and watched.



I got nice and close, in fact. After a few more shots I left the bird to continue its hunting.



On the way out of the area, a Northern Mockingbird said goodbye.



Flycatchers remain a nemesis species for me. Sigh.

The Great Backyard Bird Count for 2013 is February 15-18th.
Click the icon to learn more!