Spotted Sandpiper

I like to take a 12 mile loop that covers all of the local lakes from my house toward the airport. This morning, as I rounded Lake Weldona, I spotted a small bird walking by the shore. It was a very cloudy morning so the view wasn't great.

I cound tell by its behavior while it was walking and feeding that it was a Spotted Sandpiper.



Nice to find even in the gloom. They only come through here briefly during migration.

Lake Davis Walk

Well, the van is in the shop. Again. At least the nice folks we use offer to take me home to wait instead of sitting in their tiny office for too long. I have them drop me off at the lake so I can at least get in a little birding before going all the way home. Today turned out to be well worth it.

I was just speaking to Gail, a fellow local birder, earlier in the morning that I was surprised by how few shorebirds were around this season. I had only seen one Solitary Sandpiper and one Lesser Yellowlegs a month ago. I remembered there were a couple Black-necked Stilts and there are always Killdeer but that was it. As I walked around the lake I finally found a Spotted Sandpiper.



There were a couple Spotted Sandpipers last year but this is the only one so far. Unfortunately, it was very twitchy and would just begin flying anytime anyone walked down the sidewalk before finally heading to the far side of the lake. A welcome sight, nonetheless.



I continued walking and soon discovered a Mallard and her ducklings.



A few yards away, a male Wood Duck prepared to settle in for a nap in the sunshine.



Nearby, a remaining Mute Swan preened in the swallow water. What was a few yards away, however, really captured my attention.



A juvenile American White Pelican was also preening in mostly shade. I was not expecting that! We have had a lot of pelicans this season. Last year we had one briefly and this year has seen as many as 16 at a time. Weird.



Finally, a female Wood Duck guarded her ducklings down near the reeds. Baby ducks are all over the place right now.



Despite the stress over the van, I can take a little joy home with me. After all, if the problem was not there I would have missed some awesome birds.

Playing the Shape Game

I had to work today but took a few seconds to swing by a retention pond near the office beforehand. We had just had a bunch of rain in the area so the water levels are finally getting back to a more normal height. I didn't see any interesting birds except for an American Coot still hanging around.

Then, at the far end of the pond near the creek entrance, I spotted a shape I know all too well. Really? Here? Well, it is Florida. A 6-foot American Alligator was cruising the dark waters near the shore.



On the way home, I swung around Lake Lancaster and got to play the Shape Game again. A small speck flashed across the lake and was headed to a sandbar in the center of the lake. I could tell by the shape that this was my Spotted Sandpiper. Binoculars and a distant shot confirm it.



Won't be much shore left for this shorebird for long. Nice to find it this late in the season.

Spotted Sandpiper

Not much happening around the neighborhood during my daily check but I did get a nice surprise by Lake Weldona. I was watching the near shore when I noticed something streak off to the right. I searched in vain for what it could be but it was definitely small enough to be a shore bird. I thought they had all cleared out by now.

Moments later the speck headed across the lake and toward the far shore. A Spotted Sandpiper glided to a stop.



I will have to check my records for this species but I don't recall any this late in the season before. My guess would be that it is the same bird I saw a few weeks ago a couple blocks over at Lake Emerald.



Now I will have to keep my eyes more focused on the lake shores which are beginning to disappear as the water levels rise. Finally getting some rain.

Lake Lancaster Variety

So, yesterday's dearth of birds at the gardens means I need a fix at a place I know has the birds right now. Back to Lake Lancaster. The usual birds were there and today I had a small flock of White Ibis right on the shore so I could get some great shots. All of the adult birds were in breeding plumage. In White Ibis it expresses itself with bright red facial skin.



You gotta love those blue eyes, too.



There was one juvenile in the mix. They begin their life a brown-ish gray and molt into bright white.



My favorite shot was this bird apparently looking for something on the ground.



Out on the recently exposed sandbar was one of the adult Great-blue Herons from the rookery group.



There was another heron to the right and it took me a few seconds to realize that this was one of the juveniles! Compare the two and you will see the subtle differences.



I was looking for the Spotted Sandpiper over at Lake Emerald the last couple days but it was not there. Too much human activity. Seems that made it fly the few blocks over here!



One of the Muscovy Ducks wandered out by the shore. A lot of folks really dislike Muscovys. I think they can be quite pretty at times. Their chicks are flat out adorable. Yeah, I said it.



Winds were picking up and the light was right for watching the shorebirds like the increasing number of Solitary Sandpipers and Lesser Yellowlegs.



They were weary of me but actually got closer to me than the past couple weeks. Nice when they come to you.



Over on the far side of the lake Snowy Egrets wade through the water and pluck fish from the waves. Love these birds in breeding plumage, too. It was those fluffy feathers of breeding egrets that almost led to their demise back in the day. All for fashion...



Our last bird of the day is yet another Solitary Sandpiper. This is the bigger concentration of this species in Orlando that I have seen over the years. They won't be here much longer.



Tomorrow is banding and a trip to Winter Park for dinner. What surprises await?

Some Migrants Found

My one day off. The winds have shifted from North to South meaning I bet most migrants took off already but I need to do some checking. First stop? You know. Lake Lancaster. The Limpkin family I reported about a while ago have moved down to the bend toward the lake since their original home is even more dried out and snails are more plentiful in the new spot.



The area has the same birds as yesterday but I like this Solitary Sandpiper shot better than yesterday's.



The Mallards are also looking a bit more colorful today.



Unlike yesterday, I can hear a loud noise over at the Great-blue Heron rookery. An adult was flying in and now I can see the young birds. They aren't little at all! I was looking at juveniles but they were already almost as tall as the adults. I completely missed the newly-hatched stage. Now they fight with each other as the adult keeps its food in its belly, for now.



Once I snapped out of that revelation I began looking for warblers in the oaks. The were several Western Palm Warblers but I was looking for what I saw as I left my house. Moments later I spotted one. A Blackpoll Warbler. This one has a nice juicy spider.



Unfortunately, this is how we see most Blackpoll Warblers this time of year. From below. When they do come out they aren't there long. At least they are easily recognized by their bright yellow legs.



I wanted to get over to Mead Garden so I didn't try to wait all morning for a clearer shot. I was hoping for more warblers over there. I did have to swing by Lake Emerald on the way and quickly came to a halt as I was driving past. Could that be? Yep. My first Spotted Sandpiper of the year!



It caught my eye immediately for some reason. It was feeding near one of the many Little Blue Herons like this immature bird. Little Blue Herons are born white and then get mottled before turning solid blue. Looks almost like it got splattered with paint.



I was trying to get some closer shots of the sandpiper while the herons in the water stayed statue still. What's a boy to do? Click. I have the entire reflection in the shot but wanted to get more detail in the bird for you, dear readers.



The Sandpiper was very jumpy and stayed exactly the same distance from me until it decided to fly back across the lake (OK, barely a pond by now) and landed on an exposed log. Not a bad mix after a million shoreline shots.



I get carried away. It is a nice new migrant, after all. But I need to get to other spots! I will try again for the closer shot of the sandpiper at another time.

Finally. A Shorebird! Plus, Another Suprise.

Every morning, after I drop of the oldest at school, I make my way to my own class by circling the neighborhood lakes to see if I can find anything interesting birds along the way. The lakes have been drying out as our lack of rainfall continues so there should be no reason to not being seeing shorebirds migrating North. Usually begin seeing them in late April. None this year.

But, wait! I little speck along the shore at Lake Lancaster!! Our first Spotted Sandpiper of the season. Sun was just reaching the treetops so the light was not great.



Still a welcome sight. I tried to get more shots but a family of Mallards, including 8 ducklings, swam directly to the piper's spot and moved it farther away.



A Barn Swallow flew by overhead as I retreated from the lake. Running low on time I headed back to the van and packed the camera. As soon as I snapped the top closed I heard something calling nearby. Up on the wires were several birds. They looked like they might be more swallows. Out with the camera, again.



Turns out they were Purple Martins. However, I have never seen babies out of the Martin house before so it was still an interesting discovery.



What might we find tomorrow after our passed front?

St. Pete CBC, 2009

Another year, another good count. Cold front was moving through and had not cleared out as we began but we started calling for owls at 5 AM. Our only owl was a Great-horned that flew into a treetop in the near dark which we all viewed before it took off.

No Screech Owls today. 2nd year we have been skunked on this species.

We headed to the point of Veteran's Memorial Park at dawn as the tide was set to be -1 and we hoped for some shorebirds along the meager beach front. We found a large group of Willets near the picnic area right away.



The loudest noise permeating the air was that of hundreds of Laughing Gulls loafing and feeding on the open sand and mud.



Also hanging out in the gloom was a single Semi-palmated Sandpiper.



That bird was foraging near the lone Little Blue Heron in the area.



Flocks of Forster's Terns, Double-crested Cormorants, and White Ibis added to the filled skies as the clouds continued to blanket the views.



There began to be some breaks in the cloud banks as we added Dunlin, Oystercatchers, Red Knots, and others to our species list. It reminded me of Indiana Jones witnessing the Sun pointing to the tombs.



We then headed off to Joe's Creek to see what we could stir up. Invasives have clogged up some of the better open areas. Specifically Brazilian Pepper. We found no Swamp Sparrows though they were here in past years. We did manage to scare up a Sora and watched as Rosette Spoonbills and Wood Storks soared overhead.



Blue-grey Gnatcatchers were ever-present all day but hard to photograph.



We missed finding any Goldfinches this year but we did have some nice things pop up like Eastern Towhee and Carolina Chickadee. I was almost caught off-guard when a few Pine Warblers dropped in just in front of me.



Checking the canals, we got a few more species but not as many as in previous years. Cooper's Hawks, Mallard, our single Black-crowned Night Heron hiding in the far branches and a near skeleton of what we determined to be that of an otter. At least we had a Black and White Warbler show up just in time!



We made a fast run over to 66th street to look for Least Bitterns but were unsuccessful. Here, the rest of the team scans for the Bitterns.



A quick lunch break allowed me to scan some of the other local ponds but there was nothing of note. We had Blue-winged Teal, Coots, Moorhens and a few turtles finally getting a chance to bask in the emerging sunlight.



We headed back to Veteran's Park after Dave and Jim scored an American Bittern near a local strip mall and I searched for the Yellow-crowned Night Heron that has been in the area for years. It was not to be found today but there were other things to photograph. Where the Night Heron should have been there were only scores of Fiddler Crabs leading me to believe that the bird hasn't been here for a while.



Nearby, Palm Warblers erupted from the grasses and lit in the oaks. Most were Western Palm Warblers.



A bright glint of yellow caught my eye and revealed a pair of Eastern, also known as Yellow, Palm Warblers.



We continued to tick more species as we moved along, 91 in total for the day, but my interest was captured by the Spotted Sandpiper we first discovered early in the day. As the light broke through I was able to finally get some good shots of this bird which was not too concerned of my presence.



It only regarded me with apprehension a few times as I scrambled down the rocks to get a better view but would then figure I was no threat and begin foraging again.



Every now and again it would grab a small meal hiding in the sand and enjoy a quick snack to eat.



Besides having a Sora almost jump into me, this was some of my favorite moments of the day. Being close to a lovely bird and enjoying the fresh new cold front moving through.



Awaiting the totals for the day but this was the best set of numbers I have had in this spot over the years. Can't wait until next year!