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...

Mini-Feeding Flock of American Robins

Everyone had the day off for the holiday so I slept in a bit and relaxed. I did do my later lake check and made the way over to the cemetery and found a growing number of American Robins flying about. Still no looks of the Bald Eagles or the Coyote today.



The problem today was that I picked the wrong time for good light. I could never get any good positions to equal my best shots from last year at this time. Still, it is always fun to watch the American Robins scarfing down Camphor berries.



Camphors are considered invasive and many folks would rather have them all removed but there are many birds that use this food source during the Winter in Florida. Robins love them.



I tried to get some other angles with the light but it was not to be found. What I did find was a Blue-headed Vireo flitting around the other nearby trees but it was mostly in the shade.



I had to complete the evening grocery trip and checked out Lake Davis on the way. Not many birds to stop for but how can I resist the Sundog shimmering in the evening sky?



This is the first feeding flock of Robins I have seen up close so far this year but they have been streaming through in large flocks all over town. Shouldn't be long before I can find a larger feeding flock and then, hopefully, I can get some Cedar Waxwings next month.

Birding in Between Presents

Spent the morning opening presents at home and then went off to edition 2 at the in-laws. They live by a lake so I always have to take a break to look for birds down along the shore when I can. The first trip out did not reveal much but there was at least a Pied-billed Grebe in the lily pads.



Looking up, I saw a Great Egret drifting by but not stopping for a better photo.



I did also note some specks approaching from the center of the lake and it turned out to be my first Ruddy Ducks of the season.



I was hoping that they would come closer but something spooked them and they soon headed back out into the safety of the open waters for the rest of the day.



I was called back inside for a family photo and the opening of presents. Then we had to wait a while before eating so I headed back out to the shore. Soon, the Pied-billed Grebe emerged again and began feeding near the dock.



I had hoped that the bird would get away from the post of the dock but it soon quickly dove down and brought up something special.



An afternoon crawfish was in the bird's bill! You never know what might be lurking under the water.



Gulp!



Many Palm Warblers were feeding along the fence line and I finally managed to sneak over and get a closer shot before they dove back into the hedges.



Then I got an unexpected shot. A female Belted Kingfisher flew in, unaware of my hiding place. I will take it!



Time for dinner. Afterwards, I went out one more time and looked for more birds. Instead, I had another interesting view. Sundogs were beginning to form to the North around the quickly setting Sun. I like how this seems like a prehistoric fish.



Waiting for the next one to the South, I focused on some thicker clouds until a more fully spectral display tried to form.



The dark was fast approaching and it was clear that the human activity would not allow any better bird findings. So, I had to be satisfied with a closing image of a pair of fisher-folk before the last of the rays were gone.



Another year of the end Christmas was upon us. We would end our evening at the Living Nativity soon and then our family had to prepare for a few more days of presents across the state. Not too bad for gifts at the lake.