Birding in Largo

We went over to see my sister and niece before they left the state for a new life in Virginia. We had a nice pizza dinner and talked awhile before retiring for the night. The next morning I got to head out for a little birding before we returned to Orlando. My Dad and I went looking for Towhees at Walsingham Park but only heard them so no photos like I was hoping for.

Following the call of an Eastern Phoebe we instead ended up under some oaks with a mall feeding flock of warblers. The branches made for difficult IDs but finally a bright Prothonotary Warbler was in view.



Next we headed over to Walsingham Botanical Garden as Dad was searching for some ideas for plants to get that attract pollinators.



The entire collection of Milkweed was being consumed by voracious Monarch caterpillars.



In another part of the gardens we found some adults scattered about flowering trees and shrubs.



I remembered that we were not far from Largo Nature Preserve so we drove over and took a walk through the nature trail that goes through a small forest of oaks and other plants like native Wild Coffee. In a short time we were surrounded by birds. I have never seen so many White-eyed Vireos in a single day ever.



More Prothonotary Warblers were high in the trees. Previously, I had only seen 3 Prothonotary Warblers in my life. Today we found 4.



While we were craning our necks to ID warblers a Gray Catbird popped up directly across the boardwalk railing and then flew off just as quickly.



A Pine Warbler grabbed a caterpillar along one of the branches and thrashed it about before stopping to feast.



Suddenly, a wave of birds came in near to the ground. By the time they were close enough we could see that they were Hooded Warblers. They were moving so fast it was difficult to get a shot. This female paused on the log for a couple of seconds before heading deeper into the underbrush.



We rushed along the boardwalk in hopes of intercepting them but they stayed just ahead of us and did not make for a sharp image. this male only stopped to enjoy the Crane Fly it snagged.



He gave me a few seconds more of that pose and then was gone into the shadows.



If it weren't for a trip home to make we would have stayed even longer but it was time to move on. As we got to the end of the boardwalk we saw that an Osprey was flushed away from its perch by another visitor. The bird had a large fish in tow and landed on the nest platform ahead of us before flying of again.

Down along the path, pair of Mourning Doves watched us anxiously but didn't fly off.



Just as we were about to head to the car I spotted the Osprey making a return. It still had the fish as I saw it dive behind the trees. It seemed like it found a private spot to continue lunch so I quickly hurried over to see if it was in view. Yes!



I got to spend several minutes getting shots as the Osprey fed upon the large bass it had gotten form the pond below. Even with the harsh backlighting (and no flash) I was able to get some nice action photos.



One more species was back near the doves on my way out. A Double-crested Cormorant sat quietly even when I walked pretty close. Smile, Blue-eyes!



The boardwalk through the woods was not yet built the last time I was here when the Nature Preserve was first opened years ago. Now I know where to come for migration the next time I am in town.

Yellow Warblers and Other Finds

Wasn't the forecast for clear skies the rest of the week? Thought so, but today was a very dreary looking morning. Had to wait until the second school trip to get any light and even that was pretty poor. However, I could still pick out a few warblers up in the trees around the lake under the clouds.

The most surprising was a Yellow Warbler near the edges of the outer oak limbs. These birds are typically the first early migrants and tend to head off by now but I was not complaining. Except for the fact that I had to rush back to the van for the camera.



Like many warblers, this Yellow Warbler was moving fast in search of bugs and reminded me, again, how hard it is to get good shots of small birds on the hunt. Not that you can't see them. It is the small branches that end up between you and them and make the camera want to focus on anything but the bird.



The best part for me was that this is clearly a male Yellow Warbler. I usually have gotten shots of juveniles or females but I was always wanting a shot of the male with those red-orange stripes.



Buoyed by this brief warbler encounter, I decided to take a few minutes to head over to nearby Demetree Park. Might be something along the boardwalk. Indeed, there were a few birds crossing the small creek, including a couple of juvenile White-eyed Vireos. Even in this blurry shot you can see the dark eye.As they get older, the iris turns bright white.



Behind them and foraging in the cypress and tallow trees were several Swainson's Thrushes. Wish they would get closer. Then again, I get those more personal shots when I band them at Lake Lotus.



On the way out I saw another bird that I had nearly forgotten about. A Wood Stork flew overhead and landed on the fishing dock. Wood Storks are making a comeback over the years and I am more used to them around. Just realized I hadn't seen any in the past couple of months.

This bird was probably born earlier in the year as adult birds get very dark bills. The bills are nearly ivory when the birds are born.



A little sunshine in the overcast, including some surprises. Not too bad.

Shaded Birds

Time for a stretch. Wind is blowing but I was just wondering if any birds were about outside the office. Took the short walk around the woods and hardly saw a thing. I finally found a few birds feeding...right where I had started, at the office door. A few birds were in this small feeding flock but they were all in the shade. That's where the wind was keeping all the bugs!

The most noisy species, as is almost always the case, was the Tufted Titmouse. There were several of them about and they darted from low in the hedges to back into the lower branches. They were moving so quickly that I was happy to even get a kind of blurry shot.



Slipping silently between the leaves were a couple of Ruby-crowned Kinglets.



Bouncing around near the Kinglets I almost missed a White-eyed Vireo. They tend to look similar as they glean insects with one another.



The other species in tow as a Black and White Warbler. Seems like you can almost always count on one of these birds if you look hard enough.



On the way home I checked out the retention pond behind a church and was pleased to find three Wilson's Snipe probing the mud. Sadly, the pond drying up fast as we are lacking inches of rain this year. There were still a few Hooded Mergansers at the far end of the pond but not much else.



Not a bang-up day but plenty to keep me happy for the few minutes I got to spend outside.

Jay Watch Results at Blue Springs

Time for the next Jay Watch results event. This year we were back at Blue Springs as we were two years ago. I always like to get there right when the park opens to get some good parking and to do a little hiking before the presentation begins. Awaiting us just out of the van were a couple of Black Vultures.



The weather has been very warm this year so unfortunately there were not a lot of manatee in the springs. We saw a few signs but no clear views. The only thing we could make out under water was a large gator resting on the bottom.



Heavy fog plagued the drive all the way. Walking to the landing, we could make out a Fog Bow. I used my son's camera to try and grab a few frames to get it all in and later got a chance to combine the shots into a full view. My first actually nice fog bow.



Heading back up the boardwalk, a stop at the first overlook had a Ruby-crowned Kinglet land so close I couldn't get a shot. A White-eyed Vireo zipped past for an OK shot.



I noticed a statue at the next overlook and tried to get a shot but these kids kept getting in the way. Oh, well.



The Sun was rising quickly behind the oaks. I didn't care if the Thursby House was obscured in shadow.



Things were very quiet all the way up to the end of the boardwalk where Blue Spring reaches the surface.



I've always enjoyed the view from the top of the cliff over the spring head. Sometimes you get steam mixed in but it is great view whenever you are there.



Heading back down the walk, we find a number of Alligator Gar hanging in the current.



Back near the river, the Alligator had surfaced for a closer look.



Hanging out at the mouth of the spring run were several Double-crested Cormorant coming into breeding plumage.



We headed up a trail in search of...something. No real activity there so we had to settle for another type of bow for the day. A Web Bow. Next time you are near different spider webs, try to position yourself in the light and you might just find a nice spectrum display.



Back near the river and we find another Cormorant flying ahead of the many crew teams slicing up the waters.



Some find Black Vultures ugly. I think they are pretty in their own way.



Especially up close. Devoid of carrion and poop.



There were scores of Black Vultures but I did find a couple Turkey Vultures hiding among the Black Vulture flock.



It was finally time to head over for Scrub Jay results (some good, some not so good). As we sat and listened to the speakers, a family of Carolina Wrens would not be ignored. They often flew right next to us and called and called loudly.



Now for the trip home. Next search for new Scrub Jays begins in the Summer.

In Search of Nuthatches

For some reason, I had the urge to go hiking out at Wekiwa Springs State Park. Perhaps it was because we heard the calls of Eastern Towhees at the banding site last week. When we banded at Wekiwa we heard them constantly but this was a first for us at Lake Lotus. I also figured I could check on the old stomping grounds and set a main goal of finding Brown-headed Nuthatches and trying for better shots than I have gotten in the past. This would mean a lot of walking. Been too long. Need the exercise.

This would require a long hike. Nuthatches only show up in the pine flatwoods portion of the park way out along the hiking and horse trails. Most of it is in the open. First, you have to cross a small creek and head out. As soon as I got to the other side of the creek I heard calls all over. Calls of Carolina Chickadees!



Easy to hear and see, not so easy to photograph. There were several pairs of adults being pursued by hungry chicks. I tried to get the begging behavior they show but most of those were obscured. I got one chick in the open for a few seconds.



Fun. But also in this section was a wall of Deer and Robber Flies which zoomed around and onto me relentlessly as I tried to photograph the Chickadees. Time to hike into the open and be free of these pests. After about 20 minutes of hiking I heard a White-eyed Vireo in a bush up ahead. I was happy to think I could get a close shot of one of these guys today, too. Just before I got to the bush, a small shape dropped out of the sky and then back onto a branch of a pine tree. Nuthatch!



I was listening for their 'squeaky play toy' calls but this family was not making a sound. If not for that bird dropping out of the pine I would have walked right past them. Now I had to try and get a shot as they zipped around the branches and kept their backs to me when actually in the open. I still like this shot for the color and the feeding behavior it demonstrates.



Flying around with the Nuthatch family was another bird you would expect here. A Pine Warbler. They were calling all over the place today but tend to also stay way at the tops of the pines.



A bit of patience (not my strong suit) finally paid off with a shot of a Nuthatch looking my way with a seed ready to eat.



They soon headed to the tip-top of the trees so I headed on. The vireo moved on so I continued up the trail and toward the water. I was actually kind of disappointed with what I found. The map shows Rock Springs Run along the property but all you see from the trail is a little open spot of water to put in your kayak, I guess. I had hoped to have the trail go all the way down the run where I could see it. At least a Pearly Eye made it more interesting.



I walked all the way to Camp Cozy and back out into the open and began my turn back to try and find more Nuthatches or other birds. A 1/4 mile down the trail a Summer Tanager flew in for a brief minute and then headed off into the distance.



I heard another call up ahead but didn't recognize it right away. Finally I could see it. An Eastern Bluebird! The bird would never let me get closer than this but it stayed along the trail occasionally perching and singing before flying ahead of me again.



The next stand of pines revealed a couple birds that I thought were Nuthatches but turned out to be Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. Easy to find but I noticed it was flying back to a spot on a high branch, flying out for food, and flying back to the same spot. I could finally tell it was returning to a nest! More interesting is that this is a male, told by the black eyebrows.



The trail led me back to where the Chickadees were and it forks off to a blue trail blaze I have never been on so I decided to take that. It goes back into the trees along the creek a couple of times. Down in the creek at one spot I discovered an Ebony Jewelwing resting in the one spot of sunshine. These are very large damselflies and so green it is amazing.



Now up into the palmetto scrub section of the park and I finally got a White-eyed Vireo to come down to eye level for a moment. Still need a better shot but it was off in a hurry.



I also began to hear Eastern Towhees the closer I got to our old banding territory. Luckily, a male jumped up out of the scrub and sang while I got to a good spot for a shot.



Another stoke of luck. Just after the Towhee flew off two White-eyed Vireos flew in with competing songs and in search of bugs. One flew fairly close to me and I managed to catch a shot of that bright, namesake eye.



I was almost back at the banding trail and hoped to find some Red-headed Woodpeckers. No luck there but I did find all the old net poles still where we left them many years ago. The trees have grown up over the paths but if you know where to dive in... I did like the patterns on the young Pine Trees now growing in various locations.



Whew! Long post. 7 miles of walking. Tired but I got what I came out here for with the Brown-headed Nuthatches and got some other fun experiences, as well. Now, still nearly an hour drive home...