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 CBC

My 9th Christmas Bird Count in St. Pete was windy and chilly and overall counts were down not only on the coast but all over Florida. Warm weather seems to have kept most migrants North but we venture out to count every species we can every year in hopes that the data will give us some insight of bird populations and movements.

Every year is different. Sometimes warm, sometimes freezing, but always interesting and I like getting over to the coast to see birds I don't always see in Central Florida. But, honestly, there were nota lot of birds that I couldn't find anywhere else this year. However, 9 hours walking all over Pinellas County is still fun.

We started our day out at Joe's Creek Preserve and first heard and then discovered a Great-horned Owl nest but never saw the bird.



As the Sun continued to rise I spotted a Red-shouldered Hawk searching for breakfast in the distance and tried to get as close as I could before it flew off.



I didn't realize I had walked right by an Apiary until I turned around. It had not been here in the past few years that I was here. Hmmm.



On the other side of the mound, a few Eastern Phoebes were feeding and perching around and on many trees.



Birds were beginning to move about and we had a few Roseate Spoonbills flying over.



We drove over toward the water treatment plant and were surprised to find a big feeding flock of warblers. Most of them were Pine Warblers.



I don't think I have ever seen so many Pine Warblers at one time before this morning. They were everywhere!



Taking a pause from trying to get a shot of the warblers (in bad light) I glanced upward and spotted a nice Circumzenithal arc overheard.



Just before we left that spot we found a Blue-headed Vireo joining in on the feeding frenzy.



Brazillian Pepper has been encroaching many areas in the state but I was amazed by how much they are taking over in this county.



We had to make a stop for gas and I took the chance to walk behind the store to a check of the canal. Good thing I did. A Mottled Duck was drifting by.



Heading over to Veteran's War Memorial Park we hoped to find some shorebirds but there were not a lot of them. I had to settle for a couple of Willet feeding near the shore.



How can I resist a shot of a Brown Pelican flying by?



One of the birds we always hope to find here is the Great-horned Owl. We thought it might be hard to get since we missed it the past couple of years but as we stepped out of the van...



Another view of the sleepy Great-horned Owl.



Heading back to the shore we were greeted by a few nice birds to add to the list, including a quick moving Yellow-throated Warbler.



Suddenly, a flock of American Goldfinches came in to view and began feeding on



As much as I liked watching the Goldfinches, I was also focused on another bird flitting about. A Prairie Warbler.



Then quickly back to an American Goldfinch stuffing his face.



Nearby, we stopped at a strip mall to check a pond that usually holds interesting birds. Today we only had a few birds but did have a Mallard hybrid with ducklings.



Our count ended and I headed out to a spot where a rare bird was sighted a few days before. As I looked for the bird I could not resist taking a shot of a Palm Warbler that posed for me too easily.



I thought I had the rare bird in my sights but after looking through the shots and enhancing I discovered it was just an Orange-crowned Warbler. Oh, well.



Another CBC under my belt in St. Pete and a good time with other birders. Next year will be a 10 year anniversary. Until then...more birds back home!

Searching for a New Life Bird

We were over on the Gulf Coast for the Thanksgiving holidays and there were reports of another potential Life Bird hanging out near Fort De Soto. A Great Cormorant was flying back and forth around Bunches Pass just before you reach De Soto. Knowing most everyone would be sleeping in on Thanksgiving I got up before dawn and headed out on my own. Being the holiday, there were not many others out on the road at sunrise. I looked for the Cormorant but failed to nail it down. Maybe that speck out on the piling? Too far to confirm. Dolphin were passing by, though.



Not wanting to pay $5 just to park and walk around at the boat ramp, I drove slowly through and took note of birds as they presented themselves. It was nice to see a Sandwich Tern after so long away from the coast.



On one of the dock pilings, a Royal Tern refused to wake for the morning light.



Four docks down held a Brown Pelican just arriving from an early breakfast.



Just before exiting the parking lot I spotted a Belted Kingfisher. Of course, they spot you, too, so you usually only get shots of them bolting for the next distant perch.



Since I was there, I decided to actually spent the $5 to go into Fort De Soto itself to see if there were any interesting birds. The Sun was shining brightly on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge but there were not too many birds at the East Loop.



Over at the Gulf pier, I found a few Double-crested Cormorants either snoozing on pilings or posing on street lamps.



A young Brown Pelican cruised past just overhead.



The Double-crested Cormorant was not amused. I find the yawn of these birds to be one of the more unusual sights around.



Off to the side of the pier was a Willet chasing the surf.



A noisy Osprey caught my attention s I headed toward the car. The male was calling while perched on the electric wires near the boardwalk.



The female Osprey was just above on the nest platform gazing out into the distance.



European Starlings were gathering on the wires as I was about to leave. I almost didn't notice the Brown-headed Cowbird trying to blend in among them.



European Starlings left me with a nice bit of symmetry against a bright blue sky.



I stopped at the end of a bridge on the way out and found a Great Black-backed Gull sifting through the seaweed rack.



A few more feet out in the shallows, a White Ibis probed the mud on the lowering tide while reflecting nicely.



Later, before the turkey and fixin's were consumed I refilled Dad's bird feeders and eventually a few birds stopped by, including a juvenile male Red-winged Blackbird.



I was disappointed that I couldn't definitely verify the Great Cormorant but still had a good time. I might still have a chance to try again as we are here for a few more days. Fingers are crossed. I missed two possible Life Birds last year during the holidays.

Chasing (and missing) a Gull at Fort DeSoto

This will be a long post. Bear with the length to see some interesting shots and a couple cool bits of information on migrating birds.

Once Dad and I finished our looking at Redhead ducks up the road, it was time to hit the beaches of Fort DeSoto and try to find a new Life Bird. A Franklin's Gull had been reported for a couple of weeks and this was my one chance to find it. Last year, my after-Xmas present was going a bit farther South the get the Razorbills at Anna Maria Island. A new Life Bird this year would be a nice end to the year.

First, we decided to stop off at the North Beach and look for anything that might be in that area. Most of this stretch is closed for the breeding season but you can walk down much of it now. Our first bird to greet us was a foraging Reddish Egret prancing along the interior before the shoreline.



I then turned my attention to the waves and soon spotted an American Oystercatcher walking in the water. Always a striking bird.



American Oystercatchers are not a new bird for me but I have had trouble getting good shots of them on my visits. This birds did not seem to mind my presence as I approached and scanned for other birds.



Off to my left a Sanderling braved the waves and a wandering photographer (me) and probed for food under the sand.



Soon, beachcombers approached and were agitating the birds which led this Willet to fly up and land next to me. Thanks (?) beachcombers!



Time to head to the pier and search for the gull. We scanned the first flock of birds on the Bay beach but it was just a mix of local gulls and terns. Then we headed to the Gulf beach and saw a promising flock resting. Except for these two Ring-billed Gulls having a quarrel.



We examined all the gulls one by one. There were many Ring-billed Gulls like this juvenile.



Adult Ring-billed Gulls were also well represented.



Then we came to this dozing bird. Could this be our Franklin's Gull next to the Forster's Tern?



Alas, no. It was just a Laughing Gull trying to fool me.



Dad needed a bite to eat so we headed up to the snack bar before returning to the flock to do more searching. More birds were flying in and some were busy feeding along the waves like this Forster's Tern.



Suddenly, a small flock of Red Knots dropped into the waves next to us.



I soon noticed that a couple were banded! Red Knots are studied a lot as their numbers have been in decline so I made sure to get shots so I could report the band numbers later.



When I got home and processed the photos I reported them and discovered that both birds were originally banded in this area and have been migrating back and forth for many years.



I figured we had struck out on the gull we were after. All that was left to photograph was a few Ruddy Turnstones.



The clouds were finally breaking as we headed out. I always like to make sure I get some sort of flower shots while I am out and the Beach Sunflower would be just fine for the records.



On the way home we decided to make an attempt to find a Whimbrel which I was told years ago about it always being near the bridge. On the Inter-coastal side there were plenty of Red-breasted Mergansers.



I noticed a white patch on one of the birds meaning it had to be more rare bird. A Bufflehead or two were diving midway out. Thanks for the photo bomb, Herring Gull!



Nearby, a Brown Pelican remained positioned in front of a fisherman. Hoping to snatch a meal, no doubt.



Way out in the waves I could just make out a black and white bird. Turned out to be a Common Loon.



We switched our search across the road to the Gulf side but only found a few more Loons but a pair of diving Horned Grebes was a nice way to round out the visit.



So, we headed home feeling some disappointment for striking out on the Life Birds. However, we did have a fun time. Out back, a pair of House Finches were at the feeder.



Something spooked them into the tree and only then could I tell that the male was a seldom seen yellow variant. House Finch males are usually a purple-ish red but I have had yellow and orange variants at our house before.



Rain is forecast for tomorrow. Not sure if I will chase another Life Bird or not.