2016 St. Pete CBC, Part 2

Part 2 of the CBC post is going to be a bit more lengthy. I took so many more photos as the day went on and didn't expect to get many birds at the golf course. Settle in...

We headed back to Crescent Lake to look for our main target, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. We missed it the first two time. We were told where to look for the bird and as we got out of the car the first thing we found was a Red-bellied Woodpecker peeking out of a tree branch.



Gathered around the woodpecker were several European Starlings. They were all fussing at the woodpecker. Perhaps it use to be their nest site? Every now and then, one of the males would wave its wings about in protest.



It took a little while but Jim finally spotted our bird in the Sweet Gum tree between the parking lot and the lake. The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is very well camouflaged against the tree bark. If you aren't looking at the right moment it is easy to miss them.



Now that it was later in the day we got a chance to get a better view of the Lesser Scaups and Ring-necked Ducks. The Scuap is in the center.



Among the Ring-necked Ducks was a leucistic female.



I love how grumpy this Lesser Scaup looks. Hur-umph!



One of the domestic duck present was a Graylag Goose who took some time to bathe as we were walking past.



Double-crested Cormorants were gathered along the shore. Great to have a chance to get a close look at those amazing eyes.



What I didn't know about Double-crested Cormorants is that the insides of their mouth can get that Robin-egg blue. Thanks for the yawn!



Not a lot of American Coots around but a few. Simply stunning in black and white.



Couldn't resist a shot of a feather resting on the lawn.



Laughing Gulls were gathered at the North end of the lake.



We were told that White-winged Doves could be found at the Dairy Inn. Nope. Just wanted to prove that we did check.



We did find another dove on the way back to the lake. A Eurasian Collared Dove.



Just past the tennis courts were a pair of Yellow-shafted Flickers.



We came back to the water tower and could here Monk Parakeets everywhere. Closer inspection revealed many nest wedged in the stairs and railings.



A lot of the Monk Parakeets would fly down to the oaks and chew on some acorns.



We stopped along a creek in search of more birds. Our leader, Jim McGinity, was trying to get a shot of the only House Wren we found today.



We were not thrilled to head to the golf course. We just figured there would not be that many species to be found out there. It was our final stop of the day. We loaded into carts and began our tour. If I hadn't have turned toward the practice range I would have missed our only raptor hiding in the shade. A Red-shouldered Hawk.



Jim and Killian were just ahead of me and seemed excited as they climbed out of their cart by a small pond. It was full of a couple dozen Northern Shovelers. I got my best shots of these birds ever today.



They were enthralled with the ducks but I spied something else across the pond. A Spotted Sandpiper!



The soon setting Sun lit up a female Northern Shoveler resting on shore.



Just in front of her were our only Mottled Ducks of the day.



Feeling a bit more bouyed by these unexpected finds, we made the turn toward the next fairway and came upon a small flock of Blue-winged Teal.



Behind them was a pair of Mallard. This is the best I could get of the green feathers.



Lurking along the shoreline was a feeding Roseate Spoonbill trying to stay hidden.



You can try to hide, Roseate Spoonbill. You can try...



Ospreys were busy diving for fish in all of the ponds. Just couldn't get those houses out of the way.



My final shot of the day was a Loggerhead Shrike perched as we were exiting the course. We then turned in the carts and totaled our birds before heading home.



Ten news species were gathered at the golf course. Who would have thunk it? Not a bad day but I was hoping for more species in total. But, we were in very urban environments so I guess we did alright. The final total for the St. Pete CBC ended up being 163 species which was a tie for the 3rd best count ever. I was there for all the top counts. Can't wait for next year.

Meanwhile, Back at Mead...

I finally had a short time slot to head out to Mead Botanical Garden and got right at 8 AM. I found a feeding flock of bird almost immediately but the sunrise was directly in back of them and I thought it would be rude to walk on the neighborhood lawns so most of the birds were in deep shadow. The only one that came out to play was a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.



Deciding to walk off the trail for a bit, I dove into the wooded area near the creek and soon got to an opening where a Great Blue Heron was soaking up the morning sun. I wanted a head-on shot but he had other ideas and walked the other direction.



To my left, a Great Egret was on a root just above the water and this bird decided to pose nicely.



Up around the pond, a flock of White Ibis fed along the shoreline. Adult and juvenile (pictured) Ibis were busily probing the grass and shallow water for any morsels they could find.



Near the butterfly garden I started to see flocks of warblers streaming toward the marsh. That part of the boardwalk is technically off-limits as it is in disrepair. I still head out there from time to time but it is getting really dicey now. Boards are rotting and plants, like Climbing Hempweed, are taking over the railings.



Just around the next bend an Eastern Phoebe landed ahead of me. I could hear other Phoebes calling in other spots along the marsh.



I finally caught up to the flocks of Myrtle Warblers I was after. They were right where I thought they would be. Chowing down on Wax Myrtle berries that are in big numbers out in the back of the old boardwalk.



It was time to head toward home and on the way I decided to stop by the church ponds to scan for incoming ducks. No new ducks were there but I did have a couple of Palm Warblers that let me walk right up to them for some nice full-frame shots.



A nice batch of birds and fresh air. Now that I have a nice full-time job again I will have limited time to bird like I used to, especially with these shorter days of late Fall. Not a bad problem to have, I guess. The birds will be out there somewhere when I get a chance to visit them.

Friday Cruising

The Hooded Mergansers that were out at the retention pond have been rather absent from the roadside and I haven't stopped by to get a closer look for a while. Today, I swung through the church parking lot to see if anything was in the smaller pond by the parking lot. To my surprise, there was a large flock of them in this tiny pond. First time I have seen them in there.



The Hooded Mergansers were swimming from side to side and it was fun to see them dive in groups...



...and then rise to make the next pass. I didn't want to spook them too much so I kept my distance and moved along to the other lakes.



Over at Lake Lancaster, there were several warblers (Palms) and I was going to give up on anything else until I heard a knocking in an oak. A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was really focused on a certain spot in the branches and I was glad it really didn't mind me getting out of the van to get a closer shot.



I made my loop through the cemetery on the way home and saw another photographer parked and trying to get some sort of shot. I pulled ahead and looked left to see and hear a Bald Eagle zooming in toward the nest tree.



It actually seemed to be more interested in getting to its usual spot not far away but someone else was in the way. A Red-tailed Hawk was defiantly staying put in the eagle's daily perch.



I have seen the Red-tail pair more often around the Bald Eagle nest. Wonder if they are trying to move in or get at any young that might already be there. Time will tell.

2013 CBC in St. Pete, Part 2

Part two of our St. Pete Christmas Bird Count began after wolfing down some pizza (while still counting birds from the upper deck, of course) and then splitting up to grab some more species for our list. Don and Jeff headed out to some ponds while Lorraine and I headed to another section in hopes of finding a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

It was looking bleak at the spot they saw it earlier in the week. We circled the pond and tallied other birds along the way including Muscovy Ducks resting in the shade under the trees.



In the small retention pond we had Anhinga, Great Egret, Tricolored Heron, and numerous White Ibis which are everywhere.



We began to scan the trees around the pond, taking note of the trees with bore holes made by Sapsuckers in the past. Scanning several trees we did find a Black-and-White Warbler which is always a good find. Still no sign of our target bird and Lorraine charged me with finding one before we left. Moments later, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker flew in right over my head! Once Lorraine got a shot of our bird a second flew in to chase the other around. Success!



Off to search for Hooded Mergansers. They typically frequent a pond across from the golf course, I was told, so we made a stealthy approach (Hoodies are very skittish) but the pond only gave up Common Gallinules and Pied-billed Grebes. Farther along in a different 'window' in the mangroves we did find an adult Brown Pelican, one of many for the day.



Our final search area of the day was the golf course where at least we could ride instead of walk. The new enemy of the count was the increasing winds as the front moved ever closer toward us. There was already rain being reported at the coast.



Our first pond along the first first tee revealed several Blue-winged Teal and a Roseate Spoonbill.



The next pond had a few more Teal and an Anhinga that was not sure whether to fly off or just hope we moved along.



A brave female Anhinga. It let us drive real close to get a sweet pose.



Just past the Anhinga, a Little Blue Heron rested among the reeds.



Jeff and Don took the lead as we passed a flock of Double-crested Cormorants. Nothing else was found here and we decided to wrap up and call it a pretty good day of birding, despite the weather. At least it was warm this year!



In the evening, the votes would be tallied from all of the ten groups throughout the St. Pete area. Total species counted this year was 156 which is fairly average. A new bird found for the count was the first ever Lapland Longspur found by another group to the West of us in a restricted area.

CBCs are always a great time. I am privileged to be asked to help out my west coast birders and love the chance to look for some birds I don't normally get to see in Central Florida. Thanks, as always to Don and Lorraine Margeson for their hospitality and friendship and it was great meeting and birding with a new birding friend in Jeff Miller.

Can't wait until next year!