Florida List & Index

Brown Pelican, sunrise Pt Ybel

Shari & I went to Sanibel Island with Mike & Chris last week. It was our 3rd trip down there probably the 8th time there for Mike & Chris. We birded almost all the hot spots in the area, starting and ending the trip at Ding Darling. We hit Corkscrew Swamp, went looking for rarities in Cape Coral, met up with our friends Karmela & Sue for some intensive birding at Harns Marsh and Babcock-Webb WMA and generally had a great time. We even found a couple of Wawas down there. Shari & I got 3 life birds, or 4 if I want to ignore the Jersey sighting of Muscovy Duck last month.
Here are the links to our adventures:

Sanibel 12/11--Eurasian Collared-Dove, Common Ground-Dove, Pileated Woodpecker

Ding Darling 12/11--Mottled Duck, Roseate Spoonbill

Harns Marsh 12/12--Wood Stork, GRAY-HEADED SWAMPHEN, Limpkin

Babcock-Webb WMA 12/12--RED-COCKADED WOODPECKER, Loggerhead Shrike

Sanibel Beach 12/13--Sandwich Tern

Corkscrew Swamp 12/13--Short-tailed Hawk

Bunche Beach 12/14--Wilson's Plover

Cape Coral 12/14--Muscovy Duck

Cape Coral 12/14--FLORIDA SCRUB-JAY

Pelican Blvd Baseball Fields 12/14--Burrowing Owl

Little Estero Lagoon 12/16

Pond Apple Park Trail 12/16-17

Our list 117 species.

Counties birded: Charlotte, Collier, Lee

Species                First Sighting

Muscovy Duck   Fort Myers-McGregor Blvd

Mottled Duck   J. N. Ding Darling NWR

Blue-winged Teal   J. N. Ding Darling NWR--Bailey Tract

Ring-necked Duck   Harns Marsh

Black Scoter   Point Ybel Lighthouse Beach Park

Hooded Merganser   J. N. Ding Darling NWR

Pied-billed Grebe   J. N. Ding Darling NWR

Wood Stork   Harns Marsh

Magnificent Frigatebird   East Gulf Drive

Double-crested Cormorant   East Gulf Drive

Anhinga   J. N. Ding Darling NWR

American White Pelican   J. N. Ding Darling NWR

Brown Pelican   Sanibel Beach

American Bittern   Babcock-Webb WMA

Great Blue Heron   J. N. Ding Darling NWR

Great Egret   J. N. Ding Darling NWR

Snowy Egret   J. N. Ding Darling NWR

Little Blue Heron   J. N. Ding Darling NWR

Tricolored Heron   J. N. Ding Darling NWR

Reddish Egret   J. N. Ding Darling NWR

Cattle Egret   Harns Marsh

Green Heron   J. N. Ding Darling NWR

Black-crowned Night-Heron   Babcock-Webb WMA

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron   J. N. Ding Darling NWR

White Ibis   J. N. Ding Darling NWR

Glossy Ibis   Harns Marsh

Roseate Spoonbill   J. N. Ding Darling NWR

Black Vulture   Harns Marsh

Turkey Vulture   East Gulf Drive

Osprey   Sanibel Beach

Snail Kite   Harns Marsh

Cooper's Hawk   East Gulf Drive

Bald Eagle   J. N. Ding Darling NWR

Red-shouldered Hawk   Harns Marsh

Short-tailed Hawk   Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

GRAY-HEADED SWAMPHEN   Harns Marsh

Common Gallinule   J. N. Ding Darling NWR--Bailey Tract

American Coot   J. N. Ding Darling NWR--Bailey Tract

Limpkin   Harns Marsh

Sandhill Crane   Harns Marsh

American Avocet   Little Estero Lagoon

American Oystercatcher   Little Estero Lagoon

Black-bellied Plover   Sanibel Beach

Wilson's Plover   Bunche Beach Preserve

Semipalmated Plover   J. N. Ding Darling NWR

Piping Plover   Bunche Beach Preserve

Killdeer   J. N. Ding Darling NWR

Marbled Godwit   Bunche Beach Preserve

Ruddy Turnstone   Sanibel Beach

Red Knot   Bunche Beach Preserve

Sanderling   Sanibel Beach

Dunlin   J. N. Ding Darling NWR

Least Sandpiper   J. N. Ding Darling NWR

Western Sandpiper   Bunche Beach Preserve

Short-billed Dowitcher   J. N. Ding Darling NWR

Spotted Sandpiper   J. N. Ding Darling NWR

Greater Yellowlegs   J. N. Ding Darling NWR

Willet   Sanibel Beach

Laughing Gull   J. N. Ding Darling NWR

Ring-billed Gull   J. N. Ding Darling NWR

Herring Gull   Sanibel Beach

Lesser Black-backed Gull   Sanibel Beach

Common Tern   Bunche Beach Preserve

Forster's Tern   Point Ybel Lighthouse Beach Park

Royal Tern   Point Ybel Lighthouse Beach Park

Sandwich Tern   Sanibel Beach

Black Skimmer   Point Ybel Lighthouse Beach Park

Eurasian Collared-Dove   Sanibel

Common Ground-Dove   Sanibel Captiva Rd

Mourning Dove   East Gulf Drive

Eastern Screech-Owl   Sanibel Inn

Burrowing Owl   Pelican Blvd. Baseball Fields

Belted Kingfisher   J. N. Ding Darling NWR--Bailey Tract

Red-bellied Woodpecker   East Gulf Drive

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker   Babcock-Webb WMA

Downy Woodpecker   Babcock-Webb WMA

RED-COCKADED WOODPECKER   Babcock-Webb WMA

Northern Flicker   Babcock-Webb WMA

Pileated Woodpecker   East Gulf Drive

American Kestrel   East Gulf Drive

Monk Parakeet   Pelican Blvd. Baseball Fields

Eastern Phoebe   J. N. Ding Darling NWR--Bailey Tract

Great Crested Flycatcher   Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Loggerhead Shrike   Babcock-Webb WMA

White-eyed Vireo   Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Blue-headed Vireo   Point Ybel Lighthouse Beach Park

Blue Jay   Harns Marsh

FLORIDA SCRUB-JAY   Cape Coral

American Crow   John Street Public Beach

Fish Crow   East Gulf Drive

Tree Swallow   Harns Marsh

House Wren   Sanibel Beach

Marsh Wren   Naples Botanical Garden

Carolina Wren   Periwinkle Way

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   East Gulf Drive

Eastern Bluebird   Babcock-Webb WMA

American Robin   J. N. Ding Darling NWR--Bailey Tract

Gray Catbird   East Gulf Drive

Northern Mockingbird   East Gulf Drive

European Starling   East Gulf Drive

Black-and-white Warbler   Manatee Park

Common Yellowthroat   Sanibel Beach

Northern Parula   Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Palm Warbler   Point Ybel Lighthouse Beach Park

Pine Warbler   Babcock-Webb WMA

Yellow-rumped Warbler   East Gulf Drive

Yellow-throated Warbler   East Gulf Drive

Prairie Warbler   J. N. Ding Darling NWR--Bailey Tract

Savannah Sparrow   Harns Marsh

Swamp Sparrow   J. N. Ding Darling NWR--Bailey Tract

Eastern Towhee   Babcock-Webb WMA

Northern Cardinal   Periwinkle Way - 26.4509x-82.0236

Red-winged Blackbird   Babcock-Webb WMA

Eastern Meadowlark   Babcock-Webb WMA

Common Grackle   East Gulf Drive

Boat-tailed Grackle   Fort Myers

American Goldfinch   Harns Marsh

Cape Coral 12/14--Muscovy Duck

Muscovy Ducks, Wawa Cape Coral
Photo: Shari Zirlin

Chris was with us today which was lucky for us. Chris kind of birds with her left hand and has the ability to glance out the window and pick out a great bird. So, on the approach to the bridge to Cape Coral on McGregor Blvd while we were stopped at a traffic light, she asked what that goose was with the White Ibises. The goose turned out to be a Muscovy Duck. True, I listed this duck last month as a lifer, but it is of dubious countability in NJ and I never would have listed them in Ocean County ducklings or no ducklings. In Florida, it is on the checklist as well established--just like pigeons and House Sparrows. Problem was, we couldn't get pictures as the light changed.

Chris also picks out Wawa's and as we were driving up Del Prado Blvd she found me my 2nd life Wawa of the trip. We were all happy to stop for some good coffee. Perhaps not as happy as Shari appears, but happy nonetheless.

After we tanked up we pulled out of the parking lot onto a side street. Once again, Chris pointed out that there were ducks beneath the trees. And these Muscovy Ducks we were all able to photograph. These ducks really do appear closer to their natural state being mostly black instead of the domestic white birds we saw in Ocean Grove.


So I'm giving Chris credit for one life Wawa and one half of a life bird.

Cape Coral 12/14--FLORIDA SCRUB-JAY

FLORIDA SCRUB-JAY, Cape Coral
Photo Shari Zirlin

FLORIDA SCRUB-JAY is supposedly a rare bird in Cape Coral and the one time 3 years ago that Shari and I went hunting for one is certainly seemed that way, but, if you know where to look, they're pretty easy to find. And fortunately, Karmela knew where to look. So we met her & Sue out on these desolate, undeveloped lots in the northwest section of the city and after driving around in rectangles for a while we came upon a couple of jays.

Photo: Sue Puder

I don't know how Karmela knew about this trick, but she stood in the field with a half a Ritz cracker in her hand and one of the jays came down to snatch it away. You can see that this bird has been banded.

All around these fields were staked out areas indicating that Burrowing Owls had nested there. There were dozens of stakes, but no owls in that area. We did find some other birds of note: Loggerhead Shrike, American Kestrel, and Eastern Meadowlark.

9 species
Turkey Vulture  2
Northern Flicker  1
American Kestrel  1
Loggerhead Shrike  1
Blue Jay  1
FLORIDA SCRUB-JAY 2     
Tree Swallow  5
Northern Mockingbird  1
Eastern Meadowlark  5

Loggerhead Shrike
Photo: Shari Zirlin

Eastern Meadowlark
Photo: Shari Zirlin

Pelican Blvd Baseball Fields 12/14--Burrowing Owl

Burrowing Owl
Photos: Shari Zirlin

We drove south in Cape Coral where it seemed every empty lot had an owl indicator stuck in the ground but no owls were out. Perhaps, we thought, because it was mid-day. We decided to look for them at their historical site, the fields behind the Cape Coral library. If nothing else, we could take a bio break there. Now owls there either. The last sighting for them had been at the Pelican Blvd Baseball fields, which were about a mile away from the library so we all headed over there, driving slowly around the perimeter of the fields, which also had some stakes, but no again, no owls. Mike decided to look across the street at the soccer fields (why not, what do owls know about sports?) when I got a text from Karmela: "Got one." We hot-tailed it back to the baseball fields and there, just at the fence line was one Burrowing Owl, calmly looking back at us.


We were enjoying this owl when one of the maintenance workers told us that there was a mother with her owlet out in the farther field. We walked over there, and there, in foul territory on the third base side, were the two owls, looking up at us from their hole. I don't know what the ground rules are for owls there.

We were also hoping to find Nanday Parakeets at this location and when we heard some fierce screeching I was hopeful but the birds making the ruckus turned out "only" be Monk Parakeets. They appear to like nesting in the field lights.

When a flock of them really got active, flying low over the two owls over the third base side, the mother owl jumped out of her hole and began a distraction display.

The Burrowing Owls were the last year birds we listed on the trip. They brought my year total up to 446 species. Not as many species as I was hoping for when the year began, but more than I've had before in one year.

9 species
Turkey Vulture  3
Mourning Dove  6
Burrowing Owl  3     
Downy Woodpecker  1
Monk Parakeet  21
Loggerhead Shrike  1
Northern Mockingbird  1
European Starling  5
Palm Warbler  4