[Andy Wraithmell]

As I seem to be getting out in the field more often now that Ive finished selling cars for a living, I thought I'd share my days out birding in the sunshine state. It fills the time between the Simpson's, Jeopardy and bed!

Over the weekend my wife and I went to our favourite gulf coast birding spot, Bald Point SP (see my write up in Birding Locations).

Migration on Saturday was pretty slow but we did have some interesting stuff. Hawk migration (due to weather - overcast) was almost non-existent but we did have 2 Cooper's and a Merlin. Other flybys included 6 Palm Warblers, a lone Boblink, 23 Blue-winged Teal, a Wilson's Snipe and 3 Pec Sands.
Grounded migrants included 10 Palm Warblers, 31 Gray Catbird, 2 Tennessee Warblers, an Eastern Phoebe and 2 splendid Yellow-billed Cuckoos.
Whilst trying to scare up the Tennessee's an Eastern Screech-owl started singing.

Sunday was a much better day (cold front had passed) and there were lots of Palm Warblers on the move. We counted 735 in 4 hours. Grounded migrants were thin but interesting, we had 3 American Redstarts, 8 Pine Warbler, 4 Northern Parula, a Black & White, single Yellow-throated, Magnolia and Hooded Warblers (the latter a young male), one Common Yellowthroat, 3 Eastern Kingbirds, House and Sedge Wren and a female Baltimore Oriole. The bushes were alive with Gray Catbirds in places and we had a total of 60 during the morning competing with the resident Mockingbirds for Yaupon berries.
Overhead we counted 7 Bobolinks, an Indigo Bunting, 7 Wilson's Snipe, 2 Northern Rough-winged Swallow and 8 Bank Swallows.
Hawk migration was a bit slow but we did have the following; 8 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 12 Cooper's Hawks, 8 American Kestrels and 1 Northern Harrier.
Our most spectacular sighting was a flock of 300 American White Pelicans slowly drifting east on a thermal, no doubt heading to south Florida for the winter.

[Andy Wraithmell]

I headed out for some fresh air this morning to Springhill sewage treatment plant here in Tallahassee and a most splendid time!

The impoundments had a lot of mud around the margins which had attracted the following migrant shorebirds; 17 Pecs, 12 Stilt Sands, 2 Semipalmated Sands, a Wilson's Snipe and a whole load of Least Sands. Other interesting species included 200 Blue-winged Teal and 5 Northern Shoveler indicating winter isnt that far away. 20 Cattle Egrets was a high count at this site for me and 2 Pied-billed Grebes were presumably migrants as they arent noted that often.

[buckskin hawk]

Looks like a great time. Who else but we birders would go to a sewage treatment plant and have a good time.

[Andy Wraithmell]

Made the most of my second day off work and headed down to St Marks NWR but didnt have very much, there were a few shorebirds on Stoney Bayou but little else was around, so I headed to Bald Point in the hope that the low cloud ceiling had encouraged a few migrants to drop in. It was pretty good and had a good array of species albeit in small numbers which actually made it more enjoyable and I spent more time oggling the birds that were there.
At the end of the oak hammock a good collection of warblers had gathered mostly American Redstarts (12) but also Magnolia, Prairie, Yellow-throated, Pine, Black & White, Blackburnian, Tennessee and Chestnut-sided. An Acadian Flycatcher zipped around clicking its bill as it snapped insects from the air and a Summer Tanager brightened up the place. Palm Warblers and Gray Catbirds were abundant and I had a nice group of 9 Indigo Buntings feeding on a grassy verge. A Swainson's Thrush obliged by sitting out in the open feeding on Yaupon berries but was chased by a catbird before I could get a picture!
I stopped by Jack's house on the way off the island and we had a Scarlet Tanager and a Swainson's Thrush visit his birdbath but the highlight was 2 White-winged Doves which are recorded in small numbers in fall (mostly to Jacks well stocked feeding station).

[Andy Wraithmell]

took a couple of friends on their first ever birding trip this morning to St Marks NWR. We had a great time with some good birds. We started off at the Stoney Bayou and got great looks at a group of Killdeer which were very noisy, a female Pintail flew over and Susan identified her first Cattle Egret, on of several feeding on the side of the refuge road. Best bird was a Yellow-breasted Chat which gave tantalisingly brief views as it worked along the roadside myrtles. The Gray Catbirds were much more obliging as was a lone Indigo Bunting. An Osprey flew over with a fish and we got close looks at a feeding group of Long-billed Dowitchers. Down at Headquarters trail we searched for migrants in the oak hammock and had great looks at a couple of Wood Thrushes, Swainson's Thrush, White-eyed Vireo, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher but best of all a couple of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. They seemd oblivious to our presence as they fed on Wax Myrtle berries.
The lighthouse was our next stop where we had Savannah Sparrows, Palm Warblers, House Wren and a late Yellow Warbler. Best however was a flyover Bald Eagle which put up a big flock of egrets and ibis. Amongst them was two Reddish Egrets which came and landed near where we were stood. A perfect end to an enjoyable 2 hours.

[chris baker]

Hi Andy,

You seem to having a ball there. Hope to get a few of the above for myself in November, got a week in Naples and a week on Estero Beach, can't wait!

[Andy Wraithmell]

Is Fall migration over then? It seemed so this week as the latest cold front brought very few songbirds with it, well in terms of diversity that is. I went down to Bald Point on my day off work and had my first Yellow-rumped Warblers of the season as well as hundreds of Palm Warblers but apart from the resident Pine's I saw no other species. Gray Catbirds dominated proceedings and were literally everywhere gorging themselves on Yaupon berries in between battles with the local Northern Mockingbirds. The first wave of Eastern Phoebes arrrived as well as Northern Flickers but no Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers yet. I had pretty good looks at a Sora and there were several Indigo Buntings as well as a lone Bobolink. American Kestrels were moving through in small numbers but thats all folks.

[Andy Wraithmell]

My wife and I went down to St Marks NWR this morning and had a good time especially as I got to play with my new toy (Canon 20D) for the first time in the field.

We arrived fairly early and walked along the road by Stoney Bayou getting good looks at a few Swamp Sparrows, Indigo Bunting, House Finches, Common Yellowthroat and an immature Bald Eagle which landed in a nearby Pine tree. I pulled out my camera and fired off a couple of shots of a perching Red-shouldered Hawk. From there we headed on down the road stopping to watch a group of Gadwall and American Wigeon. Headquarters Pond area was swarming with skeeters but we lingered for a while searching through a big flock of Red-winged Blackbirds to see if anything from out west was with them. The lighthouse area was very productive and a light breeze kept the insects quiet. Quite a few wrens were around, mostly Sedge and Marsh but also a House. Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers were abundant and Swamp Sparrows had arrived in earnest for the winter. Out on the pond a few Redheads swam around accompanied by a pair of Lesser Scaup. At least a dozen Pied-billed Grebes were fishing in between periods of mock display. An adult Bald Eagle caused momentary panic but the dust soon settled out which appeared a pair of juvenile Reddish Egrets. I managed to find a quiet spot and watch three Sedge Wrens hop around in front of me quite upset by my clicking noises. One took exception to the whirr of my new toy. Monarchs were still migrating through and were present in decent numbers along with a few Gulf Frits. Not a bad few hours and I got to christen my camera.

[Andy Wraithmell]

Early rise and a quick drive to St Marks for a few hours birding Sunday before work. Wish we could've stayed all day as there were tons of birds on the refuge especially wildfowl. The latest cold front brought plenty of new arrivals with it most interesting was a flock of 14 Snow Geese which were present on Mounds Pool 3. Even better was a Ross's Goose, the first one at the refuge for a few years and a new state bird for Julie, Ross and I.
Ducks were everywhere and we searched through the many Lesser Scaup, Redheads and Am. Wigeon for any oddities. There were 5 Canvasbacks on lighthouse pond along with a few Greater Scaup. Good numbers of Hooded Mergansers were scattered around along with a few Ruddy Ducks, Gadwall, Pintail and Ring-necked Duck.
At the helipad we flushed a Henslow's Sparrow which then obliged by sitting half concealed in a small shrub at the edge of the field. A few Eastern Meadowlarks were flying around as well. A lot more Song Sparrows had arrived with the cold front but most interesting was the large number of Wilson's Snipe, easily a couple of hundred dotted around, most feeding out in the open.
There are certainly signs that this winter is going to produce a lot of interesting records as most of the birds arriving are not only early but in good numbers. The next cold front hits wednesday, can't wait.

[Andy Wraithmell]

Went down to St Marks NWR this morning to try and relocate the Ross's Goose as confusion is reigning as to whether there actually is/was one. Mainly because photographs of a presumed hybrid Ross'sXSnow were posted. Well thankfully my sanity was rstored as I quickly located the adult Ross's Goose feeding on Mounds I pool with 8 Snow Geese. Got a few digiscoped pics and then headed down to lighthouse pond where there are now 10 Canvasbacks and a butt load of Lesser Scaup and Redheads. The numbers of wildfowl seems to be growing.

If anyone is interested in the presumed hybrid follow this link

http://floridabirds-l.50megs.com

[sparrowbirder]

Andy,first howdy from a fellow scouser and Liverpool supporter!! just wondering if you spend much time birding saddle creek park,went there a few years ago and it was a great place,loads of different warblers incl worm eating,ovenbird,northern waterthrush etc etc and great views of limpkin,must admit ,the mosquitos were pretty ferocious though!!!!!!1

[Andy Wraithmell]

Originally Posted by sparrowbirder

Andy,first howdy from a fellow scouser and Liverpool supporter!! just wondering if you spend much time birding saddle creek park,went there a few years ago and it was a great place,loads of different warblers incl worm eating,ovenbird,northern waterthrush etc etc and great views of limpkin,must admit ,the mosquitos were pretty ferocious though!!!!!!1

Went their once but its a few hours south of where I live sparrow. Its a good spot for wintering Black-throated Green Warblers I believe.
The skeeters are pretty horrendous no matter where you go in Florida, its the one major downside to living here. Mosquitoes, Yellow Jackets, Ticks and 100F degree heat with 75%+ humidity sure does wear me down in the summer. It was a perfect 60F today.