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Sarasoto and other areas early May (1 Viewer)

njlarsen

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Hello all,
I will be going back to this part of Florida in early May this year. I am hoping that Celery Fields will be showing its best, anywhere else I should strongly consider? We will have a rental car available.

Niels
 
I have uploaded my report here.

I think most are common to the area and unlikely would warrant a special trip to the Clearwater area, going by the list at Celery Fields. Good luck on the trip.
 
njlarsen

What dates in May will you be here? Are there certain birds you would like to target? Celery Fields are a great location, but only for certain birds. There are some specialty birds in this area, as well as Florida's only endemic bird, the Florida Scrub Jay.

Here are two lists I made of birds that are only typically found in Florida or the Southeast USA that may be targeted on your trip:

Florida / Southeast Specialties:

American White Pelican (spring, fall, winter)
Magnificent Frigatebird (sping, summer, fall)
Tricolored Heron
Reddish Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Limpkin
White Ibis
Glossy Ibis (uncommon)
Roseate Spoonbill
Wood Stork
Short-tailed Hawk (spring, summer, fall, uncommon)
Purple Gallinule (spring, summer)
Clapper Rail
American Oystercatcher
Black Skimmer
Common Ground Dove
Eurasian Collared Dove
White-winged Dove (uncommon)
Nanday (Black-hooded) Parakeet
Monk Parakeet
Mangrove Cuckoo (sping, very rare)
Chuck-will's-widow (spring, summer)
Red-cockaded Woodpecker (rare and local)
Gray Kingbird (spring, summer, uncommon)
Brown-headed Nuthatch (uncommon)
Loggerhead Shrike
Black-Whiskered Vireo (spring, very rare)
Painted Bunting (spring, fall, winter) uncommon
Bachman's Sparror (spring, uncommon)
Boat-tailed Grackle

Wading Birds:

Great Blue Heron
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Reddish Egret
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Cattle Egret
Black-crowned Night Heron
Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Green Heron
Least Bittern
American Bittern (winter)
White Ibis
Glossy Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
Wood Stork
American Oystercatcher

There are many other birds in the area not listed. Also, early May is heavy migration so lots of the Warbler Species are passing through as well as other migrants while you will be here. Late May migration slows down, but still some migrants passing through.
 
Thank you, essentially it is the first week of may or at least most of it. I have a quite short list of birds I am still wanting, such as King Rail, so it is also a question of variety at the different locations.

Niels
 
Celery Fields is probably your best bet for the King Rail near Sarasota. What other birds are you going to target? I would be glad to help. I am pretty familiar with the area, and have a good network of other birders.
 
Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you. According to my copy of Scythebill, I am missing these species (and some even less likely ones I have deleted) for Florida:
Fulvous Whistling Duck
Yellow Rail
Black Rail
King Rail
Grey-headed Swamphen
Connecticut Warbler
Spot-breasted Oriole
Seaside Sparrow
Nelson's Sparrow
Saltmarsh Sparrow - VU
Le Conte's Sparrow
Henslow's Sparrow
Varied Bunting (Rare)

So the bottom line is that 1-2 ticks would go good.

Niels
 
No worries Niels. That's a good list. Out of them I would say the most likely ones to get are:

Grey-headed Swamphen- actually pretty likely, you will just have to drive across the state toward Miami. If you want specific locations I can get them to you, or you could use ebird.

Spot-breasted Oriole- same as above.

Seaside Sparrow- This one would also be very likely, but you would need to drive to Everglades National Park and be there early morning when they are more vocal.

King Rail- They are at Celery Fields, it's just a matter of seeing one.

The Rest:

Black Rail- They were being heard very often on the Coastal Prairie Trail in Flamingo back in March. I'm sure they are still there but maybe not as vocal.

Nelson's Sparrow, Saltmarsh Sparrow, Le Conte's Sparrow, Henslow's Sparrow- All these are Winter visitors. They expected to be gone by May.

Fulvous Whistling Duck- more seen in middle of state and towards east coast.

Connecticut Warbler- Mid-Late May migrant

Yellow Rail- Very rare, not even reported each year

Varied Bunting- I think you mean Painted Bunting? Varied Bunting as far as I know would be a new state bird.


Hope this is helpful.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Travis Young
 
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