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Tampa region in early May (1 Viewer)

njlarsen

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Dear all, in early may i will have most of two days available starting and ending at Tampa Bay intl airport and with a rented car available. I have a couple of species I would particularly like to check out, and am looking for recommendations for which locations would offer good opportunities.
King Rail (and a little reference to Clapper rail would also be nice)
Bachman's Sparrow
Nelson's/Saltmarsh/Seaside sparrows?
Are there good populations of any of the parakeets/parrots in that area?

Anything else I might have forgotten to think about?

Thanks
Niels
 
Dear all, in early may i will have most of two days available starting and ending at Tampa Bay intl airport and with a rented car available. I have a couple of species I would particularly like to check out, and am looking for recommendations for which locations would offer good opportunities.
King Rail (and a little reference to Clapper rail would also be nice)
Bachman's Sparrow
Nelson's/Saltmarsh/Seaside sparrows?
Are there good populations of any of the parakeets/parrots in that area?

Anything else I might have forgotten to think about?

Thanks
Niels

I am across the bay in st pete and don't bird tampa much but may be able to give you some ideas. This are places In area I go.
King rail. Celery fields in Sarasota. One of the better spots around that you might get lucky and see one
Seaside. You want to go north. Am trying a spot either this weekend or next. Will advise if successful. Will prob be good for clapper rail also
Nelson/salt marsh can sometimes be found on north beach ft desoto in salt grass area. Can be tough to get good looks at Also chance area closed for shorebird nesting
Nandy parakeets usually at ft desoto
Monk parakeets sometimes also at ft d or on the drive out to park

Hope this helps. Will let you know if I locate seaside

Randy
 
Thanks Randy. I expect to be able to drive maybe 100 miles away from Tampa if the birdlife dictates, so your information is helpful indeed.

Niels
 
Nelson's and Saltmarsh Sparrow will likely not be present in Florida at all in early May. They are only around in the winter.
 
Niels -
In 2012, Liz and I found Monk Parakeets and Nanday Parakeets on the same power line at the Gulfport Municipal Marina in south St. Pete. We visited Celery Fields which has a good reputation but, except for a number of Glossy Ibis, did not see much of note there. Habitat looked fairly good for rails.

Steve
 
Thanks for all the input, it is now about two weeks before my trip. If we do make it out to the Ocala forest, will there be any good areas for Bachman's Sparrow anymore, and will they still be vocal at the start of May? Any recent things to consider?

Niels
 
I Had Bachman sparrow last weekend at Oscar Schere park singing and in view. Not a bad drive from tampa but will want to be there when they open at 8 am as no shade and summer weather is here. Take green trail. Blue trail for possible florida scrub jay. Scrub jay numbers however are down in park

Randy
 
Randy, thank you much! I did not see this message yesterday, instead using some time on Ebird, which finally focused me in on exactly the same park and trail you describe here :t:

I have more or less decided that for the day we are on our own, we will stay in a hotel in Sarasota, so as to being close to this park and the celery fields that both you and Steve referred to.

Niels
 
Do you get Tropical Kingbird down your way? If not there is a pair reported to be nesting at St Armands Key shopping center again this year. If interested will send directions, or you can find them on ebird. Celery fields has 2 short boardwalks. Check the one off the main road. There is a pair of King Rails nesting in that area. Also Least Bittern is in that area. Purple Gallinule possible along with Black Bellied Whistling Duck. Also if you go back to main road, turn left you can park in grass along road. There are two small ponds that if they are low with exposed mud various birds can show up there. Do you need Red Cockaded Woodpecker or Brown Headed Nuthatch. About an hour south is Babcock-Webb. Both possible at that location along with Eastern Meadow Lark and Hairy Woodpecker. Enter park $2 per person paved road will turn to hardshell, keep going straight until you reach first left hand turn. Hang a left, roll down windows, drive slow and listen. Bachman Sparrow also possible at this location off and on.
Good luck enjoy your stay. Loads of good places to eat in Downtown Sarasota or St Armands Key

Randy
 
Thanks Randy,
those additional infos are great. I do not "need" those species mentioned in your last post, first time I had Red-cockaded was in early Jan 1995. I have not seen Tropical Kingbird here but in Mexico and places further south. We get Gray Kingbird.

Niels
 
Thanks to all contributors to this thread and especially to Randy who I have been emailing with in addition to what happened in this thread.

I got Backman's sparrow in Oscar Scherer and Nanday at Ft Desoto. They had lowered the water in south cell of Celery Fields, so the King Rail had not been seen the last 5 days - presumably moved to a wetter part of the park away from the boardwalk. Many other good birds around.

Niels
 
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