Florida - Turkey Hunt

I decided to make an early start and to drive the short distance over to Lake Toho to see if I could locate any Wild Turkeys supposedly seen most often at this time of day.

The Southport Road was quiet and I chose a few road-side stops to look and listen for birds. A small group of Blue Jays and Eastern Bluebirds made for a colourful start to the morning. There were many more birds seen at this time of day with dozens of Palm Warblers, my first Pine Warblers, some Eastern Phoebe and a close encounter with a Bald Eagle that swooped down and plucked a Cattle Egret from the field right in front of me. It all happened so fast that I didn’t managed to set my camera for optimized shots of a fast moving bird in flight.

The highlight was a pair of huge Pileated Woodpeckers that flew over calling. Magnificent birds to see and another of my prime target species.

And on the way home, of course a small group of Wild Turkeys that evaporated into the undergrowth once I'd got my camera poised.

Florida Scrub Jay

Shuttle Launch

A fantastic experience not to be missed. For the few minutes it took for this bird to get into orbit, I took little interest in the Belted Kingfishers, Brown Pelicans, Ospreys and the like on Indian River this morning.

Florida - Merritt Island

We spent the hot afternoon driving north through Titusville and then over to Merritt Island where we watched a group of six Manatees at close quarters before calling in at the visitor centre and taking a walk around the hammock trail boardwalk. Few birds were seen in the hot sun but I did connect with my first Downy Woodpecker, Black and White Warbler and a White-eyed Vireo.

Florida - Joe Overstreet Landing

The journey home was diverted towards St Cloud and Lake Kissimmee where we found the Joe Overstreet Road referred to in my birding guide for Florida. American Kestrels greeted us on almost every pylon and a field had over a hundred Cattle Egret feeding together. Palm Warblers were seemingly everywhere and soon became very matter-of-fact. Other birds along the roadside were Sandhill Crane, Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, Eastern Meadowlark, Eastern Phoebe, Savannah Sparrows and the regular flyover Bald Eagles. At the lake side I found my first American Coot and a second Snail Kite, this time a fine male which was feeding along the lake’s edge and was watched unpicking the apple snails from their shells. The onward journey rewarded me with two Crested Caracara by the roadside. One sat on the fence having been feeding on White-tailed Deer road kill. They both gave excellent close views from the car and some nice photographs of a distinct bird were gladly taken.

Florida - Honeymoon Island

Today we decided on a day on a beach on the Gulf Coast. It was warm in the high eighties and following a drive of an hour and a half over to Tampa and Dunedin we settled onto the fantastic white-sand beach at Honeymoon Island.

Offshore were feeding Forster’s, Sandwich and Royal Terns along with the ubiquitous Laughing Gulls in their winter plumage. The sandy beach stretched to the north for two miles or more and I strolled for part of the way seeing Willet, Turnstone, Knot, Black-bellied Plover, Sanderling and Hudsonian Whimbrel in the surf line.

Osprey were common fishing offshore and a single Northern Harrier flew through scattering the Red-winged Blackbirds that were feeding in the grassy dunes. A fearless Green Heron allowed me to approach to within a few feet and my first Brown Pelicans were seen offshore. The hoped for Magnificant Frigatebirds were absent however.

Florida - View from an Airboat

Tired from our journey the day before, a late breakfast was had and we decided to drive to Lake Toho to take a ride on an airboat and to get our first look at our Floridian surroundings. Of course there would be birds. En-route the Turkey Vultures, Black Vultures and a few American Kestrels were viewed.

At Boggy Creek Captain Chuck took us out for a half hour “bird flush” and in no time I had clocked Great White and Great Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Snowy Egret, Cattle Egret, Little Blue Heron, Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Belted Kingfisher, Wood Stork, Limpkin and Greater Yellowlegs. Our driver slowed at strategic points to view a perched Snail Kite and a pair of Bald Eagles on their nest platform. I was left thinking that environmental pressure on the birds during the breeding season would probably be adverse although Lake Toho is one of many huge lakes in Florida.

Florida - day one

As always the first morning is greeted with the sounds of unfamiliar birds and I chose a pre-breakfast stroll around the vicinity of our villa situated close to a golf course and area that would undoubtedly harbor birds. This first morning was grey and it had rained in the night but within 50yds of our home I started to collect species not seen before. Bright red Northern Cardinals, Northern Mockingbird, Blue Jay, Mourning Dove, Loggerhead Shrike, Common Ground Dove and a confiding Brown Thrasher started the day off. What was also very apparent was how tame the birds seemed compared with birds at home in the UK. Three Sandhill Cranes walked along the pavement completely undeterred by me trying to creep up to take some photographs. If anything I ended up backing off as my telephoto lens wouldn’t focus that close !

More Bugs

Two of several on the Raspberry bushes.

Alien Invaders

A real influx noticed this morning. Log sightings at http://www.harlequin-survey.org/default.htm

Long-tailed Tit

Trichomoniasis ?

Greenfinch are enjoying the garden sunflower heads although some are showing signs of disease. This one seemed particularly lethargic.

Spotted Flycatcher

Plenty of birds around this lunch time despite the rain.

Illegal Immigrants

This little chap was a joy to watch diving clear of the water before submerging.

Little Egret

Waders @ Grafham