It was a great day to be outside-cool and sunny.  Ten birders enjoyed easy viewing of the feeders off of the large deck. About 3 dozen American Goldfinches were easily viewed in the treetops.  
 We then proceeded on the trail to the boardwalk and viewing blind at May's Prairie.  Chinsegut is
one of the most reliable places for Red-headed Woodpeckers.  They were abundant and readily seen and heard along the trail and nature center area.  We also had at least 4 Pileated Woodpeckers and many Pine Warblers singing in the treetops.
 Then it was off to Lake Townsen and lunch at Shamrocks.
​                                                                                      The list of species can be viewed at this eBird Link
                                                                                                                             Eileen Riccio/ Jim Meyer

Who says it is too cold to bird?  Actually the morning was not bad at all. In spite of the bill board at the entrance saying the walk would start at 9:00, we still had 13 people out for the morning.  We had American Robins at the gate along with Cedar Waxwings.  Had a Wild Turkey, a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks, several Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers.  The male Pileated Woodpecker gave us a treat at not more than 10 feet from the group extracting some yummy bug from an open tree stump.  We also had Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Yellow-throated Warbler. The eBird link for the 33 species is here
​Photo Courtesy of Thomas Gulley

Monday was really breezy which caused the smaller birds to keep hunkered down.  We still saw 48 species.  Tuesday was better, less windy, with better results.  The two Barred Owls seen Monday were still in the parking lot area. We checked out the outer path around the buildings and had luck with viewing a Painted Bunting, but not a good photo op. Lots of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, and other warblers were busy catching insects,  A Blue-headed Vireo beating a caterpillar on a branch gave us pause. We had a total of 62 species for the day.  The eBird link can be seen here.  But no monster Alligator was  spotted.

I had the great pleasure to lead 45 members from Venice Audubon through some of our most treasured areas in Citrus Co. This group was here for several reasons.  They wanted to see what we had to offer and to have fun birding.  I have never had the pleasure of leading this many avid birders before and would very gladly do it all over.  We started out at Pepper Creek with a lot of activity from Robins galore, but not too many species on the walk. The Pepper Creek eBird link of species can be seen here. Our next stop was lunch at Charlie's Fish House where we were served in a very timely fashion.  The waitresses and of course the chefs were very efficient.  Next up was going across the street to the trollies for a run to 3 Sisters Springs. We started by viewing the Manatees and then on to the marsh areas for a little birding. There was quite a bit of activity, but time constraints limited our viewing.  I took the above photos as we waited for our ride back on the trollies to City Hall.  Beth Perez, Volunteer Co-ordinator, gave some history of the improvements made at the springs. The eBird link of the species  at 3 Sisters can be seen here. Next up was a trip out to Ft Island Beach where we were not disappointed.  The tide was in and the shore birds were in abundance. Our most species of the day was here. In addition to beach area being wall to wall birds; we spotted a  Clapper Rail and then were delighted with several of them calling back and forth. BUT, thanks to one observant person in the Venice group I was given the opportunity to get good photos of the rarest bird of the day.  A Snow Goose appeared on the beach! This goose is henceforth to be known as a legitimate "snowbird." The eBird list of species at Ft Island Beach can be seen at this link.

Again it was a pleasure meeting all of you and perhaps giving you an insight, if somewhat brief, into the treasures of Citrus County.

Fred Hileman
President
​Citrus County Audubon

How to spell cold!! FREEZING!  This trip to St Marks was the coldest that I have experienced since I have been leading the trips.   We started out Sunday morning with 28 degrees and very windy.  Monday morning was a cold 19 degrees!  But this did not stop 16 hearty souls from our "appointed" rounds.  We checked the Refuge first from about 10 AM until 4:30 on Sunday.  This was the most productive.  Monday morning was a run through Bottoms Rd with very little results.  It just was too cold.  But I love to be near the entrance to this are for one of the most beautiful sunrises anywhere.

A few nice surprises were in store.  Golden-crowned Kinglet, White Faced Ibis, Henslow's Sparrow, Adult & juvenile Vermilion Flycatcher, and more.  We didn't beat our record from last year of 108 because of the weather, but we still got 95 species.  The entire list can be seen at this eBird link. Perhaps next year we will set aside a few possible dates in January observing the weather pattern before deciding on the date.