Twelve birders started out, feeling the chill in the air, but the birds didn't mind.  The sun was bright and there were several hot spots with much activity. The first hot spot gave us a hive like flurry of  activity.  The Tufted Titmouse brought many of the first of the count for us to view.  Chickadees, Black & white Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, White-eyed Vireo, and Yellow-rumped Warblers.  Our next hot spot was on the boardwalk.  Here we watched at least three Yellow-throated Warblers competing for the same bits of insect ridden tree moss.  Again the Titmouse had his entourage of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Pine Warblers, Chickadees, and Kinglets.  I am always excited to see one of the earliest migratory harbingers of Spring. It gives me a happy feeling to see my FOS (first of the season) Northern Parula whose name literally means "little titmouse"  in both of the hot spots.  We had 38 species for this area.  Our continuing trip was out to the main road and up to the campground. We had 22 species for this area. A total of 43 for both areas. The highlighted links will take you to the eBird lists. The combined list is below.

Date range:Feb 24, 2016 - Mar 1, 2016Total # of Species:43
Total # of Checklists:2
Location(s):   US-Florida-Dunnellon-10662-10696 SW 180th Avenue Rd - 29.066x-82.42; US-Florida-Dunnellon-18185 SW 94th Street. - 29.088x-82.422 


Summary
 Feb 24Feb 25Feb 26Feb 27Feb 28Feb 29Mar 1
Number of Species------43------
Number of Individuals------64------
Number of Checklists------2------

Highest Count for a Species   (sample size)Hide Sample Size
Species NameFeb 24Feb 25Feb 26Feb 27Feb 28Feb 29Mar 1
Wood Duck------1 
(2)------
Pied-billed Grebe------1 
(2)------
Double-crested Cormorant------1 
(1)------
Anhinga------1 
(2)------
Great Blue Heron------1 
(1)------
Great Egret------1 
(2)------
Snowy Egret------2 
(1)------
Black Vulture------1 
(1)------
Turkey Vulture------1 
(2)------
Bald Eagle------1 
(1)------
Red-shouldered Hawk------1 
(2)------
Common Gallinule------1 
(1)------
American Coot------1 
(1)------
Sandhill Crane------1 
(1)------
Mourning Dove------2 
(1)------
Belted Kingfisher------1 
(1)------
Red-bellied Woodpecker------1 
(2)------
Pileated Woodpecker------1 
(1)------
American Kestrel------1 
(1)------
Eastern Phoebe------1 
(2)------
White-eyed Vireo------1 
(1)------
American Crow------1 
(2)------
Fish Crow------1 
(2)------
Tree Swallow------1 
(1)------
Carolina Chickadee------1 
(1)------
Tufted Titmouse------1 
(2)------
Carolina Wren------2 
(2)------
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher------1 
(2)------
Ruby-crowned Kinglet------1 
(2)------
Eastern Bluebird------1 
(1)------
American Robin------1 
(1)------
Gray Catbird------1 
(1)------
Northern Mockingbird------1 
(1)------
Cedar Waxwing------1 
(1)------
Black-and-white Warbler------1 
(1)------
Northern Parula------1 
(1)------
Palm Warbler------1 
(2)------
Pine Warbler------1 
(1)------
Yellow-rumped Warbler------1 
(2)------
Yellow-throated Warbler------1 
(1)------
Eastern Towhee------1 
(1)------
Northern Cardinal------2 
(2)------
Brown-headed Cowbird------1 
(1)------

Great turnout for this trip!! Twenty-six took in the sights and sounds that resonated throughout the area.  Limpkins were rather quiet at the onset, but as the morning progressed, their vocalizations began as they loudly proclaimed their territories.  We had good views of 6 duck species, Herons, egrets, Ibis were in good quantities. A Sora swam out from under the boardwalk to give us good views.  A Clapper Rail was calling from the marsh. (I have heard the Clapper Rail many of the times that we have been in the park but eBird still says it is RARE.  Birds just don't care about boundaries nor do they read. Tree Swallows were thicker than pea soup.  It was quite a thrill to have them soaring across the path in and all around us.  The disappointment is that a Pectoral Sandpiper was supposedly seen before we arrived, but alas after viewing the photos: not.  Nor did I see any dowitchers in the pics that I took.  I saw Least Sandpipers and Wilson's Snipes.  You were right Virginia "there are no Pectorals."  At least by my shots.  But the Snipes were in good numbers in the mud flats in the back along the left side of the Park.  This is an area that we have not ventured before, but will definitely do so in the future. The eBird link of the 58 species recorded is here.

Here is a message I received from Rex Rowan
Hi, Fred -
 
I saw the photo of the Pectoral Sandpiper, and it was accurately ID'd. However there are plenty of Wilson's Snipes in the area you describe. I've seen snipe flocks elsewhere of 55 birds.
 
Rex

So, check your photos again!!!!!!!

"Oh what a beautiful morning , Oh what a beautiful day". I'm tired of winter!!!  No more 60's.  Welcome some 70's and up. The birds were in agreement.  They were out and enjoying the sunshine as were the 16 of us who started our day at Honeymoon Island.  It seems every year we come back here it's as if it is the first time.  We remember as we travel into the island all  the different nooks and areas where we have seen certain species in the past.  Mergansers, Loons, Grebes, Egrets were readily seen.  The Pet Beach always amazes me in that this is the area where the Plovers (Piping, Wilson;s, Semipalmated, Black-bellied) seem to congregate.  Two American Oystercatchers on the beach were so very cooperative. Then on to the Osprey Walk and finding the Great Horned Owl that was not supposed to be there was a thrill for all. Leaving Honeymoon with a total of 68 species, which can be seen at this eBird link  and on to a much deserved lunch break  at Lucky Dill. 
A stop at the water treatment plant off  Dunn on our way to Fred Howard Beach gave us some of the few species of ducks for the trip. Here we had 14 species including the ducks which can be seen at this link. It was 3:30 before leaving this area and traveling on to Fred Howard Beach.  The highlights were the Marbled Godwits that fed along the causeway. We then had to bid adieu and fight our way back up through the horrendous traffic on US19 to home. The eBird link for this part of the trip can be seen here. Did I say what a beautiful day?

Here is a combo list for the three areas.
WEEK REPORT:  High CountPrintable version | Download this report
Report Details      
Date range:Feb 15, 2016 - Feb 21, 2016Total # of Species:77       
Total # of Checklists:3       
Location(s):   Honeymoon Island; US-Florida-Palm Harbor-4111 Dunn Dr - 28.108x-82.766; US-Florida-Tarpon Springs-Howard Park Causeway - 28.153x-82.795        
Summary
 15-Feb16-Feb17-Feb18-Feb19-Feb20-Feb21-Feb
Number of Species--------77----
Number of Individuals--------117----
Number of Checklists--------3----
Highest Count for a SpeciesShow Sample Size
Species Name15-Feb16-Feb17-Feb18-Feb19-Feb20-Feb21-Feb
Canvasback--------1----
Redhead--------1----
Ring-necked Duck--------1----
Bufflehead--------1----
Red-breasted Merganser--------1----
Common Loon--------1----
Pied-billed Grebe--------1----
Horned Grebe--------1----
Double-crested Cormorant--------2----
American White Pelican--------1----
Brown Pelican--------1----
Great Blue Heron--------1----
Great Egret--------1----
Snowy Egret--------1----
Little Blue Heron--------1----
Tricolored Heron--------1----
Reddish Egret--------1----
White Ibis--------1----
Black Vulture--------1----
Turkey Vulture--------1----
Osprey--------1----
Cooper's Hawk--------1----
Bald Eagle--------1----
American Oystercatcher--------1----
Black-bellied Plover--------1----
Wilson's Plover--------1----
Semipalmated Plover--------1----
Piping Plover--------1----
Killdeer--------2----
Greater Yellowlegs--------1----
Willet--------1----
Lesser Yellowlegs--------1----
Marbled Godwit--------1----
Ruddy Turnstone--------1----
Red Knot--------1----
Sanderling--------1----
Dunlin--------1----
Least Sandpiper--------1----
Western Sandpiper--------1----
Short-billed Dowitcher--------1----
Short-billed/Long-billed Dowitcher--------1----
Laughing Gull--------1----
Ring-billed Gull--------2----
Herring Gull--------1----
Forster's Tern--------1----
Royal Tern--------1----
Black Skimmer--------1----
Rock Pigeon--------1----
Common Ground-Dove--------1----
Mourning Dove--------1----
Great Horned Owl--------1----
Belted Kingfisher--------1----
Red-bellied Woodpecker--------1----
Downy Woodpecker--------1----
Monk Parakeet--------1----
Eastern Phoebe--------1----
Loggerhead Shrike--------1----
Fish Crow--------1----
Tree Swallow--------1----
House Wren--------1----
Ruby-crowned Kinglet--------1----
American Robin--------1----
Gray Catbird--------1----
Northern Mockingbird--------1----
European Starling--------1----
Palm Warbler--------1----
Pine Warbler--------1----
Yellow-rumped Warbler--------1----
Yellow-throated Warbler--------1----
Chipping Sparrow--------1----
Savannah Sparrow--------1----
Eastern Towhee--------1----
Northern Cardinal--------1----
Red-winged Blackbird--------1----
Common Grackle--------1----
Boat-tailed Grackle--------1----
House Sparrow--------1----
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 This combination field trip while being superb, was brutal with the temps and the strong, blasting out of the north winds! Did I say cold? It was downright bone chilling.  It was not the time for the faint of heart, but you just can't keep a birder down!!  We began at Orlando Wetlands with a group field trip consisting of  14 from CCAS and 5 from Hernando Audubon.  We tallied 56 species for this outing.  The eBird list can be seen here at this link 
The even colder Wednesday morning found us at our meeting place on the causeway on Merritt. The temps didn't get any better and we still had bone chilling winds.  We birded a new area (pump house) and got to see Roseate Spoonbills and White Pelicans in the coves.  Then on to Black Point. We drove the 7-mile Black Point Drive seeing Spoonbills, one lone American Avocet,, Wigeon, Mottled, Blue-winged Teal, Shoveler, Pintail, Ring-necked, and Greater & Lesser Scaup. We got good views of Hooded & Red-breasted Mergansers &  Horned Grebes.  Out of the drive and time for a nice lunch.  We got good views of the Common Loon and the Greater-black-backed Gull looking out from our seating area at CrackerJack's Tiki Bar & Grill. After lunch off  to the shore and not for a swim but for Northern Gannets. We were not disappointed.  We then drove back to BioLab Road. And for me, this was a highlight of the trip.  Two beautiful Black-necked Stilts!  They fed in the shallows and gave us some very close-up photo ops.  I love their long, fragile looking, stilt, pink legs. They most assuredly were dubbed with  their name from their outward appearance. The list of  93 species can be seen at this eBird link. 
Thursday morning out to Pine Island with a wee bit of improvement, but the winds still were whistling down from the north. Pine Island is a Environmentally Endangered Land (EEL)project which afforded us a look at 44 species. The entire list can be seen at this eBird link. The combination report of 111 species  for the 3 day trip can be seen here. Then it was time to click our heels and say twice it was fun, "but there's no place like home."

I can't say the morning was warm, but it was bright and cold.  The wind off the lake was brutal, but 10 of us braved the elements. Oh what we do for birds!  We also had A.B.Sidibe Reporter and Matt Beck Photographer from The Citrus Chronicle  along for an interview.  They were trying to find out what makes us tick!!! Thank them for coming out this morning.  We had many of the likely suspects, Herons, Egrets, Woodpeckers, etc.  We got good views of Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, & White-eyed Vireos.  For Warblers, there were Black-and-White, Palm, Pine, & Yellow-rumped. The unusual bird for the trip was the Purple Gallinule, a rarity for the area.  I got a photo, but not the best. The Northern Mockingbird can give you some indication of just how cold it was.  He resembled a puff ball as he tried to catch some warmth from the sun's rays.The entire list of 44 birds recorded can be seen at this eBird link.