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Recap - Ft. Island Beach

2/27/2019

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We had quite a turnout at our field trip to Ft. Island beach on Sunday, February 24th.  It wasn't exactly the best conditions for birding though.  Too many people on the beach with kids that were intent on chasing the gulls.  We saw 23 species for the day. 
The weather turned chilly with an overcast sky and the wind was coming in from the north-west.   The tide was extremely high and other than over 100 Laughing Gulls, one lone Ring-billed Gull and two Black Skimmers, we had few shorebirds on the beach.  There were Boat-tailed Grackles on the wires and some saw a lone Bald Eagle fly by.
The orange buoys had Cormorants, Royal Terns, Forster's Terns and two Herring Gulls.  The rock jetty's had Ruddy Turnstones, Willets, and a lone Sanderling along with more Royal Terns.  
A walk out to the boat ramp yielded a Clapper Rail that answered a call and a few Lesser Scaup, 4 Red-breasted Mergansers (two flew by, giving the group a look at their wing pattern in flight) and 3 Common Loons.
Other species seen were Brown Pelicans, Osprey, Red-shouldered Hawk, Great Blue Heron, Yellow-rumped warblers, and Dunlin (seen by a few).
Afterwards, 15 of us had dinner at the Hardwood Smokehouse BBQ.  
And a good time was had by all....... Ken S.
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Recap - Merritt Island

2/13/2019

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On day 2, after meeting at Parrish Park and picking up several Gull species, 
including the Great Black-backed Gull and a Common Loon, we did our
normal short walk on West Gator Creek Rd. We really hit the "birdpot"
with many A. Avocets and L. Yellowlegs in the small pond with perfect
reflections.  Also, the Indian River had a group of L. Scaups and the shore-
line had Willets, Dunlins, Sanderlings, and Least Sandpipers.  

After one of our best starts, we took off for Black Point Wildlife Drive.  For
some reason, we had the Drive to ourselves which was nice.  Our first stop
was at Duck Point where we picked up B.W. Teal, N. Shovelers, N. Pintail,
and Hooded Mergansers and A. Coots, of course.  

Further along at the nest platform, a Light Red-tailed Hawk was posing for
the group!  At the Viewing Platform (closed) parking area we managed to
see a good number of Marbled Godwits, Reddish Egret, Black Skimmers,
Caspian Tern and a nice group of soaring White Pelicans.  

Other birds seen along the drive, at the Visitor's Center and on the 
Canaveral National Seashore were: 

o  Mottled Duck and A. Wigeon, giving us 7 Duck species for the day
o  N. Harrier, Peregrine Falcon, Bald Eagle and Cooper's Hawk
o  Green Heron
o  Sora 
o  Eastern Bluebird
o  Loggerhead Shrike
o  FL Scrub-Jay
o  Painted Bunting

Even though, we broke up after stopping at the Visitor's Center, we tallied
74 species with many contributions from most of our participants.  

          Another fun and productive Audubon Trip, Jim & Eileen

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Orlando Wetlands

2/13/2019

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​​Seven excited folks joined us for our annual OWP bird trip and we were

immediately surprised when a Volunteer came up and told us that the
Tram was waiting for us!  Our driver/guide Mary was excellent and had
some good spottings for us, like Blue-headed and White-eyed Vireos and
a Gull-billed Tern hanging out with a Caspian and Forster's Terns.

The second surprise was the number of White Pelicans there and Mary
told us they had just arrived, all 200 of them!  We managed to see 52
species and all contributed to our tally which was great.  Some of the birds
were as follows:

o  Many Roseate Spoonbills well distributed around the ponds
o  Black-crowned Night Herons
o  Purple Gallinules
o  Bald Eagle
o  Many Wood Storks
o  Green Heron
o  All Egrets and Herons except Reddish Egret
o  Many Glossy Ibis with their deceptive green and bronze colors glowing
o   Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

The final surprise was a turquoise and black snake on the trail!  

          Another great day at Orlando Wetlands Park, Jim & Eileen

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Recap - Lake Apopka

2/2/2019

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​ Both member photos by Thomas Gulley
​This field trip was a consolidation of CCAS & HAS members.  There were too many to count. we sort of got spread out and were not too consolidated as a group.  Nonetheless many good birds were seen.  The start of Lust Rd offered up a female Painted Bunting. Photo by Ken Spilios. Ash-throated Flycatcher, Common Yellowthroat. The Krider's Red-tailed Hawk. Photo by Thomas Gulley.

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The Gray-headed Swamphen wasn't as cooperative, but with a little perseverance Thomas Gulley got this shot.
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The Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk also sat for us  and gave us good poses .  Photo by Thomas Gulley
The Vermilion Flycatcher was a bit more elusive, but was seen by most as was a Yellow Warbler.  The day turned out excellent and let us tally 63 species.  The eBird list is here
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Photo used under Creative Commons from Lip Kee