Wow!! What a fantastic day! A tremendous turnout.  Thank all of you who came and participated in the activities and those of you who didn't or couldn't you missed a great day to be out and to enjoy the surroundings at Chinsegut.  Great birding areas, too.  Just off the back porch was a sit back and watch them come in to the feeders and water.  We had thirty species including the Red-headed Woodpeckers and the Sandhill Cranes that came up to the water.  The list can be viewed at this eBird link.
This day was not just for birding.  Citrus County Audubon and Hernando Audubon did this "Baby Bird Shower" for Michele Kline of  HOPE Wildlife Rehabilitation.  She brought 3 raptors to instruct a full house of eager listeners on the habits and habitats of each bird. It was our 1st annual fund raiser strictly for HOPE of this type and with the smashing success another one for next year is in the works.  
Thank all the contributors for this worthy event.  And kudos to both Chapters and the members who put this together. There was much concerted effort from both sides and would be difficult to list all names,  But you all know who you are  and be it known by this proclamation that you 'done' good!  Congratulations to all and looking forward to next year.

What a great day again!! Thirteen avid birders met at the Scrub Jay Preserve and from reports of sightings of Scrub Jays in November, we decided to trek outback.  We did not observe any, but we did get 21 species in just this area.  It was then on to the mudflats with the American Avocets in their beautiful colors as the main attraction.Then to the Mulberry tree with no results.  Cemetery came next without seeing the Barred Owl that I spotted on last Thursday.  But the Blackpoll, Black & White Warblers, House Finches, & Indigo Bunting made this stop worthwhile.  Next up the Museum with American Redstart, male & female Blackpoll Warbler, Bronzed Cowbird,  Rose-breasted Grosbeak,  rounded out this stop. On to the airport with Ruddy Turnstones, American Oystercatchers.  One fantastic day with 75 species reported which is available at this eBird link.What a way to end a great season for our birding adventures. Hope to see you all back this fall.

​Fred Hileman, President

We had two more species than we had birders this morning.  A very quiet morning! I thought that with the weather front last night that we would have some migrants in the park,  Did not happen.  We had 16 birders with only 18 species.  Red-eyed, Blue-headed Vireos, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Northern Parulas, Great-crested Flycatchers seemed to be the order of the day.  But did we have Barred Owls?  Why yes, yes we did. Two greeted us at the parking lot and gave all great photo ops.  These had us rooted to the spot for some time.  Then later in the Butterfly Garden we had either another or one of the ones from the entrance again giving us great photo ops.  The complete list of species can be seen at this eBird link. 

We couldn't have asked for a better morning to be out.  We birded the parking lot and then on the lake front. Wood Duck, Herons, Anhinga, Cormorants, Purple and Common Gallinule and Killdeer.  The Sandhill Cranes gave us a good dance showing.There weren't many warblers, which was a little odd, but we did have Yellow-throated, Red-eyed and White-eyed Vireos.  At the fort we listened to two Yellow-billed Cuckoos calling back and forth, but could not spot them. Went back along the trail to the parking lot and down to the lake again and saw a Swallow-tailed Kite.We had 40 species.  The eBird link is here. The picnic lunch was superb.  Enough food and then some.  Great variety of sides. After lunch out in the parking lot a nest of Yellow-throated Vireos with two babies that fledged as we watched.  What a thrill!!

We may have not got out the birders for this trip, but we got the birds.  We had 8 birders join in the trip. Apr 1lth, scout day, proved to be good as did the day of the 12th. Driving into the park there were 6 Magnificent Frigate birds diving in a pond plus more circling! There were 9 warbler species with herons, egrets, pelicans, and other waders. Oystercatchers, Plovers, Sandpipers, Dowitchers, Gulls, Terns. Skimmers, Nanday Parakeets,Vireos, Tanagers, Buntings, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Peregrine Falcon, and more.  A Saltmarsh Sparrow was photoed by Effie Smith that I uploaded. Did I say a veritable feast for the eye? Well, yes, it was. The eBird list  for the 11th can be seen here.  Our day of the 12th was more of the same with the addition of  8 new species.  The Great Horned Owl Juveniles gave some good photo ops. We got to add the Least Tern, Cape May Warbler, Blue-winged Warbler, and others to the total of 82 species for the two days. The eBird link for Apr 12th can be seen here. The combo list for both days is too large to post, but I can email it upon request.

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