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Recap - Merritt Island

1/30/2023

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After a great dinner at Dixie-Crossroads and night’s sleep, we met at Parrish Park in Titusville.  We had some bad news when one of our group heard that Black Point Dr. was closed!  We decided to check at the Visitor’s Center but first we drove W. Gator Rd. and picked up A. Avocets, a cooperative Reddish Egret flew in and gave us a good view, and one White Pelican, along with many waders. It was good to see our friend,  Reesa Fassett, who has moved away, but was with her local chapter.
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We then drove to the Visitor’s Center and sure enough Black Point Drive was closed for some repair to the Cruickshank trail berm that had been washed out.  So we regrouped and enjoyed the Painted Bunting pair at the feeder!

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We then headed to the Canaveral National Seashore but saw hardly any ducks along the way to the beach!  At the beach, 
Ken Spilios saw a M. Frigatebird flying high above us and we also got a few gulls and a Ruddy Turnstone, but no Gannets this time.  Upon leaving, Eileen broke out the cookies and chocolate brownies which were gobbled up!  When we got near the entrance, we pulled over after seeing several FL Scrub Jays and ended up spotting six or more! 

One more stop on CNS, so we drove down Bio-lab Rd. until we got to the Birds!  What a collection in one end of a wetland-many White Pelicans, Roseate Spoonbills,  a few White and Glossy Ibis, a Great Egret and a Wood Stork! 
We then drove to the Pumphouse Rd. and on the way we saw an A. Kestrel and Belted Kingfisher on the wires.  Then, walking into the Pumphouse Rd., the ducks appeared on both sides by the 100s!  We Immediately saw the Redheads and Canvasbacks, with many Blue-winged Teals, Scaup species, and A. Wigeons, with some Ring-necks, N. Shovelers, and Mottled Ducks.  I didn’t mentioned A. Coots and C. Gallinules but they were well represented just about in ever body of water we saw!  We then walked to the large lagoons, the East one was full of birds along the North eastern corner but the only species I could make out was Black Skimmers. 
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Photos courtesy of Fred Hileman, Jim Meyer. Article by Jim Meyer & Eileen Riccio.
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Black Point was scheduled to reopen on Friday. Four of our group decided to stay in order to ride the bus through Black Point. The trip lasted about 2 hours. We had good views of 6 Wilson's Snipes at the entrance plus many other species along the way. For the two days, we spotted a combined 83 species. 51  from OW and 62 Merritt.
Thank you Jim & Eileen for another memorable trip.
Fred Hileman

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Recap - Orlando Wetlands

1/30/2023

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​Enough Citrus Audubon members and friends showed up at Orlando Wetlands on January 25th, 1:00 PM to fill two trams.  The trams were electric and were operated by volunteers of the Friends of Orlando Wetlands Park.  It was warm and breezy as we set out on a multi-mile birding tour of the wetland.  Here is one of the trams.  It hosted Fred Hileman, Bob Ross, and others.  Longtime friend of ours and the guide, Eileen Riccio, is looking for birds from the shotgun seat.

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Eileen’s partner, Jim Meyer, was the guide on the lead tram that hosted eight bird folks, including this writer.  Just after the first turn off the “main road”, we got a great close-up view of this Purple Gallinule.  It’s moving and flapping its wings because it was just accosted by a Common Gallinule that might have been a male with a female close by.  

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​We turned around at the beginning of the new boardwalk.  On the way back toward the “main road” we came upon this Anhinga that had caught a large pan fish and was finally about to swallow it.

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​Toward the end of our tour, we spotted this Great Blue Heron with what Bob Ross identified as a Two-toed Amphiuma.  It was a lifer for most of us.  It is said to be the largest salamander in North America.  Much to our surprise, the heron made quick work of the large amphibian.
​Rey Wells

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 The below entry was offered by Jim Meyer.
We managed to see Black-crowned Night Herons, many BB Whistling Ducks (~500 in the Park), many Purple Gallinule, Limpkins, Sandhill Cranes, E. Bluebird, several duck species,  and heard  the Barred Owl. 
Four other neat bird sights were observed when we saw a B. Eagle in its nest, a Merlin Falcon high in a snag, a N. Pintail hiding in a group of Blue-winged Teals

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Photos, courtesy of Fred Hileman, Rey Wells, Jim Meyer.
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Recap - St Marks

1/17/2023

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Day one at St Marks. We were unable to take the trail and boardwalk at the back of the Visitor's Center. The bridges over the streams and a large part of the boardwalk was impassable due to deterioration. I guess the money for repairs has not been allocated. It's a sad situation. The other problem here was the paving of the road into the Lighthouse. There was only one lane open for a major portion of the road into the Lighthouse. This prevented stopping along the way at strategic areas.

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Wednesday morning on Bottoms Road never disappoints at dawning. The sky is glorious. Also it is a good time to hear Clapper Rails and Wrens welcoming the new day. Again not disappointment. The air was alive with morning sounds. 
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The evidence of a once Corduroy Road is visible along portions of Bottoms Road. These log roads were placed perpendicular to the direction of the road over a low swampy area. 
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The end of the road never disappoints either. We get a target bird. The Common Loon. 

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Our next destination was back to Lighthouse Road. We again stopped in anticipation of finding the Golden Plover, but we had no luck either going in nor out. We opted to traverse the one-way out to the Lighthouse to check out the duck situation. Again, there was no disappointment. In fact there were several surprises, The Pintail gave us a treat which was spotted by Pam Larsen. There were American Widgeons, Ring-Neck, Canvasbacks, Shovelers, Teal, Bufflehead, & Ruddy. The prize was a Long-tailed Duck that was at a great distance out. Unfortunately, no photo. 

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And not least, the resident Flamingo gave us great close up photo-ops. It amazes me that this beautiful creature has remained here for many years. The first years necessitated a long hike and then it would be at the far edge of the open water and would merely be a pink blur.  This time it was close several times. Even with the obstacles along the way, we were able to tally 80 species.
Credits for the photos: Bob Ross, Fred Hileman, & Carol Yarnell. I know others took some great photos also, but this is what I had to work with at this time. 

​Fred Hileman

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Recap - Sweetwater/La Chua Trail

12/20/2022

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I've learned my lesson, I don't wear shorts anymore on cold mornings. But it seems someone has yet to learn his. It was cold, but 6 of us braved the weather to get our fix of birds for the day. It was a bit slow at first, but as the sun warmed the tops of the trees, a mix of birds appeared.

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Ken Spilios took the photo to the left. His caption goes like this:
Fred: Where did you see an Anhinga?
Tim: Ahh.......right here.....
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We had seen a Snail Kite, but knew of more at La Chua Trail. They didn't disappoint. There were more than 10 flying over the water on the boardwalk. We spent quite a lot of time getting good photos.
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Love is in the air. A Great Blue was busy adding sticks to her nest Actually there were two different blue's building nests in the same small cluster of trees.
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We spent about 15 minutes watching as this Northern Harrier had an altercation with a Limpkin. We really couldn't figure out the reason the Harrier would dive down and a Limpkin would jump at the Harrier. This went on for quite some time until the Harrier decided that it wasn't getting any results and decided to take to the skies in search of an easier meal. The total species for Sweetwater was 43.
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This patch of water plants was striking in that the sun seemed to have just beamed down  to make them a bright spot in the darkness.
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Recap -Withlacoochee Trail & Wallace Brooks Park

12/16/2022

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It was a perfect morning at Wallace Brooks Park in Inverness. Seven of us gathered there and had an enjoyable time birding north along the Withlacoochee State Trail.
After making our way along the adjacent lakeside boardwalk, we arrived at Liberty Park where Fred Hileman took a group photo. The junction of the bike trail and North Apopka Ave. was active. A female Pileated Woodpecker worked a wooden telephone pole for insects. Bluebirds were on the wires. Yellow-rumped Warblers were just north of the crossing.

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We stopped along the lake edge to observe a 10" baby alligator cross in front of us. Our first question was, where is mamma?  After getting the photo op, we hurriedly left the area in case mamma was nearby. 

About 30 yards before the first green bench on the left, an opening in the brush on the left led to a lake overlook. There was a short tree sticking out of the water. A Great Blue Heron nest was clearly visible with binoculars. A pair reared two young there last January and February. Although no adults were there when we were, they are known to visit that nest daily. January 1st or so may well find a female sitting on eggs.

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Farther along the trail two of our group were checking an area of the lake for movement when just beside them the Great Egret  appeared and seemed to say, "Can you see me now?" They seem to be totally unaware of the egret's presence. 
​The 150 yards from the bench to the bridge was alive with birds. Ruby-
crowned Kinglets hovered like hummingbirds looking for insects on
outer edges of bushes. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers mewed and gave us good
looks. A Black and White Warbler was seen by most as it worked its
way along a tree branch. A kingfisher rattled as it flew across the trail.


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After returning to our cars, we drove a short distance to Cooter Pond. The boardwalk there yielded three more species. They were Black Vulture, White Ibis, and Snowy Egret. We learned there that Snowiness sometimes spew poo while flying. One does not know if or when this
newly discovered fact might become useful all of a sudden…….

In all, 45 species were identified
.Photos Courtesy of Fred Hileman & Bob Ross.
Blog by Rey Wells.

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Recap - Carney Island Field Trip

12/16/2022

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“Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get."
-Forrest Gump



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Field trips are like a box of chocolates, we never know what we are going to get. The Carney Island field trip started out with blustery weather and hopes for better weather looked bleak. Looking out over Little Lake Weir did not show us any birds on or over the water. The shoreline was not much better.
We did have a number of birds in the trees surrounding the parking lot. Gnatcatchers, Chickadees, Phoebes, and a few warblers were seen. Mostly Yellow-rumped warblers in the trees and Palm warblers on the ground.
The skies turned darker as we drove over to the boat ramp area. It turned out that Hurricanes Ian and Nicole had done extensive damage to the pier and boat ramp. We were not able to walk out on the pier and the skies over the lake showed a line of dark clouds coming our way. The winds hit about that time, too, and Fred and Tim had enough. They did see a flock of Turkeys on the way out of the park, though.
We remaining six headed over to the trail to be out of the wind. The rains never did come. A few more Yellow-rumped warblers, Kinglet sand Chickadees came out to see what we were up to, and the group did get to see a nice Prairie Warbler in the trees near the picnic area. The trail was not any better for birds and after a half mile Rey said enough and headed back. He did get a few more bird on the way back. The rest of us hiked on. The good news is persistence pays off. The weather cleared, the winds died, and we started to see birds. A Bald Eagle flew over us and a Kestrel flew to a nearby treetop.
We hiked to the end of the point and headed back and after 3.5 miles the group was claiming it felt like a military forced march but what a beautiful march it was. The day turned out lovely and we did tally 27 species. Don’t ever be afraid of what is in the box of chocolates, you never know what you’ll get.

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Refuge Day Birding Trip to Three Sister’s Springs

10/15/2022

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It was a beautiful start to a great day of birding as eight of us left from the USFWS office on Kings Bay Drive for Three Sisters Springs. 

Right off the bat, up in the great oak tree next to the office sat a Great Horned Owl.  This would be the first of two owl species seen for the day.  At Three Sisters Springs a Barred Owl ate a Fiddler Crab while posing for us in a tree over the board walk.  No manatees in the springs, but the water was crystal clear and beautiful to view.  On the road leading to the springs there were Eastern Bluebirds sitting on their boxes as we drove by.

The owl wasn’t the only bird looking for a crab to eat; a juvenile, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron was seen next to Idiot’s Delight Springs.  Further down the board walk we spotted a Red-shouldered Hawk up in a tree.

In the sky were Chimney Swifts and Tree Swallows.  A “murder” of Fish Crows flew across in the sky.  The sound of uh-uh could be heard in their wake.  A lone Mottled Duck flew by and as we watched it go, we could see Boat-tailed Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds over the marsh. 

Lake Crystal had an Anhinga and three Pied-billed Grebes to watch.  These little “tugboats” were swimming along as they dove under water and then popped up again and again.
The most common warblers were Palm Warbler seen throughout the refuge grounds as they flew from bush to bush while bobbing their tails.

Our total for the day was 37 Species on our morning outing. A good time was had by all.
 
Ken Spilios
President Citrus County Audubon
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Crystal River Preserve – ECO walk trail

10/11/2022

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The morning started out just about perfect for Citrus County Audubon’s first-of-the-season bird walk.  Nine intrepid birders ventured out in the wilds of Citrus County on Wednesday, October 5th to see what we could find.  One of those nine was our own nonagenarian (yes, I had to look up this word) Mike Smith who walked with the group for the entire 1.6 miles of the ECO Trail.  You ask how to live to be over 90?  Just continue to follow us on our adventurous walks and enjoy life.

Although it was chilly and the ground was wet with dew, we were able to find 26 species of birds.  The most common bird found was the Gray Catbird.  They seemed to be flying around everywhere.  Also heard and seen were numerous, White-eyed Vireos.   In addition, we found Black and White Warblers, Parula Warblers, a Common Yellowthroat, Pine Warblers, and a beautiful showing of both male and female American Redstarts.
At one point after playing a tape of an Eastern Screech Owl, one answered us back and then we also heard the rattle of a Belted Kingfisher.

Toward the end of our walk, we found a Red-eyed Vireo, an Eastern Phoebe, as well as Downy, Pileated and Red-bellied Woodpeckers.
The most interesting bird found was a Short-tailed Hawk seen by Effie Smith and Ken Spilios.  Too bad most had left by that time.
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 We hope to see you at our next field trip to Inglis Island on October 28, 2022.  There is more information on this walk on our web page at https://www.citruscountyaudubon.org.
 

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Recap - Cedar Key

5/5/2022

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What began as a dud birding day turned out entirely different at the end. Our group of 21 met at the Archeological Mounds site. The tides should have been better, but they did not favor us. We travelled to the mud flats with no better luck. Our next trip was out to the Museum and still it was not great. The same held for the museum. It appeared to be hopeless. We just opted for lunch. Many in this group were not to be deterred and went back to some of the earlier spots and viola. They all seemed to score. The museum gave up some warblers and others scored with additional sightings.  The tally for the day was 50 species.  Photo courtesy of Bob Ross. 

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April 21st, 2022

4/21/2022

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WOW!! Where to start??? I guess the beginning. Why, yes that's a great place to start.
The first activity I observed was a pair of nesting Red-shouldered Hawks in the tree near the pavilion who were feeding young. My first feeling was that this was going to be a good bird day. 
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The edge of the lake and flying about in the trees produced 15 or so Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. They were doing their aerial antics and also others were feeding on the mosses high above the pavilion all the while whistling their high pitched tunes (if you can call them that?)
There were 8 or 9 who were up for a trek around the lake. There is a trail at the back of the pavilion that leads through some hickory and other scrub. We heard and saw many Northern Parulas. 

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There were several acrobatic Black & White Warblers busily eating their breakfasts underneath and around top of the branches. There were Red-eyed Vireos call. The Great Crested Flycatchers seemed to be everywhere.

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There is a field that we bird as we travel through the trail that can have views of Kestrels. We heard, but did not see the Kestrel. We were rewarded with another display of 5 Swallow-tailed Kites who were bombarding a tall pine in the back portion of the field. Upon closer observation the object of their attack was a Red-shouldered Hawk on the top who probably was disturbing the nest of one of the kites.

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It was nearing 10:00 AM  but on consensus we decided to go farther along the road. As luck would have it, this was a superb decision. We came to a place in the road that had been littered with Mulberries. The first sound  I heard was that of a Summer Tanager. The male was chasing or merely flying back and forth with a flock of Cedar Wax Wings. They were all eating the Mulberries. I don't think any of us knew the Mulberry tree was there for the many years we have birded McKethan.

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The best bird of the day was yet to come. We crossed over the bridge and back to the road. Eileen Riccio spotted a Waterthrush in a tangle of brush overhanging the water. Many of the group got great shots and the throat with no markings gave the determination that it was a Northern Waterthrush. (It was later reported by Jim Meyer that he rewarded Eileen with a sip of his Rum & Coke for her sharp eye.) Nancy Kost and Betsy Frank joined us and reported an Ovenbird that they heard plainly as it called out its signature, "Teacher, Teacher, Teacher."

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Northern Waterthrush.

It was time to go eat a delicious and plentiful lunch that was provided by CCAS and members present. Thanks to Libby who did the organizing. 
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There was still one more surprise to end this fantastic day. Leave it to Effie Smith who had observed a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher flying into a tall oak branch. The BGGN was building its nest.
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Photos supplied by Bob Ross, Ken Spilios, Jim Meyer, and Effie Smith.
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