​On Friday March 22, twenty five arrived to a beautiful morning for birding. We headed straight out to the Temple Mound at the Crystal River and climbed to the top to enjoy the wonderful view and to spot several birds. Afterward we explored both the open field and wooded area of Mullet Hole and the Crystal Cove Trail which led us again to the Crystal River.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the beautiful scenery with coves, ponds and trails through the woods that this area has to offer.   Kathy Lemmer
Bald eagle                               Osprey                                                 Brown Pelican
Anhinga                                   Yellow-crowned Night Heron             Great Egret                
Red-bellied Woodpecker        Red-winged Blackbird                         Red-shouldered Hawk
Pileated Woodpecker             Common Grackle                                Mockingbird   
Cardinal                                  Ground Dove                                       Gray Catbird              
Eastern Bluebird                     Palm Warbler                                     Northern Parula         
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher           Bufflehead                                          Chickadee                  
Titmouse                                 Hermit thrush                                     TV/BV

Twenty folks joined our CCAS Trip at Potts Preserve for a rewarding and

adventurous bird walk.  The group tallied 34 species, including two special
appearances-a pair of Swallow-tailed Kites soaring low over the trees and
several Yellow-throated Vireos along the 2 1/2 mile trek.

Also, five species of warblers were seen, including the Yellow-throated and
the Black and White and the Woodpecker "Grand Slam" was achieved, with
the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker heard at the boat ramp.  

The bonus adventure for some was the crossing of the slightly challenging
boardwalk across a very wet cypress slough!  

                    Another fun Audubon Trip, Jim & Eileen
​

​Nine chilly birders began our annual car caravan through Half Moon Preserve.
Fortunately the morning warmed up a bit, remaining brisk and sunny- perfect
for lots of bird activity.  We drove the main road stopping occasionally along
the way.  At McKinney Rd we began our walk through beautiful oak hammock 
to the boardwalk.  Mills Creek meanders below- a very pretty sight with purple 
Iris in bloom, a Belted Kingfisher flying across, and the hoot of a Barred Owl
in the distance.  Oh, and a Wild Turkey briefly seen along the way !  The 34
species seen are posted on ebird.   Eileen Riccio

​3/1/2019

While fourteen hard working bird folks trudged a couple of miles up, down and around in the sun, three others enjoyed a mini big sit on the hill and in the shade.  They were Mike Smith, Mavis Grebenc, and Christie Anderberg.  Their "efforts" yielded a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, a male American Redstart, and two female orioles!  The trudgers accounted for another forty two species including:
Six woodpecker species including upwards of ten Red-heads.  No Red-cockadeds or Hairies.
Six warbler species, including Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-throated, and Black and White.
Two Wood Ducks
A Blue-headed Vireo
A tom turkey that flew right past us
We tried hard to detect Bobwhite Quail that we know to be present, but we were unsuccessful.  Ken Spilios even braved the heather a couple of times trying to flush them.
A very enjoyable outing was had by all, especially the sitters.   Rey Wells

​​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

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

On Friday January 11th, seven hardy bird folks did the loop around Lake McKethan and then visited Big Pine for Red-headed Woodpeckers.  The bird of the morning was a Great-crested Flycatcher at Lake McKethan.  Here is the list of bird seen or heard at Lake McKethan:
Pileated Woodpecker            Downy Woodpecker          Am Crow
Red-bellied Woodpecker      Robin                                 Carolina Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet         Palm Warbler                      Great Egret
Sandhill Crane                     Tufted Titmouse                  Red-shouldered Hawk
Pied-billed Grebe                 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker   Eastern Phoebe
Common Gallinule              Blue Jay                               Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Little Blue Heron                 Killdeer                                Hermit Thrush
Northern Cardinal                Black Vulture                       Turkey Vulture
Great Blue Heron                 Anhinga                                American Coot
Carolina Chicadee                Great-crested Flycatcher
At Big Pine:
Red-headed Woodpecker (Many)
Red-tailed Hawk
Carolina Chicadee
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler

It's about time that Mother Nature in her infinite wisdom decided to reward us with superb weather! Cool start to the mornings, but warming mid day and outer layers were starting to fly off. Years past have been BRRRR and not the most conducive to comfortable viewing.  The visitors center being closed was a bummer as was the unavailability of the tram for the far reaches of the preserve.  High water in the basins and elsewhere made for hardships for the birds to have open mud flats and low marsh areas to feed. There was the Vermilion Flycatcher again in a usual spot.  He was very cooperative with the photographers and lit on perches very close to the avid camera snappers. 
The most sought after bird this trip was the American Flamingo who has been present in the far reaches of the preserve for a very long time.  On Jan 5th, a couple of the group trekked out to view the marvelous creature and got good shots.  Then on Sunday 6th, 5 of us trekked out 1.9 miles to get a view.  Unfortunately good photos by our group were not as promising.  The AMFL was a very long distance from our viewpoint.  By looking through bins, we could see the AMFL, but not well enough to get good shots we then had to trek back the 1.9 miles, but grateful that at least we could see a bird that was a lifer in the wild for many of us. Thanks to Ken Spilios, his photos of the VEFL,White Faced Ibis, AMFL served us well.  The trip netted  83 species. 

The first day ended with our group enjoying a great seafood dinner.  The restaurant is very good and located next door to our hotel.  The con was that it was closed Monday night for some of us who stayed over. This photo was taken with my phone by one of the waitresses.  Good time was had by all.