Monday, June 30, 2014

Southern Florida

Saturday, June 21: On the last morning of Jen's conference, I stayed closer to Orlando and hit a couple local spots. I didn't get a single year bird, but it was a fun morning of birding nonetheless, and I did find a few new state birds. The first was Hal Scott Park, where I failed to find a Brown-headed Nuthatch, but did have good numbers of Bachman's Sparrows. I almost stepped on this brightly colored grasshopper, which was the first of many.

Southeastern Lubber Grasshopper
Hal Scott Regional Preserve and Park, Orange Co, FL
June 21, 2014

Next it was on to Orlando Wetlands, which I wish I had discovered earlier in the trip because it was a rather impressive location. I finally got to see a Purple Gallinule here, and it didn't take long to pick up a Least Bittern calling. This big allgator was on the bank, looking like he was having a good chuckle about something. Who knows what kinds of jokes gators tell themselves to pass the time.


American Alligator
Orlando Wetlands, Orange Co, FL
June 21, 2014

This was the highest concentration of Anhingas I saw all trip.

Anhinga
Orlando Wetlands, Orange Co, FL
June 21, 2014

I liked the following pairing of birds because they represent local breeders, but also two of the rarer birds I've been happy to see in Illinois this year.


Glossy Ibis and Black-bellied Whistling Duck
Orlando Wetlands, Orange Co, FL
June 21, 2014

Black-bellied Whistling Duck
Orlando Wetlands, Orange Co, FL
June 21, 2014

And I got a nice look at a pretty good sized softshell that had meandered out onto the trail
.
Florida Softshell Turtle
Orlando Wetlands, Orange Co, FL
June 21, 2014

I drove back into town, picked Jen up, and we hit the Florida Turnpike to head south. On the way we stopped by Juno Dunes Natural Area to try to relocate the Bananaquit from a couple days prior, but apparently it was just a one day wonder. There were frigatebirds overhead though, and a nice Gray Kingbird along the way. And we found a big Gopher Tortoise ambling along.

Gray Kingbird
Juno Dunes Natural Area, Palm Beach Co, FL
June 21, 2014

Gopher Tortoise
Juno Dunes Natural Area, Palm Beach Co, FL
June 21, 2014

Then we popped over the dunes to get our first look at the Atlantic Ocean. We had each only seen it looking out the window of a plane flying over, so it was cool to actually look out across it from a warm, white sand beach.

But the moment was short lived, as we still had a long drive to get to Key Largo. We didn't realize just how far it was beforehand, and it ended up being a heck of a haul roundtrip to be down there less than 24 hours. Not as big of a fan of long road trips as I am, Jen was really a trooper.

We eventually arrived in the keys, and I was amazed at the numbers of Gray Kingbirds along the power lines. Loggerhead Shrikes began increasing in numbers too. And then lifers started happening - White-crowned Pigeons were flying over in considerable numbers, their stark white caps set off from their dark bodies. Then I saw a starling sized bird hop up from the road, but its flight and wing pattern were foreign to me. When it landed on a line, I saw yellow around the eye extending to the bill - Common Myna. Another exotic, but hey, it counts.

After checking in to our little cottage at the quaint Seafarer Resort and Beach, we headed west and had a nice seafood dinner at Robbie's in Islamorada. We left there in time to catch a beautiful sunset over the Gulf of Mexico as we drove further west out Highway 1 to Marathon, where we arrived just in time for a couple more birds. A drive around the Sombrero Golf Club got us to a flock of Least Terns, and as I picked through them a larger tern with a black bill and a relatively longer, forked tail emerged - Roseate Tern! The bird was diving in and out behind some trees over a pond, and that combined with the constantly decreasing daylight made it frustratingly impossible to photograph. But it was an awesome lifer to snag just in the nick of time!

On the way back we stopped by the Marathon airport. I found a spot to park near the airstrip, stopped the car, and began listening. First came the "bzeeewww" of a Common Nighthawk, which seemed promising. Sure enough, just moments later came the "piti-pit-pit, piti-pit-pit" of an Antillean Nighthawk! I was a little surprised at just how raspy the call was. Jen, who earned her Wife of the Century badge on this long day of travel, also got to hear it.

Sunday, June 22: While Jen got ready the next morning, I made a quick Starbucks run to get us some breakfast. On the way I pulled down to the Key Largo Kampground to turn around, and much to my delight I had a pair of Black-whiskered Vireos singing away! I got out, and in the process of tracking them down, a Mangrove Cuckoo sounded off! I stood there absolutely shocked that these two specialties had cooperated so nicely in the tiny sliver of time I had this morning. I had to get moving so I only saw the vireo briefly and had to leave the cuckoo as a heard only bird, but I was still thrilled about my fifth and sixth lifers in the keys.

Jen and I had a leisurely rest of the morning, enjoying our breakfast on the beach at Seafarer. Our stay included free kayak rentals, so we grabbed a couple and paddled around the bay for a little bit. Jen spotted a big iguana on another section of beach, so we paddled over to investigate and found two others with it. A Prairie Warbler sounded off here. The ever present frigatebirds of the keys were gliding overhead, and we got to kayak right up to some Least Terns sitting on buoys. The morning sun, warm water, and breeze off the Gulf made for a refreshing morning in between long drives. But we still had one more bit of fun on the docket before the trip back to Orlando - Everglades National Park.

On the way, I saw a funny looking cowbird on a line and was able to pull over real quick to look at it. I was hoping for a lifer, but found an equally as good bird for the region - Bronzed Cowbird. I didn't expect to have this guy in both Arizona and Florida this year.

Bronzed Cowbird
Miami-Dade Co, FL
June 22, 2014

In Everglades National Park, we began at the Anhinga trail, where its namesake greeted us at the front pond. The short trail had a really nice assortment of birds and wildlife, considering the muggy midmorning conditions, and less than ideal time of year for the region. People were complaining about the bugs, but compared to my southern Illinois experience a week prior (which wasn't as bad as I had anticipated, actually), I didn't think it was bad at all.

Anhinga
Everglades National Park, Miami-Dade Co, FL
June 21, 2014

Southeastern Lubber Grasshopper
Everglades National Park, Miami-Dade Co, FL
June 21, 2014



American Alligator
Everglades National Park, Miami-Dade Co, FL
June 21, 2014

Yellow-bellied Slider
Everglades National Park, Miami-Dade Co, FL
June 21, 2014


Green Heron
Everglades National Park, Miami-Dade Co, FL
June 21, 2014


Florida Softshell Turtle
Everglades National Park, Miami-Dade Co, FL
June 21, 2014

Florida Gar
Everglades National Park, Miami-Dade Co, FL
June 21, 2014


Florida Red-bellied Cooter
Everglades National Park, Miami-Dade Co, FL
June 21, 2014

White Peacock Butterfly
Everglades National Park, Miami-Dade Co, FL
June 21, 2014

Double-crested Cormorant
Everglades National Park, Miami-Dade Co, FL
June 21, 2014

Further down the main road, a bunch of Wood Storks started flying over, and it turned out there was a nearby roost.

Wood Stork
Everglades National Park, Miami-Dade Co, FL
June 21, 2014

Wood Storks and Great Egret
Everglades National Park, Miami-Dade Co, FL
June 21, 2014

Black Vulture
Everglades National Park, Miami-Dade Co, FL
June 21, 2014

Down at the Flamingo Visitor center, a flock of cowbirds greeted us at the parking lot. One of the first birds I laid eyes on was really glossy and all black - Shiny Cowbird! This was a lifer for me and meant that I had a clean sweep of the three cowbird species for the day, which is cool, though not something I'm super eager to repeat. Unfortunately, with all seven of my lifers in southern Florida, the timing and situation just didn't work out for me to get a picture. Having sufficient encounters with each of them was still incredibly satisfactory though! Oh, and did I mention the place was silly with Gray Kingbirds? Like the Gray Hawk in Arizona earlier this Summer, the Gray Kingbird was the token bird of the trip for me just because of the sheer density of its population, and its propensity to show up when it was least expected.

Gray Kingbird
Everglades National Park, Monroe Co, FL
June 21, 2014

And with that, a final jaunt back to Orland concluded our trip. We'll hopefully be back someday, but just in case we don't get the chance, we saw enough of the state to last us! Take my Mob Rule map as Exhibit A:




Even with all the cool birds, totaling 126 species and 17 lifers, I still have to say that the nighttime kayak trip out to see the bioluminescence is one of the most amazing things the state has to offer. Who knew you didn't have to waste time and money at Disney in order to experience the magic of Florida? People who have an inkling to go outside and have an appreciation for nature. That's who.

Here's the final list. Also of note, I hit 13 counties and racked up over 400 county ticks; not bad for less than a week. Perhaps most notably, the trip also brought my ABA year list up to 451.

  1. Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
  2. Fulvous Whistling-Duck
  3. Mute Swan
  4. Muscovy Duck
  5. Wood Duck
  6. Mottled Duck
  7. Northern Bobwhite
  8. Pied-billed Grebe
  9. Wood Stork
  10. Magnificent Frigatebird
  11. Double-crested Cormorant
  12. Anhinga
  13. American White Pelican
  14. Brown Pelican
  15. Least Bittern
  16. Great Blue Heron
  17. Great Egret
  18. Snowy Egret
  19. Little Blue Heron
  20. Tricolored Heron
  21. Reddish Egret
  22. Cattle Egret
  23. Green Heron
  24. Black-crowned Night-Heron
  25. Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
  26. White Ibis
  27. Glossy Ibis
  28. Roseate Spoonbill
  29. Black Vulture
  30. Turkey Vulture
  31. Osprey
  32. Swallow-tailed Kite
  33. Snail Kite
  34. Bald Eagle
  35. Red-shouldered Hawk
  36. Red-tailed Hawk
  37. Clapper Rail
  38. Purple Gallinule
  39. Common Gallinule
  40. American Coot
  41. Limpkin
  42. Sandhill Crane
  43. Black-necked Stilt
  44. American Oystercatcher
  45. Black-bellied Plover
  46. Wilson's Plover
  47. Semipalmated Plover
  48. Killdeer
  49. Greater Yellowlegs
  50. Willet
  51. Lesser Yellowlegs
  52. Marbled Godwit
  53. Ruddy Turnstone
  54. Sanderling
  55. Semipalmated Sandpiper
  56. Short-billed Dowitcher
  57. Laughing Gull
  58. Ring-billed Gull
  59. Least Tern
  60. Caspian Tern
  61. Roseate Tern
  62. Forster's Tern
  63. Royal Tern
  64. Sandwich Tern
  65. Black Skimmer
  66. Rock Pigeon
  67. White-crowned Pigeon
  68. Eurasian Collared-Dove
  69. White-winged Dove
  70. Mourning Dove
  71. Common Ground-Dove
  72. Yellow-billed Cuckoo
  73. Mangrove Cuckoo
  74. Common Nighthawk
  75. Antillean Nighthawk
  76. Chimney Swift
  77. Ruby-throated Hummingbird
  78. Red-headed Woodpecker
  79. Red-bellied Woodpecker
  80. Downy Woodpecker
  81. Red-cockaded Woodpecker
  82. Northern Flicker
  83. American Kestrel
  84. Nanday Parakeet
  85. Great Crested Flycatcher
  86. Gray Kingbird
  87. Loggerhead Shrike
  88. White-eyed Vireo
  89. Yellow-throated Vireo
  90. Red-eyed Vireo
  91. Black-whiskered Vireo
  92. Blue Jay
  93. Florida Scrub-Jay
  94. American Crow
  95. Fish Crow
  96. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
  97. Purple Martin
  98. Barn Swallow
  99. Carolina Chickadee
  100. Tufted Titmouse
  101. Marsh Wren
  102. Carolina Wren
  103. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
  104. Eastern Bluebird
  105. Brown Thrasher
  106. Northern Mockingbird
  107. Common Myna
  108. European Starling
  109. Common Yellowthroat
  110. Northern Parula
  111. Pine Warbler
  112. Prairie Warbler
  113. Eastern Towhee
  114. Bachman's Sparrow
  115. Seaside Sparrow
  116. Summer Tanager
  117. Northern Cardinal
  118. Red-winged Blackbird
  119. Eastern Meadowlark
  120. Common Grackle
  121. Boat-tailed Grackle
  122. Shiny Cowbird
  123. Bronzed Cowbird
  124. Brown-headed Cowbird
  125. House Finch
  126. House Sparrow

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Central Florida

Towards the end of June, Jen had a work conference down in Orlando, and they very kindly paid for me to go along with her, which was essentially a free ticket for me to go birding in a completely new region while she was in session during the day. How can you beat that?? Neither of us had ever set foot in Florida before, so it was all new terrain for us.

We arrived midmorning on Wednesday the 18th well before being able to check in to our hotel, so we headed east to explore Merritt Island NWR for the day. The drive out was wonderfully lacking in other vehicles, making for a smooth trip out to this interesting blend of protected habitat. We began on the Scrub Trail, where I was looking for a lifer, and apparently Jen was looking harder. After fruitlessly searching for a while and already beginning to feel the force of the Florida sun in June, we turned around and Jen said, "What's that?" "Where, down in the bush?" I asked. "No, right there in the top of that bush." She was pointing at a bird in plain sight about 10 feet from my head, and of course it was my lifer Florida Scrub Jay. I will never cease congratulating her on finding my first Florida lifer.


Florida Scrub Jay
Merritt Island NWR, Brevard Co, FL
June 18, 2014

Biolab Road was our next stop, where we had great looks at almost all the expected waders - Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Reddish Egret, Roseate Spoonbill, Great Egret, my lifer Wood Storks and a cool "Wurdemann's" Great Blue Heron. Jen really enjoyed the spoonbills, and I was loving getting to see so many waders so well - reminded me of trips to Texas as a kid when ditches full of herons, egrets, and spoonbills played a major role in securing my lifelong avian obsession from a very early age.


Tricolored Heron
Merritt Island NWR, Brevard Co, FL
June 18, 2014

Wood Storks
Merritt Island NWR, Brevard Co, FL
June 18, 2014


Roseate Spoonbill
Merritt Island NWR, Brevard Co, FL
June 18, 2014

"Wurdemann's" Great Blue Heron 
Merritt Island NWR, Brevard Co, FL
June 18, 2014



Snowy Egret
Merritt Island NWR, Brevard Co, FL
June 18, 2014

One of the reasons we picked Merritt Island NWR was the potential of seeing Manatee, which neither of us had ever done before. They couldn't have been easier to find! We just pulled up to the parking area at Haulover Canal, walked to the viewing platform, and there just below us was a group of five West Indian Manatees! These large sea cows just loafed along, dipping down for food and occasionally coming up for air. It was amazing how gentle they seemed for being such large creatures!



West Indian Manatee
Merritt Island NWR, Brevard Co, FL
June 18, 2014

We eventually left these guys in peace and headed back towards Orlando, picking up the first of many Cattle Egrets for the trip while still in the refuge, and a friendly Snowy Egret right below our lunch location, where Jen again saw a bird that flew right over my head - the first Black Skimmer of the trip. Least Terns were flying all around here as well. I love being in a place where your Wendy's parking lot list is peppered with these kinds of sweet birds.

Cattle Egret
Merritt Island NWR, Brevard Co, FL
June 18, 2014



Snowy Egret
Titusville, Brevard Co, FL
June 18, 2014

On the way to Lake Tohopekaliga, my lifer Swallow-tailed Kite flew over, and it took all the self control in me to keep from pulling over to watch it. Thankfully it was not the last of the trip. My least exciting lifer of the trip came next as the now feral-but-countable Muscovy Ducks sat in a roadside pond near the lake. It took 0% of restraint to keep from pulling over to get better looks at them. The next two lifers were much higher quality, though. As I scoped the lake, I came across a group of Limpkins! The nearby marsh had a nice assortment of waders as well, and a few Fulvous Whistling Ducks, which weren't lifers but very nice year birds. As I continued to scan, I spotted a silvery gray raptor sitting on a low snag along the far shore - a distant but decent look at my lifer Snail Kite! Not long after I got to watch a second one in flight, showing that obvious white rump well. After all the Mississippi Kites in southern Illinois the previous week, the bulky wing profile and slower paced wingbeats of the Snail Kite really stood out to me - I then began reflecting on just how distinct every kite species that we get is from the others.

Mottled Duck, Limpkin, and Fulvous Whistling Duck
Lake Tohopekaliga, Osceola Co, FL
June 18, 2014

Fulvous Whistling Duck
Lake Tohopekaliga, Osceola Co, FL
June 18, 2014

Limpkin and Black-necked Stilt
Lake Tohopekaliga, Osceola Co, FL
June 18, 2014

Snail Kite
Lake Tohopekaliga, Osceola Co, FL
June 18, 2014


Limpkin
Lake Tohopekaliga, Osceola Co, FL
June 18, 2014

Six lifers on the first day, a nice kickstart to the Florida trip!

Thursday, June 19: Jen's conference began this morning, and after dropping her off I headed northwest to Withlacoochee State Forest with two greatly desired lifers on my mind. I had a hard time finding them, but the birding in the meantime was pretty good as I picked up Summer Tanagers, Yellow-billed Cuckoos, Pine Warblers, Northern Parula, plentiful White-eyed and Yellow-throated Vireos and had some nice looks at a couple Red-shouldered Hawks.

Pine Warbler
Withlacoochee State Forest, Hernando Co, FL
June 19, 2014

Summer Tanager
Withlacoochee State Forest, Hernando Co, FL
June 19, 2014

The heat + humidity + bug combo was making the midmorning search rather unpleasant, as was my complete lack of familiarity with the area. Eventually I found what I was looking for - Trail 9. The recent eBird reports had mentioned this area, so it seemed promising. And it turned out to be a road rather than a trail, giving me the chance to cover ground in a more efficient manner. I trolled along with the windows down, constantly batting insects away. Then finally, the call notes of a woodpecker, and they sounded right for the bird I was looking for. I got out and put my binoculars on the first woodpecker I saw, and for the first time in my life I was a little disappointed to see a Red-headed Woodpecker. But then I heard the call again, and it wasn't coming from the bird I was looking at. Some movement above my head caught my eye, and I started watching a little black and white woodpecker scurry along a branch, and eventually it came into view well enough for me to see that white cheek patch, Red-cockaded Woodpecker! There ended up being a group of three that I got to watch for a while.

Red-cockaded Woodpecker
Withlacoochee State Forest, Hernando Co, FL
June 19, 2014

Then, as I was finishing up my checklist I heard my first Bachman's Sparrow sound off nearby. Two lifers in one spot!


Bachman's Sparrow
Withlacoochee State Forest, Hernando Co, FL
June 19, 2014

Next it was on to the Lake Lindsey Boat Ramp, where I had a calling Purple Gallinule and a couple more common species.

Boat-tailed Grackle
Lake Lindsey, Hernando Co, FL
June 19, 2014

Common Gallinule
Lake Lindsey, Hernando Co, FL
June 19, 2014

All of this took longer than I expected, so my time to finish out my remaining target locations was fading quickly. A quick stop at Werner-Boyce got me some conspicuously calling Seaside Sparrows and Clapper Rails, the Seaside giving its classic Ammodramus, insect-like call. Another quick stop at Robert K. Rees got me my first Prairie Warbler of the trip, more Clapper Rails, and a very pleasant surprise - my lifer Gray Kingbird!

Gray Kingbird
Robert K. Rees, Pasco Co, FL
June 19, 2014

The lifers were fantastic, and I added some really nice year birds too, but the driving-to-birding ratio was a little out of whack, which is not my favorite. And the driving down there is, well, interesting. Florida has this cool thing where the roads are flat and have no potholes, which is a true delight for a northern Illinois resident originally from eastern Washington - neither place being particularly famous for their smooth roads. Unfortunately, the quality of drivers in Florida is perfectly disproportionate to the quality of their roads. Down there, you dodge cars instead of potholes. Also, significant portions of the state missed the memo on intersections where cars from opposite directions go at the same time, so you literally have to wait at some lights up to five minutes - when that's digging into birding time, it's really not my favorite. All in all I was pretty exhausted by the end of the day, but it's still pretty hard to complain about a lifer Red-cockaded Woodpecker!

 Friday, June 20: Determined to not make the same mistake from the previous day, I picked just a couple locations that I wanted to hit, and decided to spend all my time in a relatively small area - Pinellas county. It ended up being my favorite day of the trip, and not just because of the birds.

Once I reached Pinellas County, I had a pair of my lifer Nanday Parakeets fly over the car - bright green with an all black hood, pretty cool looking. Like the Monk Parakeet (and, let's be honest, a ridiculous number of other birds in Florida), the Nanday Parakeet is established and countable down in those parts. The only unfortunate thing for me is that this was the 700th bird for my world life list, a milestone I really didn't want to achieve with an exotic, but oh well. It was also #580 for the ABA for me.

Shortly after, I had a group of Magnificent Frigatebirds hawking over a little pond in a housing development - they were still there on the way back and I got better pictures then. I had only seen one frigatebird before at Packery Channel in Texas with my dad and uncle ten years ago. That was a distant flyover, though still an awesome bird to see. I had no way of preparing for the staggering numbers and views I would have of these prehistoric beasts on this trip.

There were more frigatebirds at Fort de Soto, along with amazing amounts of Loggerhead Shrikes. In Illinois, Loggerheads are sparse and extremely habitat specific. In Florida, not so much. They're abundant and hang out just about anywhere. Pretty sweet trash bird. I had been seeing some nice shorebird reports coming from this park recently, so I was pleased to come upon the protected area at North Beach, which had a loaded sandbar. It was birding at its most leisurely pace - shorts and flip flops along a white sand beach, wading through warm knee deep water to walk to another equally beautiful sandbar. And the protected area meant that there weren't even that many people around. This first photo has a white morph Reddish Egret, Willets, Semipalmated Plovers, Sanderling, Ruddy Turnstone, Black-bellied Plover, and Laughing Gull.

Fort de Soto, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014

Other birds around included Short-billed Dowitchers, Marbled Godwits, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Wilson's Plovers, Snowy Egrets, and my only Yellow-crowned Night Heron of the trip.

Snowy Egret
Fort de Soto, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014

Laughing Gull
Fort de Soto, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014


Reddish Egret
Fort de Soto, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014

Marbled Godwit
Fort de Soto, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014

Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Fort de Soto, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014

I was so pumped to get to photograph Wilson's Plovers well. It had been ten years since I had seen my first.







Wilson's Plover
Fort de Soto, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014

Eventually a lone Black Skimmer dropped in and did his skimming thing for a while in the pool nearest me. Yet another bird I have missed seeing for a long time.





Black Skimmer
Fort de Soto, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014

I finally came upon one of my other main targets for this day: American Oystercatchers!

American Oystercatcher
Fort de Soto, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014

On the walk back to the car, this guy popped up in a tree right next to me.


Loggerhead Shrike
Fort de Soto, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014

I drove back down to the Fisherman's Wharf area and walked the boardwalk for a little while where I had some excellent photo ops. I was greeted my many Sandwich Terns, Brown Pelicans, Snowy Egrets and Laughing Gulls. A few Royal Terns were present, and there always seemed to be a string of White Ibis flying over (which was true of nearly every location throughout the entire trip). The Bottlenose Dolphin was a nice surprise, too!


White Ibis
Fort de Soto, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014


Brown Pelican
Fort de Soto, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014


Bottlenose Dolphin
Fort de Soto, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014

Snowy Egret
Fort de Soto, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014











Sandwich Tern
Fort de Soto, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014

Willet
Fort de Soto, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014


Osprey
Fort de Soto, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014

Royal Tern
Fort de Soto, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014

White Ibis
Fort de Soto, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014

Outside the park, I stopped by the pond that had the frigatebirds earlier and found a group of at least ten loafing along nearby. The all black birds are adult males, the ones with black heads contrasting with the white underneath are adult females, and the ones with white heads are first years. What amazing birds!







Magnificent Frigatebird
Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014

If you back away from your screen about ten feet and squint really hard, you can almost make this guy into a tropicbird, hehe. I wish.

Royal Tern
Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014

I spotted another American Oystercatcher across the causeway, and he allowed for close views as I stayed in the car. After nailing Black Oystercatcher last year, I was hoping to get some decent pics of an American while down here.



American Oystercatcher
Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014

My second main location of the day was Sawgrass Lake Park, a small preserve with great habitat and a fun assortment of birds and wildlife. I couldn't get over this Tricolored Heron feeding just a few feet below me!





Tricolored Heron
Sawgrass Lake Park, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014

My first alligators of the trip came here, too! There were several, different sized/aged youngsters to go along with one adult.






American Alligators
Sawgrass Lake Park, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014

Least Tern
Sawgrass Lake Park, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014

I was happy with these Little Blue shots, and happy to capture a cool looking immature bird.



Little Blue Heron
Sawgrass Lake Park, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014

There were a few kids along the trail, and at one point I heard a prolonged shrill a few hundred yards ahead of me. When I caught up with the commotion, it turned out to be this big guy hanging about ten feet over the trail. Definitely one of the larger arachnids I've seen.



Golden Silk Orb-weaver
Sawgrass Lake Park, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014

I'm a big fan of softshells.

Florida Softshell Turtle
Sawgrass Lake Park, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014

A few more waders...


Limpkin
Sawgrass Lake Park, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014

White Ibis
Sawgrass Lake Park, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014

Roseate Spoonbill
Sawgrass Lake Park, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014

But the highlight of this stop for me was a pair of Swallow-tailed Kites. I had seen one each of the previous two days, but both were quick flyovers in a place where I couldn't pull over. I was itching to get some better looks and hopefully even some photos. I saw one flyover as I drove into the park, and hoped it would circle around again while I was there. It did. And then, I came around a corner to find one perched with wings and tail spread - I couldn't believe that it just sat there as if it was frozen in this position for a few minutes. Eventually it closed its wings, showing that glossy navy blue on its back. A few minutes later, the pair flew directly over my head, and I was able to capture one eating its most recent catch in flight! This bird is definitely on my top 10 all time favorites list.







Swallow-tailed Kite
Sawgrass Lake Park, Pinellas Co, FL
June 20, 2014

And with that, my birding for the first three days of the trip was pretty much completed, but the fun of this day had just begun. While at Merritt Island a couple days prior, Jen noticed an add in a brochure about something called bioluminescence - sounded like particles that glow in the water. It seemed intriguing, so we signed up for a trip and headed out Friday evening. We arrived at Haulover Canal (same area that we had the Manatees) a little before sunset, got our life jackets, kayak paddles, instructions from our trip leader, and set off into the bay with about 20 other people. The lightning-filled thunderheads surrounding us accentuated the starlit sky directly above as the daylight faded - already an impressive phenomenon to begin the evening.

Paddling along through the surprisingly warm water near Bair's Cove, we followed our leader back through a system of intertwined brackish inlets bordered by mangroves and an assortment of other greenery, now blended together in an indistinguishable tangle of dimly lit foliage. With rumbles of thunder off in the distance, the setting was quite serene.

We rounded a corner and the leader directed our attention to the water around us. We had read about it and been briefed on it already, but nothing could adequately prepare us for what we were about to see. As our paddles coursed through the water, little particles began lighting up with a green tinted glow. With each stroke of the paddle, another bundle of lights shot through the water. We splashed the water around and watched it light up the surface as the droplets fell from the air. We stuck our hands into the water and watched our fingers glimmer in shades of neon green, like we had dropped a bundle of glow sticks over the edge of the kayak.

It was magical; we marveled.

On our way to another area, a big fish would swim by here and there, which we could only see in the dark because the fish-shaped profiles would light up whenever they moved, leaving a stream of luminosity in their wake. The individual fish prepped us for what was next. Further into the backwaters we woke up a school of fish just below the surface and were astonished as the surprised little critters darted in every which direction, jumping out of the water all over, creating a light show we will never forget. It felt as if someone had dropped us into Narnia for the evening.

All the while, flashes of lightning sprinkled the clouds around us and the clear sky above boasted an incredible astronomical array. We were surrounded by extraordinary pulses of light in every direction and couldn't stand that it had to come to an end. I've been blessed to witness quite a few amazing displays in the natural world, and this one ranks among the most impressive I ever have and ever will observe. It was a beautiful evening to share together, and we will never forget it.