Day Five - Lettuce Lake Park and John B. Sargeant Sr. Park

I was planning to bird at Cockroach Bay Rd. and the park on July 5, but I got a later start than usual, and I could not find an address for the park in my GPS. So I decided to go to Lettuce Lake Park, hoping to pick up a Limpkin and possibly some rails or waders. The lake was basically a large swamp with miles of boardwalk. Unfortunately, the water levels were so high from the tropical storm, the waders had dispersed. The only wader I saw the whole time was a White Ibis, and I did not see any Limpkins or rails, but I did often hear the loud, piercing call of the Limpkin as I walked the boardwalk.

When I first arrived at the park, I heard this young Red-shouldered Hawk begging near the parking lot beside the boardwalk. I found the bird and took this video and a few photos. This was the first Red-shouldered Hawk I had clearly seen during the whole trip.







As I walked the boardwalk, I noticed another raptor soaring high above, and then there were two, three, four, five, six, seven Swallow-tailed Kites flying over.



As I continued on the boardwalk, I heard a familiar call and looked up to see a Prothonotary Warbler. I followed the bird's call as it flew about until it eventually landed at eye level a few yards from me in a dark part of the swamp. Amazingly, its bright feathers still blazed like a lamp in the darkness.





As I came to the end of the boardwalk, feeling disappointment that I had not seen more birds, I was greeted by a small group of warblers and a Red-eyed Vireo. The warblers included Northern Parulas, Common Yellowthroats, and strangely, a Mourning Warbler!

Here are a few of the hatch year parula.







Below is the complete list from Lettuce Lake Park.

Lettuce Lake Park, Hillsborough, US-FL
Jul 5, 2012 8:30 AM - 10:45 AM
Protocol: Area
7.0 ac
16 species

Wood Duck 2
Swallow-tailed Kite 7
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Red-eyed Vireo 1
Carolina Chickadee 2
Tufted Titmouse 2
Carolina Wren 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 4
Prothonotary Warbler 2
Mourning Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 3
Northern Parula 1
Northern Cardinal 2
Common Grackle 2

When I left Lettuce Lake, I decided to try one more location since I saw so few species at that park, but I did not have a lot of time left to bird. The only "park" I could find on my GPS that was close by was John B. Sargeant Park. It did not turn out to be very good. There were a couple of trails there next to the swamp, and canoe rentals were available. The whole place looked like excellent habitat for alligators. As I started down one of the trails, I notice that parts of the trail were flooded. I did not think trudging through would be very safe. So I turned around, and walked a boardwalk. It was relatively short compared to the one at Lettuce Lake that had seemed more like a bunch of intertwining trails than a boardwalk. I was quickly back to the canoe rental, where I saw another trail on the other side of the swamp. As I started walking down this trail, I got a good look at these two Black Vultures perched above.





After walking a little further, I saw something jump across the trail toward the water just a few yards in front of me. It turned out to be a rather large Water Moccasin (Cottonmouth).





At this point I felt thankful to God that I had not been bitten and decided to go back to the car. I'm so glad the snake saw me before I stepped on it or got too close.

On the way back to Greg's house, I stopped to photograph a lovely pair of Sandhill Cranes that I noticed beside the road.





Back at Greg's house, I took a quick shot of this gecko on the house.



Carrie had been learning from Lynn how to make my mother's chocolate pound cake, while I was gone that morning. This was to be the second such cake we had partaken of during our brief stay with my brother. After I got back, Greg came home for lunch and to partake of the warm chocolate pound cake with vanilla glaze icing. He was also there to see us off since we were soon to leave to visit Carrie's uncle, aunt, and cousins in Palm Harbor. By the way, I had often told Carrie that I could not really get excited about cake in Illinois because it could not compare to my mother's chocolate pound cake. I think she must have been annoyed by these kinds of comments, but Carrie now understands and has already made a chocolate pound cake since we returned. Furthermore, she cannot stop talking about North Carolina Chocolate Pound Cake or Sarah Murphy's Chocolate Pound Cake, and most everyone who tried the cake she made wanted a second slice. By itself, it is irresistible. When combined with Carrie's homemade ice cream, it is indescribable!

Getting back to the birds, Carrie did see her lifer Common Gallinule in the backyard detention pond before we left!



As we drove through Tampa toward Palm Harbor on Race Track Rd., we saw something different in the pond at the entrance of the Waterchase subdivision. I had thought it was a Glossy Ibis until we pulled off and got a closer look. Finally, a Limpkin! It was such a relief to see this bird in a pond by the road after spending most of the morning searching for one in a swamp without success.







As we continued driving, we saw a couple more Common Gallinules and some Wood Storks.



We were at the intersection in front of a Publix in Palm Harbor, when I noticed a Nanday (Black-hooded Parakeet) on the power line. Carrie pulled over to let me out, but by the time I had walked back to where we had seen the parakeet, the bird had been flushed by a guy mowing the grass by the sidewalk. I believe this bird is accepted as countable by the Florida Ornithological Society, but not by the ABA. It was nice to finally be able to identify one of the parakeets I had seen, and it was better that both Carrie and I could add more lifers for the day and see these birds together. We both added Limpkin and Nanday Parakeet, and Carrie also added Common Gallinule to her life list. We were also blessed to sleep in another comfortable bed that night after being well received and fed by Carrie's Uncle Rex.

Written and published on July 23, 2012

Day Four - Fireworks and Backyard Birds

I woke up fairly early on the 4th of July, but decided to take a break from birding. I was physically exhausted after two days in the hot sun at Fort DeSoto, and I wanted to spend time with Carrie and my brother's family. But I did take time to see what was in the backyard detention pond. So I saw the beautiful Tricolored Heron shown above and the Little Blue Heron shown below. Other backyard birds again included White Ibis and Anhinga. I had already seen all of these birds on this trip, but I would be leaving Greg's house soon, and when would I get to see a Tricolored or Little Blue Heron in the backyard again?



Greg cooked us breakfast and took us on a tour of Idlewild Baptist Church, while Lynn was preparing food for the church picnic. Later that evening, Greg performed in the church orchestra at the picnic, and we ate and watched fireworks on the church grounds.

Written and published on July 21, 2012

Day Three - Fort DeSoto County Park (Part Two)

Carrie did not want to go birding on Tuesday, July 3, but my brother Greg and I had talked about going to Fort DeSoto together, and I was able to talk him into going with me when I went back on Tuesday. Greg notices the birds and enjoys them, but does not know what they are called. I knew that he would enjoy the birds and the adventure, and that we would both enjoy spending time with each other. I was hoping to stop at the Sunshine Skyway Bridge North Rest Area on the way, if I could find it, because two sightings of a Whimbrel at the rest area had been reported on ebird. This was my most wanted bird in Florida. I was also surprised I had not seen a Roseate Spoonbill yet and was hoping to see one at DeSoto.

After Greg bought me breakfast at Chick-fil-a, we drove toward the park. When we were getting close, we did not take the exit to DeSoto, but stayed on the highway to go on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge so that we could exit at the rest area. We thought the exit would be before the toll to get on the bridge, but there were no signs for the rest area at the last exit before the toll. We went ahead and took the last exit anyway thinking the people who reported the sighting on ebird might not have meant a literal "rest area." There was no rest area at this exit, but there was a park I had seen online called Maximo Point. Perhaps this was what they were talking about. As we drove around the park looking for a beach, we quickly located this Roseate Spoonbill feeding from a puddle next to this Snowy Egret. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Greg had seen these amazing creatures in his backyard detention pond, and I had high hopes of seeing one, but they had not been around his house for some time.







While we were watching these birds, some chattering parakeets flew out of the trees, and over our heads. Unfortunately, I could not get a good look at them, and I had not yet taken the time to learn parakeet calls. So once again, I could not identify the species. But what a relief to find a spoonbill. Now if only Carrie could see one at some point during our vacation.

Though we had a promising start, there were not many birds at Maximo, and there was not much of a beach for shorebirds. We found enough conch-type shells by the shore to start a collection. Greg picked up several of these to take home. I knew that Carrie would have no use for them, so I did not keep any of them. Then we found one adult Brown Pelican in beautiful chocolate breeding plumage.



After getting back on the highway, we decided to get on the bridge and pay the toll so that we could make sure we had not gotten off at the wrong place. Once we paid the toll, there were signs for a rest area. We exited and parked in the rest area parking lot. Then we diligently searched the shore, which was partially roped off so that damages from the tropical storm could be repaired and debris removed. We walked North to a wooded area and found a small peninsula that jutted out from the shore. In the wooded area, there were several waders. As Greg and I were walking around looking, I spotted an adult Yellow-crowned Night-Heron. It was highly inconspicuous, hiding and not allowing good looks. Then Greg called me over so I could see the juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-Heron he had found. This one allowed a better photo opportunity.





Other waders started flying in and landing in the trees around us; however, we did not see any Whimbrels.







As we drove under the bridge and headed back to the interstate, I noticed on the side of the highway opposite the rest area, a road extending from the highway that led to a small pull-off beach area. I wondered if this beach was the beach where the Whimbrel had been seen. At this time, unbeknownst to me, Greg was praying that I would find the Whimbrel. We pulled off the road to photograph the Osprey shown at the beginning of this post. While I was photographing the Osprey, Greg was noticing large fish jumping two to three feet out of the water. I would say, "holy mackerel," but these fish were mullets. After checking out the Osprey, we got back on the road and drove to the pull-off beach area I had seen from the highway. There were huge potholes and puddles in the sand as we drove through the parking area, but right away we noticed a funny looking bird walking up shore around a giant puddle. Wow! It was the Whimbrel! Thank you Lord!







We watched this bird for several minutes in amazement and were able to get pretty close to it while remaining in the car. There were also a few Ruddy Turnstones and Black-bellied Plovers closer to the shore. Once we left the pull-off area and arrived at DeSoto, we drove straight toward the North Beach. On our way to the beach, we saw a Common Ground-dove drop from a power line to the ground just across the road from the old fort. I pulled over and snapped a couple of shots.



By the time we got to the North beach, the tide was already up, but I was prepared. I was wearing my swimming trunks and flip-flops. I took my flip-flops off and carried them so that I could wade across the pool. As we walked North, we met a new birder, who had been watching the Reddish Egret, which was back today, fishing again in the same pool I had crossed the previous day. The birder's name was Lance Marvel. Lance, who was from Georgia, was visiting his daughter, who was attending college in town. This gave him a great opportunity to enjoy his new hobby at Fort DeSoto. As we waded past the Reddish Egret, it gave us quite a show, displaying it's fishing dance. The bird seemed very unconcerned with and undistracted by our presence.











As we continued North, we reached a roped off area, called the North Beach Protected Area. The ropes were put up to protect nesting American Oystercatchers. However, we did not see any nests, and many of the stakes holding the rope up had come up out of the ground. The nests had probably been washed away by the recent tropical storm. We did see three Wilson's Plovers and a Least Flycatcher on the other side of the ropes. On the East side of this area, which had become a small island, there were a variety of birds roosting. We walked around the roped off area to get closer to these birds. Lance had already been over to see this group of birds, but had not been able to identify them. So I helped him out. There were Marbled Godwits, Willets, American Oystercatchers, Black Skimmers, Short-billed Dowitchers, and Ruddy Turnstones.









As we walked a little closer, I noticed these small, gray shorebirds--Red Knots! Unfortunately they had already molted back to nonbreeding plumage, but it was still nice to finally see this endangered species.





On our way back to the parking lot, we found this beautiful shell, but it was still occupied, so I took it out of the water to photograph it, but then I put it back in. As we continued toward the parking lot, a Whimbrel flew by at eye level. Another one, and it was nice to see it flying!



Next Greg and I decided to explore the actual fort. The fort was built as a defense for Tampa during the Spanish-American War. Construction of the fort began in 1898 and was completed the following year. The area between the fort and the road and even the trees around the fort had several Gray Kingbirds, Loggerhead Shrikes, and Northern Mockingbirds.







On our way to check Turnaround Beach, we pulled off at the East Beach parking lot to get a closer look at this beautiful Wood Stork from the car. Again I was impressed with the stocky build of this large wader. There was not much to see at Turnaround Beach, and it was time to get back to the house so we left the park.



Greg and I had a wonderful time together talking and birding. I was reminded of the hikes we went on together when he had been my pastor, and we had lived in the same town for a period of two years right after I had graduated from college. As brothers, we are much alike, both sharing the joy of a good adventure and the delight in the beauty of God's creation.

On day three, I added six more lifers, including the bird I wanted most to see--Whimbrel!

1. Roseate Spoonbill
2. Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
3. Whimbrel
4. Common Ground-dove
5. Red Knot
6. Gray Kingbird

Below is a list of the birds we saw on July 3 at Fort DeSoto.

Fort DeSoto County Park, Pinellas, US-FL
Jul 3, 2012 10:14 AM - 11:34 AM
Protocol: Traveling
10.0 mile(s)
29 species

Wood Stork 1
Magnificent Frigatebird 1
Double-crested Cormorant 4
Brown Pelican 4
Great Blue Heron 4
Great Egret 12
Snowy Egret 18
Reddish Egret 2
White Ibis 24
Osprey 12
Black-bellied Plover 3
Wilson's Plover 3
American Oystercatcher 2
Willet 15
Whimbrel 1
Marbled Godwit 9
Ruddy Turnstone 10
Red Knot 8
Short-billed Dowitcher 9
Laughing Gull 58
Least Tern 1
Black Skimmer 2
Mourning Dove 6
Common Ground-Dove 1
Gray Kingbird 6
Loggerhead Shrike 4
Northern Mockingbird 7
European Starling 1
Northern Cardinal 2

Written and published on July 21, 2012