Christmas Bird Count, Avon Park Florida: January 6, 2011

Yesterday, I participated in the Christmas Bird Count at Avon Park through Archbold Biological Station.  Jen, Alex, and I joined Reed and Shane who work at Archbold, and started birding at 5:45 am in the dark.  We called for Eastern Screech Owl, and didn't hear any, but Reed and Shane each heard Screech Owls later in the day.  We also heard Barred Owls calling at a few different sites, in the dark and during daylight hours.  Some of the good birds we found were a Purple Gallinule, a Peregrine Falcon, a Northern Waterthrush, and a flock of Horned Larks, the last of which has not been recorded at Avon Park before.  My favorite birds of the day were Yellow-throated Warbler, which we saw a handful of, and Brown-headed Nuthatches, which were at a few of the sites we stopped.  The complete checklist, compiled by Alex, is at the bottom of the page after photos (click for larger photos).  Visit Alex's website to see his photos.

Sunrise over the marsh

Laughing Gallinule (formerly Purple Gallinule)

Northern Waterthrush

Pine Warblers, the most numerous warbler of the day (211)

Alex trying to flush sparrows

House Wren

1 of 2 Sharp-shinned Hawks we saw during the count

adult Bald Eagle

Yellow-throated Warbler

Black and White Warbler

Brown-headed Nuthatch

Florida Scrub Jay

Alex looking for birds in a dried up lake bed

Wood Ducks flying to roost

Mottled Ducks flying to roost

Complete CBC Check List
Wood Duck 135 - Flocks seen flying to roost location at sunset.

Mottled Duck 6
Blue-winged Teal 2
Hooded Merganser 2 - 1 adult male, 1 adult female
Northern Bobwhite 6
Wild Turkey 9 females
Pied-billed Grebe 6
Anhinga 14
American Bittern 1 heard calling only
Great Blue Heron 11
Great Egret 40
Little Blue Heron 3 adults
Tricolored Heron 8
Green Heron 4
Black-crowned Night-Heron 10 - 4 juveniles, 6 adults
White Ibis 132 mostly adults, very few juveniles were seen
Wood Stork 6
Black Vulture 39
Turkey Vulture 93
Bald Eagle 4 - 3 adults, 1 4th year; two adults were seen together at one point; later in the day an adult was seen chasing a 4th year; one adult was seen later in the day soaring alone
Northern Harrier 5 - 3 adult males, 2 juveniles
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 juveniles
Cooper's Hawk 1 juvenile
Red-shouldered Hawk 16 - 15 adults, 1 juvenile
Red-tailed Hawk 2 adults
American Kestrel 4
Peregrine Falcon 1 adult; seen twice during the day, both times soaring
King Rail 4 heard calling only
Purple Gallinule 1 foraging with Common Moorhens
Common Moorhen 14 - 12 adults, 2 juveniles
Sandhill Crane 121
Killdeer 38
Greater Yellowlegs 17
Wilson's Snipe 5 flushed out of wetlands
Rock Pigeon 8 foraging in field
Mourning Dove 38
Common Ground-Dove 11
Eastern Screech-Owl 2 heard calling only
Barred Owl 5 heard calling only
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-headed Woodpecker 3 - 1 adult, 2 immature
Red-bellied Woodpecker 19
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 4 - 1 adult male, 3 juveniles
Downy Woodpecker 9
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 4
Pileated Woodpecker 3
Eastern Phoebe 24
Great Crested Flycatcher 3
Loggerhead Shrike 8
White-eyed Vireo 5
Blue-headed Vireo 9
Blue Jay 27
Florida Scrub-Jay 4
American Crow 80
Horned Lark 40 single flyover flock; calling the entire time they were in sight
Tree Swallow 96
Tufted Titmouse 3
Brown-headed Nuthatch 10 - groups of 2 or 4 seen or heard at various areas
Carolina Wren 8
House Wren 4
Marsh Wren 5
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 20
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 17
Eastern Bluebird 30
American Robin 147
Gray Catbird 11
Northern Mockingbird 10
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 153
Yellow-throated Warbler 2
Pine Warbler 211
Prairie Warbler 1
Palm Warbler (Western) 131
Black-and-white Warbler 8
Northern Waterthrush 1
Common Yellowthroat 66
Eastern Towhee 16
Chipping Sparrow 55
Savannah Sparrow 35
Swamp Sparrow 200
Northern Cardinal 14
Red-winged Blackbird 8000
Eastern Meadowlark 7
Common Grackle 405
Boat-tailed Grackle 33
Brown-headed Cowbird 20
American Goldfinch 8 heard calling as flyovers