Jo Hays Vista Hawk Watching, September 14, 2011

I got a late start today at Jo Hays Vista, but it didn't matter because the valley was covered in a thick blanket of haze until about 3:40.  I arrived at 12:00, and I was joined by Chuck Widdman shortly after.  The wind was nonexistant, and local Turkey Vultures weren't even flying around.  Monarchs just seemed to float in mid air with no help from any updrafts or thermals. At 2:00, Chuck spotted our first bird of the day, a far away accipiter, trying to get some lift near a Turkey Vulture.  The bird never came back into view and took the southern edge of the ridge versus flying over us.  About half an hour later, Chuck spotted an adult Bald Eagle in a quick powered flight right over tree level and the road. Apparently he couldn't find any thermals either in the thick haze.  A few local Red-tailed Hawks cruised over the valley eventually, and while they got some height, they were never able to break through the haze.  Eventually, some clouds started to break, and after a few gray clouds passed, they were replaced with a bunch of nice fluffy white clouds.  I got a text from Drew Weber on campus that said he had between 100 and 200 Broad-winged Hawks circling over the stadium.  We were worried we would miss them in the thick haze that was only slowly lifting over the valley, but within about 25 minutes, a huge kettle of Broad-wings was visible way out over the valley against a white puffy cloud.  Todd Stawser had showed up just before this and was able to help us count this kettle, as they glided off to the west and towards our ridge.  While this was happening, Chuck was on another kettle that was gliding off to the east, comparable in size to the first at about 190.  Eventually, smaller kettles of new birds started forming just west of the radio towers, and before we knew it, our Broad-winged count was at 453!  An Osprey, a few Northern Harriers, and American Kestrels also flew through during this push when the weather cleared, and in the last few hours of the day, Chet and Sue Gottfried showed up to help us spot a few more kestrels, 2 more Bald Eagles, and a Sharp-shinned Hawk.  Our total count of Broad-wings was 456, and our total raptor count was 469.  Thanks to Chuck, Todd, Chet, and Sue for their help today! While tomorrows weather looks grim from the morning to early afternoon, the weather is likely to break between 3:00 and 4:00, which will likely result in another good push of Broad-wings.

FL to PA Day 2: St. Petersburg to Crystal River (Boyd Hill Nature Park, Honeymoon Island State Park, J.P. Starkey Wilderness Area) March 6

We woke up early on March to join the Pinellas County Audubon Society on their weekly bird walk at Boyd Hill Nature Park. It was a slow morning for small birds, and we saw mainly blue-grey gnatcatchers and yellow-rumped warblers early on. This group of baby raccoons made an appearance, and didn't seem bothered at all by our presence.

baby raccoons

Near a wetland area that had a few alligators in it, we picked up yellow and black-crowned night heron, purple martin, red-winged blackbirds, and pied-billed grebes for the trip list.

purple martins

American alligator

Later on, we started seeing eastern phoebes and ruby-crowned kinglets, and a white-eyed vireo, which was a life bird for Alex and I. A green heron was perched on a telephone pole near a road, American white pelicans soared on a thermal nearby, and a great-horned owl flew out of a large pine in front of us. It revealed the location of its mate, who simply stared down at the group of at least 20 people who stared right back at it for at least 20 minutes.

great-horned owl

A black-hooded parakeet was perched near the trail about 50 feet up, and we heard a few red-shouldered hawks calling in the distance, which we only got quick glimpses of.

black-hooded parakeet

An osprey with a fish flew over, and it was being pursued by a large bald eagle. About 5 minutes later the eagle flew over, victorius, with the fish in his talons. He was banded on both legs with FWS metal bands. We wrapped up the walk around 10:30 and had seen 42 species at the park.

bald eagle with stolen fish

Next we headed to Honeymoon Island State Park.  On the way, fish crows seemed to be everywhere.

fish crows

We did the 3 mile "Osprey Trail" (appropriately named) where there were at least 25 active nests. Osprey were carrying fish all over the place, chasing eachother, mating, and doing aerial courtship displays. Another birder pointed out a common yellowthroat to us, but other than this and a few catbirds, it was relatively quiet here for small birds. There was also a bald eagle nest in sight, that had two large babies in it.

Osprey on "Osprey Trail"

palm warbler near Osprey Trail

We stopped at a roadside beach after leaving the park to take a look at a group of skimmers. Here we also saw willets and least sandpipers. I sat near the sandpipers, and eventually they were walking right by me, giving me a great opportunity to photograph them.

willet and laughing gull

Alex photographing skimmers

least sandpiper

black skimmers

Our next stop was the J.P. Starkey Wilderness area, a huge tract of preserved land. Other than a gopher tortoise, catbirds, and armadillos, we didn't see much here, and headed north to Crystal River, FL. On our way there, we checked on some whooping cranes for Eva and Sara, and spotted a great horned owl perched on a phone pole. I had to change the colors of the photo to be able to see it in the bad lighting.

great-horned owl

According to list-keeper Alex, we ended the day with 98 species, not bad for two days! At this rate I knew he'd be catching up to my year total shortly.

Mississippi to Florida: Dauphin Island, Alabama and Gulf Island National Seashore, Florida, March 3

After leaving Matt's  house around 6am, I planned to make it to Dauphin Island, Alabama early enough to see the burrowning owl that had been seen on the island for a few months.  Not many people had seen it, and I was told it was hard to find.  I spent at least 2 hours looking for it, but came up short.  There was an area of sand dunes next to a golf course that the owl resides in, but there were many places to hide in this area.  I am sure the owl heard me walk by numerous times, but he wasn't curious enough to pop out.

area where burrowing owl was hiding near Dauphin Island Golf Course

Again, it was a bit early to expect to see many migrants, but I did manage to see a few new species on the island, including sanderling and red-breasted mergansers (both new year birds).  I also saw northern gannets fishing offshore (a new year bird), in addition to many of the common species I had seen already on my trip.

Osprey on Dauphin Island

red-breasted mergansers and Forster's terns near Dauphin Island

Forster's tern and double-crested cormorant near Dauphin Island

swamp sparrow on Dauphin Island

I spent the rest of the day driving along the coast through the Florida panhandle.  At Gulf Island National Seashore, a green-tailed towhee had been reported for at least 4 months.  It was being fed by the main fort, and was seen reliably almost everyday.  Also at the park were lark sparrows.  The drive to the park was down a long sandy peninsula.  I spotted my first purple martin of the year on the drive out.  He stayed with me along my car for at least 5 miles before banking off to the west shore.

purple martin at Gulf Island National Seashore

Upon entering the park, there were at least 6 lark sparrows feeding on the ground.  These were very easy to find. 

lark sparrow feeding

I then followed the directions to where the green-tailed towhee was, and sure enough within 10 minutes, he made an appearance.  He came back at least 5 times while I waited.

green-tailed towhee at Gulf Island National Seashore

laughing gull in Florida panhandle

ring-billed gull in Florida panhandle

After this stop, I headed for Crytsal River, Florida, where my friends/former co-workers, Eva and Sara live (employees of the International Crane Foundation).  I arrived pretty late, around midnight.