Ooooo-keechobee

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Crested Caracara

It’s day one of a two-day swing through Okeechobee, Highlands, and Hardee Counties.  Today was all Okeechobee starting at Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park and ending at Okie-Tantie.  For the day we tallied 74 species, and I brought my county life list from 33 to 80.

Kissimmee Prairie is a lovely park if you like the prairie habitat, and I do.  We had already started the day well with a Crested Caracara (left) on the way to the park.  Once we arrived, the first tree we saw proved to be full of birds, including between six and eight Northern Bobwhites and a Gray Catbird among several other species.  Eventually we made our way to the campground that was southeast of the headquarters building.  First we saw four Wild Turkeys strolling around the area.  Then we encountered a mixed flock that included a male Black-throated Blue Warbler, a few American Redstarts, a Pine Warbler, several Palm Warblers, and White-eyed and Red-eyed Vireos.  Then I noticed something feeding on the ground near a picnic table.  I couldn’t believe my eyes.  It was a Clay-colored Sparrow (below, right)!  My day was already made, and it was only 10:30.  Other birds of note in the park during the morning were Greater Yellowlegs, Killdeer, Loggerhead Shrike, Eastern Phoebe, Common Yellowthroat, and Prairie Warbler.

Clay-colored Sparrow

The Great Florida Birding Trail pamphlet contains two driving loops worth exploring in Okeechobee, and we did a decent job of covering all but US 98, which was too heavily traveled to allow safe roadside birding.  However, we spent a considerable amount of time on CR 724 and SR 68, as well as US 441 into the town.  We had two very fortunate stops.  One was at a big mud puddle on 68.  It had Western and Least Sandpipers, 3-4 Lesser Yellowlegs, and two Mottled Ducks.  Another stop was at the Publix on 441 in Okeechobee.  That was worthy of note because we found a lone Cliff Swallow among a flock of Barn Swallows swarming above the highway.

Snail Kite

After lunch we pulled into the park on the lake where 441 meets SR 78.  Among the birds we added here were Limpkin, Caspian and Royal Terns, Purple Gallinule, American Coot, and a really good looking Snail Kite (left).  Finally, we went on to Okie-Tantie where the only new bird was a Cooper’s Hawk that was enjoying a dinner of freshly killed Blue Jay (below, left).

Tomorrow we’ll be on the road early so that we can reach Highlands Hammock State Park just after sunrise.  We hope to spend the first half of the day there before driving over to Paynes Creek near Bowling Green in Hardee County for a bit of late afternoon birding and then the long haul back to Gainesville.  I’ll let you know on Thursday how we do.

Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park

Cooper's Hawk