Migrating from Fort DeSoto to Cedar Key

This Hooded Warbler was trying to hide from us.

If you're not a birder - meaning that you're one of my family members who reads this out of idle curiosity - you need to know this about those of us who are birders:  We live for migration season.  It's like football season in the south; you wait for it impatiently from the last day of the previous season and can't believe how quickly it's finished.  So while it's here, we spend every minute possible in the field hoping to see those marvelous birds that we can't see here during the rest of the year.  Yes, you can ... and do ... get obsessed.  In previous years my job restricted my birding to weekends, but now being retired means I can indulge this obsession every chance I get.  So since I last wrote a blog entry, I've been to Fort DeSoto once and Cedar Key three times.  I'll do the first two trips here and the second group in a day or two.

Orchard Oriole enjoying some mulberries.

So on my wonderful sister Judy's birthday, the Red Van Gang made the trek to Fort DeSoto.  A quick stop at the ponds in Tierra Verde produced a few Lesser Scaups, a Red-breasted Merganser, and a wonderful aerial display by some Least Terns.  Then we headed into the park and stopped at the park headquarters.  There have been times when I've had trouble getting out of this parking lot because of all the birds.  Not this time.  One Catbird fed in the grass and a Summer Tanager flew in and out of a nearby cedar; that was it.  However, I had heard that there were a few warblers in the East Beach picnic area, so that's where we went next. Quickly we found a gorgeous male Cape May Warbler that provided some great looks but constantly avoided being photographed.  It was joined by a sharp looking male Black-and-White Warbler and a Hooded Warbler that peeked out at us from his hiding place.

Scarlet Tanager

Next we headed to the famous Mulberry tree.  Here there were some really nice birds including the Orchard Oriole pictured above, right and the Scarlet Tanager on the left.  I also saw an Indigo Bunting, a few Catbirds, and a Prothonotary Warbler.  There was nothing new around the fountain, so we decided to try the North Beach picnic area.  We found a few Hooded Warblers, but that was all.  We went to the beach and learned that some teens had just run out to where the shorebirds had collected, shouting and waving at the birds.  Most of them flew off, and so we dipped on the Curlew that had been seen there.  We did see a breeding plumage Common Loon, a few Willets, and a Herring Gull.  With the long drive back to Gainesville, we decided to call it a day.  It wasn't a bad day, but it wasn't the big warbler day we were hoping for.

Sanderlings

Two days later we were in Cedar Key, but it was not a good day for warblers.  The wind whipped out of the southwest, literally pushing us around when we stood near the beach.  The skies were overcast and rain threatened at every moment.  The day started well with some Common Ground Doves and a brief but terrific look at a Seaside Sparrow at the campground near Shell Mound.  There were a few shorebirds at at Shell Mound including several Black-bellied Plovers, Ruddy Turnstones, and some gorgeous American Oystercatchers.

We went into town next.  The public beach had a group of Sanderlings (below, left) that simply flew around the little boy who tried to chase them.  They didn't appear to be impressed by his antics.

Three gull species hanging out together

Next we headed toward the airport and found two docks overflowing with birds.  On one we found a Laughing Gull, Ring-billed Gull, and Herring Gull standing together.  Before we could take the picture, the Herring Gull sat down, but the comparisons are still there.  On the next dock we saw the group pictured below, left.  There are at least five species in the photo.  Can you find them?  The answer is at the bottom of this report after the final photos.

What are the five species pictured above?  See below.

The weather continued to deteriorate, so we thought we would start home.  The birds did not cooperate.  First we found a delightful Spotted Sandpiper under one of the docks.  In the photo below (left) you can see the spots starting to come in.  Then we found two plovers feeding along the beach.  At first I thought they were two different species since there was such an obvious color difference.  eventually I realized they were both Semipalmated Plovers (below, right), one in breeding plumage and one who still had a pale winter plumage. 

So migration season is here ... but it's like we're still playing the warm up games before the SEC kicks into gear.  Where are the warblers?  Back-to-back trips to Cedar Key on Sunday and Monday found some ... but you'll have to wait a day or two to read about them.

Spotted Sandpiper

Semipalmated Sandpiper

How many species do you see here?

The five species in the dock photo are Ruddy Turnstone, Forster's Tern, Royal Tern, Willet and Short-billed Dowitchers.

The photo of the flying birds has  mostly Sanderlings with a Forster's Tern and at least one Ruddy Turnstone.