Circumnavigating Newnan's Lake

A family of Pied-billed Grebes in a retention pond.

I really enjoy The June Challenge.    This is a local "competition" that is sponsored by the Alachua Audubon Society.  The goal is to stay within the boundaries of a single county and see (not hear) as many bird species as possible during the month of June.  Every year I try to do a Big Day on June 1 or 2 in order to get the month started off right.  Well, this year I started the month in Alaska and returned in a state of zombie-like stupor.  So I really started my Challenge during the past week, and things have gone well, but not spectacularly so.  Most years I try to reach 100 species.  This year, getting into the mid-80s may be difficult, but I'll have fun trying.

My first stop today was a retention pond just off Main Street in Gainesville where others have found a family of Pied-billed Grebes.  It took about two minutes.  The whole family swam together enjoying the beautiful morning.

A Barred Owl who thinks he's an eagle.

The real goal for the day was Newnan's Lake.  Last year's drought made the lake a birding hot spot.  Early in the month the lake produced everything from shorebirds to pelicans and from ducks to Short-tailed Hawks.  This year the water level is remarkably high.  Last year I walked in places that are now fifty feet out into the water.  I stopped by the parking lot on SR 26 at the Newnan's Lake Conservation Area where a Yellow-throated Vireo has been very cooperative.  Not this morning.  It was nowhere to be found, so I headed to Windsor and Owens-Illinois Park.

As I drove into the park, I saw two Barred Owls scare up from the bank of the boat launch canal.  Odd.  It was about 10:00 AM, and owls are typically hiding in the woods, not out in the open at a public boat ramp.  I parked, hopped out, and reached for my camera.  Oh yeah, it's dead, victim of a salt water splash in the face in Alaska.  So, I grabbed my iPhone and attached it to my spotting scope, certain that the owls were no longer in the same tree.  I was right.  One of them had flown to the dock and perched on a pole.  Then he flew toward me and landed on a wooden piling right next to the water.  What happened next took me by complete surprise.  The owl leaped from its perch, swooped low over the water, and pulled a fish from the water!  What the heck?  Did it think it was an eagle?  Then, while I was trying to get my jaw off the ground, the second owl dove from the tree and repeated the fishing expedition, also grabbing a fish from the canal!  I've been birding quite heavily for the past 13 years or so, and I've never seen an owl go fishing.  What a thrill!  The Summer Tanager I spotted in the trees along the canal was also a nice find, but the owl was the star of the day.

Red-shouldered Hawk

Next I tried Prairie Creek, but only a single hummingbird flew by, so  I moved on to Powers Park.  Normally this is a really great spot, but I had little luck.  I scoped the lake from the dock, but saw nothing but Ospreys and Great Blue Herons.  I heard Limpkins calling from both east and west of the dock, but I couldn't see them, so they didn't count.  I walked back to the car just as a Red-shouldered Hawk flew into the tree above me.  I snapped a few photos and decided to check out the area near the small playground.  No birds.  In fact, the most interesting thing here was a gentleman from Hawthorne who told me that for the third year in a row he and his son rode their bikes from Hawthorne to Key West and back.  Wow!  Impressive.

I drove over to Palm Point and checked out the water's edge along the path, hoping to find a Limpkin.  I saw a few Double-crested Cormorants, an Anhinga, and a Little Blue Heron, but no Limpkin.  Grrrrr.

Limpkin in a tree

On to the next stop .... a small parking lot outside of a place I have recently learned is called Sunland Center State Park.  Who knew?  A small path led to the edge of the lake.  I stood there looking around, hoping to find a Limpkin, but I had no luck.  Then I heard one call ... from directly ABOVE me.  It was sitting in the tree directly over my head!  Am I a great birder or what?  I scrambled up the hill, grabbed my iPhone/scope and tapped away.  You can see the results here.

It was getting late, but I decided to return to the parking lot off SR 26 I had visited earlier and make one more effort for that Yellow-throated Vireo.  I played a tape and the bird flew right to me.  I figured that was a great way to end the day, so I gave it up and headed home.  I now have 72 species for the month and haven't gotten to La Chua Trail yet -- but that's coming!

See him?