Fort Myers, Florida, 2020

February 16, 2020March 15, 2020Wood Thrush Leave a comment

Last month, I put on my snowbird training wheels for the second time and flew to Fort Myers, Florida, to visit my snowbird parents and to, of course, bird. This year’s trip doesn’t necessarily top last year’s trip because last year’s trip resulted in a waterfall of lifers. This year’s trip did involve the following:

Visiting some of my favourite birding spots
Visiting some new birding spots
Complaining about the humidity
Enjoying the ubiquitous serenade of the Northern Mockingbird
Joining the Caloosa Bird Club on a visit to Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge
Joining the local Audubon chapter on a visit to Caloosahatchee Creeks Preserve
Seeing five lifers: Limpkin, Mottled Duck, Magnificent Frigatebird, Monk Parakeet, and Crested Caracara
Spending time with my incredible family, including my nephew

What follows are out-of-order photos of my trip, followed by a link to some birding videos.

Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park, Florida, February 2020.

Caloosahatchee River, North Fort Myers, Florida, February 2020.

Boat-tailed Grackle, Cape Coral, Florida, February 2020.

Full Moon, February 9, 2020. North Fort Myers, Florida.

Green Heron, Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, February 2020.

Yellow-throated Warbler, Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, February 2020.

Reddish Egret, Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, February 2020.

Snowy Egret (background) and a White Ibis (foreground), Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, February 2020.

Spotted Sandpiper, Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, February 2020.

Little Blue Heron, Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, February 2020.

Prairie Warbler, Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, February 2020.

Anhinga, Lake County Park, Florida, February 2020.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Lakes Park, Florida, February 2020.

Limpkin, Harns Marsh, Florida, February 2020.

White Ibis, Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park, Florida, February 2020.

Laughing Gull, Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park, Florida, February 2020.

Little Blue Heron, Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park, Florida, February 2020.

Willet, Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park, Florida, February 2020.

Magnificent Frigatebird, Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park, Florida, February 2020.

Ruddy Turnstones, Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park, Florida, February 2020.

Yellow-crowed Night-heron, Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, February 2020.

Blue-winged Teals and American Coots, Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, February 2020.

North Fort Myers overlooking the Callosahatchie River, Florida, February 2020.

Kayaking at Marsh Point, North Fort Myers, Florida, February 2020.

Kayaking in the mangroves at Marsh Point, North Fort Myers, Florida, February 2020.

For Florida 2020 birding videos, including one with the Reddish Egret’s serious dance moves, visit my YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/lburfitt/videos?view_as=subscriber

Shorebird Confusion at the Coast

February 3, 2020February 13, 2020Wood Thrush Leave a comment

We no longer live 1 hour from the coast. It’s more like 2 hours now, so we have yet to make the trip since we moved north. In late January, we decided to head to Cannon Beach, the birthplace of our PNW love.

We started (birding of course) at Ecola State Park, which was a new stop for both of us. It was mostly be accident. When we entered the town of Cannon Beach, we turned right at some point, then drove down a very long road through an enchanting forest to Ecola State Park.

This park is breathtaking, and I’m happy that it’s the closest part of the coast to our house.

I need to visit the coast more often because my shorebird ID needs some work. Almost every time I see shorebirds, it’s like I’m starting over in bird ID. I guess that keeps things interesting, and I’m glad I have a decent camera that allows me to bring home bird ID homework.

Surfbirds that I originally thought were Black Turnstones.

But there were a few Black Turnstones! They just were not *ALL* BLTUs. Compare this individual’s bill colour to the Surfbird’s in the previous photograph. Eh? The Surfbird’s bill has orange at the base. This guy? All black.

Medley of both Black Turnstones and Surfbirds.

I believe these are mostly Surfbirds taking off because they *lack* the white stripe on their backs (that Black Turnstones have).

Some Surf Scoters getting testy with each other.

Black Oystercatchers looking ridiculous as always

You Down with PPP (Yea You Know Me)

February 2, 2020February 2, 2020Wood Thrush 1 Comment

Go ahead and roll your eyes at me. I’ll give you a few minutes. Don’t run out of eye rolls though, because once I define this marvelous abbreviation for you, you’ll be back at it again.

PPP = the Philomath Poo Ponds, aka the Philomath Sewage Ponds.

Note: Access to these ponds is restricted! You need to have a permit, which is available free of charge from the Philomath Public Works Department.

It’s been several months since I’ve birded the PPP because it’s now more than 2 hours away. But, enter the Willamette Valley Birding Symposium in Corvallis, plus a visit from my birding sister Lindsay, and I’m back down in arguably the best birding area in Oregon (IMHO). The symposium was on the Saturday, and we birded on Sunday. We planned on birding the PPP and Finley, but hitting both in 1 day is difficult when the sun sets at 4:30-ish and you’ve slept in and had a lazy morning birding your AirBNB property.