Black-headed gull in Florida

     Sharon and I were up early this morning to travel up to Port Orange, FL in search of the Black-headed gull which has been seen sporadically in the area.  When it does show up, it is generally in the same spot, a dock along a back road which runs along the Halifax River.  We've made several trips up here already, after all, it is only a 20 minute drive.  But up until this morning, this is one chased bird which has eluded us.  When we arrived, we found 4 other birders who had been on the site for at least an hour with no results.  We arrived at 7:45AM and spent over an hour checking out the one dock on which the bird was 'supposed' to appear.  Several of the birding party left after an hour or so, but one more arrived.

Bonaparte's gull (left) with Black-headed gull

     We spent another 15 minutes or so and then discussed the possibility of heading out to breakfast and then returning for a bit more effort in spotting the bird.  All of a sudden, Laura, the newest on the scene, announced she had the bird in the scope!  As we all got on the bird, the party which had left returned, saying they just had to give it one more try.  And so, we all had good looks and nice photo-ops of this Florida rarity.  Normally the bird will only occasionally appear in the NE United States.  And so, the opportunity to add this bird to our Florida life-list as well as our Year-list was well received.  Another chase has yielded a wonderful bird.

Florida Bobcats

     Well, we are firmly back on Florida soil and have been kept busy trying to hit all our favorite birding haunts after a 9 month absence.  Close to the top of the list if not actually number 1 is Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.  We spent yesterday with a group of our birding buddies from the Halifax River Audubon Club and had a great albeit chilly day.  With clouds, stiff breezes and temps in the mid 50's, it was not what most people think of as ideal Florida birding conditions.  But, nonetheless, we had a great day with a final tally of over 60 species.  Among the more special Florida birds we found were the Painted bunting, plenty of Roseate spoonbills, Scrub jays, a fine Great horned owl, and a gorgeous Red-tailed hawk (not so common down here as we see them back home in NY).  Topping the list for sighting of the day, however, was not one of our avian targets, but rather a handsome mammal....the Bobcat.

      We were fortunate to have a good sighting in two consecutive days last year, but today's sighting actually lasted longer than the combined viewing time for last year's two day total.  We watched the hungry cat tenaciously work at securing its prey (never did figure out exactly what the prey was) for over 10 minutes.  Although the day was overcast and lighting less than ideal, several of us managed to snap off quite a few shots from which we hoped a few would be acceptable.  The thing I liked best about the shots that I got was that the looks the part of the hunter....snarling and all.  What a great experience for all who were privy to the cat's hard work.

     Later, we found a pair of Painted buntings feeding on the seeds of an American Elm.  Once again, the dull gray skies could do little to dampen our enthusiasm for shooting plenty of pix of this Florida beauty and its spectacular colors came through in spite of the less than azure skies.  Once again, it was a great day to birding in the Sunshine State even if it perhaps didn't live up to its name today.