Day 109: April 18th – Shorebirds, yes: Warblers?

Partly sunny, low 80s, stiff wind out of the south

       We keep waiting for the expected or at least hoped for “fall out” when warblers coming across the Gulf of Mexico will be pushed by the prevailing winds over to Florida and our present birding site, Fort DeSoto.  So far, it just hasn’t happened.  We had a total of 3 species of warbler today….Common yellowthroat, Palm warbler, and Black and White.  Each of these is known to breed in Florida, so they more than likely are not migrants at all, but rather residents of the park.

Common yellowthroat

       Another bird breeding in the park is the Great Crested Flycatcher.  A nest box installed by park management has proven attractive enough to the flycatcher to have the bird set up house.  The bird was observed today bringing nesting material to the nest box on several occasions.

       That is not to say that our visit to Fort DeSoto has been a bust.  The shorebirds have been really cooperative and have given us great close-up shots of birds in transitional plumage.  The spectacular colors and patterns of the “alternative’ molt, the breeding plumage, are just coming in and many of these birds are either well on their way to the full-blown coloration or are well on their way.  Of note was the variation in plumage of the Black-bellied plovers.  Some are still in the basic non-breeding plumage which really shows none of the “black belly” for which they are named.  Others, on the other hand, have a great deal of the black coming in and are almost fully feathered out in the dark colors.

Black-bellied plover in transitional plumage

       Other birds, like the Least sandpiper and the Dunlin are for whatever reason more than willing to come in close to the spectators which jostle and maneuver about to get in position for the best photo possible.  The key is not to hassle the birds by creeping closer and closer but rather by staying put and letting the birds come in closet to you by their own volition.  Take this little Least sandpiper for example…..

       Still another treat today was the appearance of a fledgling Great Horned Owl.  At first, it was all but impossible to get a decent look as the bird flew high into the thick canopy of pines and live oaks.  The bird eventually flew out into a much more open location, however, and our patience paid off with nice photo-ops of the little “fuzz ball”.

       Tomorrow, we again return back to the park to see if we can possibly capture some images of the elusive warblers and several other birds which have been seen, but not captured by our cameras, namely the Black-hooded parakeets, the Whimbrels, and a reported Black-whiskered vireo which supposedly visited the park earlier this week.  Predicted storms in the gulf could possibly set the stage for the hoped for “fall out” and tommorow may bring new species to our group of observers.  Let’s see what transpires.