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Posted by Paul Bithorn on 12:58:07 01/08/06
On Saturday, January 7, 2006, Kevin Sarsfield, Juan Villamil and I headed north in search of lifebirds, yearbirds and beerbirds. We would not be disappointed. Temperatures, which plunged down to the low 40's, proved to be very iinvigorating for both us and the birds.
Our first stop was the Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area. Downy and Pileated Woodpeckers were seen in a Cypress dome soon after we exited the Florida Turnpike. Sunset Ranch Interpretive Trail sightings included White-eyed and Blue-headed Vireo, Tufted Titmice and Eastern Towhee.
Lake Jackson highlights included Brown-headed Nuthatch, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebird and Pine Warblers in every possible plumage.
The Joe Overstreet Boat Launch had White Pelicans, Black-Crowned Night Herons, Glossy Ibis, Limpkin, (3) Whooping Cranes, Sandhill Cranes, Bald Eagle (at least two dozen in the area), Snail Kite, Caspian and Forster Tern, Wilson Snipe, Least Sandpiper and our dear friend, Colonel Jack Taylor from Indian River County.
We decided to check out Cypress Lake and we were well rewarded. We all watched in disbelief as a Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis) foraged for grubs in a nearby pasture. It was a life skunk for all of us in the great state of Florida. We're used to seeing Spotted Skunks (Spilogale gracilis) in South Florida, affectionately known as polecats by us Southerners. Ring-necked Ducks, Crested Caracaras, Barred Owl, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Wild Turkeys were other highlights.
We decided to stop at Dagherty's (sp.?) Irish Pub in St. Cloud and feasted on delicious Shepherd's Pie and Mashers washed down with a couple of tasty Smithwick's Ales (founded in 1710). We were soon off for the Zellwood-Apopka area where our first stop was Sadler Rd. in Tangerine, where we soon located the previously reported female Common Goldeneye amongst half a dozen Hooded Mergansers. We headed back south to Lust Rd., where we ran into several birding friends. I had the distinct pleasure of meeting local brders Dot Freeman and Joie Clifton. Jill Gaetzi showed us a Vesper Sparrow she had photographed earlier in the day and our best birds in the area were a Western Kingbird and a juvenile White-crowned Sparrow. I beleive Tom and Jill saw the As-throated Flycatcher earlier in the morning and we may have seen a Myiarchus flycatcher perch for an instant and fly off before we could id it.
At 4:00 p.m. we all formed a caravan to Hooper Farms and soon our numbers reached a couple dozen as we waited for the flyctacher fly-in. American Robins already covered the wires and nearby trees, soon to be joined by a small flock of Cedar Waxwings. Western Kingbirds soon began to arrive eventually reaching 34 birds. Three Scissor-tailed Flycatchers joined the fray and then at 5:43 p.m - just as the sun began to set, the Fork-tailed Flycatcher showed up allowing us all scope views for a minute or two, before this graceful flycatcher sallied for an insect and disappeared into the adjacent orange grove. Tom and Jill Gaetzi, Diane Reed, Heike Charest, Joie Clifton and Indianapolis birder, Mike Clay, reveled in our good fortune as the light began to fade. It was Kevin's third and Juan's second Fork-tailed but my first and 412th Florida lifebird was as good as it gets for me. Ninety-one species was not a bad day for strictly inland birding. Life is good........................... knowing that our extended birding family continues to share our sightings and continues to grow in leaps and bounds as we welcome birders from around the world!
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