I recorded 68 species to my green birding list for February 2017. The complete list is at the end of this post.

Even though I had 20 different local checklists, I didn’t take too many photos. There weren’t really any unexpected birds, either. Anyway, here are some highlights.

The main reason I wasn’t birding as much last year was that running was taking up a lot of my free time. I’ve been trying to give birding more time this year, while keeping up my modest running base. Some of those 20 checklists in February were incidentals while running. This photo of Wild Turkeys along the East Regional Rail Trail was taken with my iPhone on the run.

Wild Turkey flock with displaying males from the East Regional Rail Trail near Green Springs Park, 10-FEB-17

Anhinga & Great Egret at Gemini Springs, 13-FEB-17

Immature Bald Eagle from the Lake Monroe Boat Ramp, 15-FEB-17

Towards the end of the month I had a bummer of a run on a route not frequently taken. Not far from home along the Spring-to-Spring Trail in DeBary I saw a colorful something in the middle of the path ahead of me. I thought it was a candy wrapper, but as I got closer I could see it was a deceased Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. It was so beautiful. It was probably hit by a car. I set it to the side of the path. Later, along a sidewalk in Deltona, I saw what I first thought was a black plastic bag ahead. That turned out to be a dead Black Vulture, probably also hit by a car. I hardly ever see dead birds, and on this run I saw two. 🙁

Deceased Yellow-bellied Sapsucker & Black Vulture, Volusia Co., 20-FEB-17

Great Blue Heron at Mariner’s Cove, 21-FEB-17

That’s it! The last part of the month was taken up by Princess race weekend at Disney World and celebrating my 45th birthday with a walk at Circle B Bar Reserve followed by even more Disney fun. On to March! Here come the migrants!

Green Birding List for February 2017
Muscovy Duck – Cairina moschata
Mottled Duck – Anas fulvigula
Hooded Merganser – Lophodytes cucullatus
Wild Turkey – Meleagris gallopavo
Pied-billed Grebe – Podilymbus podiceps
Wood Stork – Mycteria americana
Double-crested Cormorant – Phalacrocorax auritus
Anhinga – Anhinga anhinga
Great Blue Heron – Ardea herodias
Great Egret – Ardea alba
Snowy Egret – Egretta thula
Little Blue Heron – Egretta caerulea
Tricolored Heron – Egretta tricolor
White Ibis – Eudocimus albus
Glossy Ibis – Plegadis falcinellus
Black Vulture – Coragyps atratus
Turkey Vulture – Cathartes aura
Osprey – Pandion haliaetus
Bald Eagle – Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Red-shouldered Hawk – Buteo lineatus
Red-tailed Hawk – Buteo jamaicensis
Common Gallinule – Gallinula galeata
American Coot – Fulica americana
Limpkin – Aramus guarauna
Sandhill Crane – Antigone canadensis
Killdeer – Charadrius vociferus
Wilson’s Snipe – Gallinago delicata
Lesser Yellowlegs – Tringa flavipes
Ring-billed Gull – Larus delawarensis
Forster’s Tern – Sterna forsteri
Rock Pigeon – Columba livia
Mourning Dove – Zenaida macroura
Belted Kingfisher – Megaceryle alcyon
Red-bellied Woodpecker – Melanerpes carolinus
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – Sphyrapicus varius
Downy Woodpecker – Picoides pubescens
Pileated Woodpecker – Dryocopus pileatus
American Kestrel – Falco sparverius
Eastern Phoebe – Sayornis phoebe
White-eyed Vireo – Vireo griseus
Blue Jay – Cyanocitta cristata
American Crow – Corvus brachyrhynchos
Fish Crow – Corvus ossifragus
Tree Swallow – Tachycineta bicolor
Carolina Chickadee – Poecile carolinensis
Tufted Titmouse – Baeolophus bicolor
Marsh Wren – Cistothorus palustris
Carolina Wren – Thryothorus ludovicianus
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – Polioptila caerulea
Ruby-crowned Kinglet – Regulus calendula
American Robin – Turdus migratorius
Gray Catbird – Dumetella carolinensis
Northern Mockingbird – Mimus polyglottos
Orange-crowned Warbler – Oreothlypis celata
Common Yellowthroat – Geothlypis trichas
Northern Parula – Setophaga americana
Palm Warbler – Setophaga palmarum
Pine Warbler – Setophaga pinus
Yellow-rumped Warbler – Setophaga coronata
Yellow-throated Warbler – Setophaga dominica
Prairie Warbler – Setophaga discolor
Northern Cardinal – Cardinalis cardinalis
Painted Bunting – Passerina ciris
Red-winged Blackbird – Agelaius phoeniceus
Common Grackle – Quiscalus quiscula
Boat-tailed Grackle – Quiscalus major
American Goldfinch – Spinus tristis
House Sparrow – Passer domesticus

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Hey, it seems that Operation: Get Back Into Birding is off to a great start in 2017! I was able to find a Bird a Day through at least the first month, I completed the January eBird Challenge with 33 checklists, and my January green list tally, at 93, is my best ever (beating out 75 in 2012, 83 in 2013, 77 in 2014, 90 in 2015, and 65 in 2016).

Here are some of my photographic highlights from green birding around southwest Volusia in January!

Great Egret at Gemini Springs, 06 January 2017

Limpkin at Gemini Springs, 06 January 2017

Orange-crowned Warbler at Gemini Springs, 06 January 2017

Little Blue Heron missing left foot at Lake Monroe Park, 10 January 2017

Tricolored Heron at Lake Monroe Boat Ramp, 13 January 2017

On January 15th Arthur and I brought our kayaks to Gemini Springs on the back of our bikes and kayaked along the bayou for a few hours. We saw surprising numbers of waders. I was able to add Green Heron during the trip, and we picked up a trash bag full of garbage from the waterway.

Kayaking at Gemini Springs, 15 January 2017

On January 17th I biked out to the Quail Lakes Powerline trails next to the power plant in northwest DeBary. I had a few targets: Florida Scrub-Jay, Red-headed Woodpecker, Eastern Towhee, Northern Bobwhite, and Common Ground-Dove. I found all of them except for Bobwhite, plus I found two bonus birds — Brown Thrasher and Eastern Bluebird — on the outing.

Florida Scrub-Jay at Quail Lakes Powerline trails, 17 January 2017

Prairie Warbler at Gemini Springs, 20 January 2017

Unexpected birds are just the best, aren’t they? I was birding around a bushy area of Gemini Springs where Yellow-rumped Warblers are usually plentiful. I had just moments earlier thought about how I’ve rarely found anything but tons of butterbutts in this area, when suddenly I saw a sparrow. I’ve been having a hard time finding any sparrows at Gemini Springs as compared to other years, so I was pretty stoked to find a sparrow of any kind… But zoinks, this wasn’t one of the usual expected sparrows. It was a White-throated Sparrow, not super rare but new for my Florida list and an exciting, totally unexpected find.

White-throated Sparrow at Gemini Springs, 20 January 2017

Nine-banded Armadillo at Gemini Springs, 29 January 2017

On the 31st I biked out to a couple of small local parks, where I added Mallard and Ring-necked Duck to my green list. I also walked around Dewey Boster Park in Deltona hoping to find a two targets, White-winged Dove and Eurasian Collared-Dove. I got the -winged but not the Collared, and also added House Sparrow and European Starling.

Brown Thrasher at Dewey Boster Park, 31 January 2017

Common Ground-Dove at Dewey Boster Park, 31 January 2017

Green Birding List for January 2017
Mallard – Anas platyrhynchos
Blue-winged Teal – Anas discors
Ring-necked Duck – Aythya collaris
Hooded Merganser – Lophodytes cucullatus
Wild Turkey – Meleagris gallopavo
Pied-billed Grebe – Podilymbus podiceps
Wood Stork – Mycteria americana
Double-crested Cormorant – Phalacrocorax auritus
Anhinga – Anhinga anhinga
American Bittern – Botaurus lentiginosus
Great Blue Heron – Ardea herodias
Great Egret – Ardea alba
Snowy Egret – Egretta thula
Little Blue Heron – Egretta caerulea
Tricolored Heron – Egretta tricolor
Cattle Egret – Bubulcus ibis
Green Heron – Butorides virescens
White Ibis – Eudocimus albus
Glossy Ibis – Plegadis falcinellus
Black Vulture – Coragyps atratus
Turkey Vulture – Cathartes aura
Osprey – Pandion haliaetus
Northern Harrier – Circus cyaneus
Bald Eagle – Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Red-shouldered Hawk – Buteo lineatus
Red-tailed Hawk – Buteo jamaicensis
Sora – Porzana carolina
Common Gallinule – Gallinula galeata
American Coot – Fulica americana
Limpkin – Aramus guarauna
Sandhill Crane – Antigone canadensis
Killdeer – Charadrius vociferus
Spotted Sandpiper – Actitis macularius
Greater Yellowlegs – Tringa melanoleuca
Lesser Yellowlegs – Tringa flavipes
Ring-billed Gull – Larus delawarensis
Caspian Tern – Hydroprogne caspia
Forster’s Tern – Sterna forsteri
Rock Pigeon – Columba livia
Common Ground-Dove – Columbina passerina
White-winged Dove – Zenaida asiatica
Mourning Dove – Zenaida macroura
Barred Owl – Strix varia
Belted Kingfisher – Megaceryle alcyon
Red-headed Woodpecker – Melanerpes erythrocephalus
Red-bellied Woodpecker – Melanerpes carolinus
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – Sphyrapicus varius
Downy Woodpecker – Picoides pubescens
Northern Flicker – Colaptes auratus
Pileated Woodpecker – Dryocopus pileatus
American Kestrel – Falco sparverius
Eastern Phoebe – Sayornis phoebe
White-eyed Vireo – Vireo griseus
Blue-headed Vireo – Vireo solitarius
Blue Jay – Cyanocitta cristata
Florida Scrub-Jay – Aphelocoma coerulescens
American Crow – Corvus brachyrhynchos
Fish Crow – Corvus ossifragus
Tree Swallow – Tachycineta bicolor
Carolina Chickadee – Poecile carolinensis
Tufted Titmouse – Baeolophus bicolor
House Wren – Troglodytes aedon
Marsh Wren – Cistothorus palustris
Carolina Wren – Thryothorus ludovicianus
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – Polioptila caerulea
Ruby-crowned Kinglet – Regulus calendula
Eastern Bluebird – Sialia sialis
American Robin – Turdus migratorius
Gray Catbird – Dumetella carolinensis
Brown Thrasher – Toxostoma rufum
Northern Mockingbird – Mimus polyglottos
European Starling – Sturnus vulgaris
Cedar Waxwing – Bombycilla cedrorum
Ovenbird – Seiurus aurocapilla
Orange-crowned Warbler – Oreothlypis celata
Common Yellowthroat – Geothlypis trichas
Palm Warbler – Setophaga palmarum
Pine Warbler – Setophaga pinus
Yellow-rumped Warbler – Setophaga coronata
Yellow-throated Warbler – Setophaga dominica
Prairie Warbler – Setophaga discolor
Chipping Sparrow – Spizella passerina
White-throated Sparrow – Zonotrichia albicollis
Savannah Sparrow – Passerculus sandwichensis
Swamp Sparrow – Melospiza georgiana
Eastern Towhee – Pipilo erythrophthalmus
Northern Cardinal – Cardinalis cardinalis
Painted Bunting – Passerina ciris
Red-winged Blackbird – Agelaius phoeniceus
Common Grackle – Quiscalus quiscula
Boat-tailed Grackle – Quiscalus major
American Goldfinch – Spinus tristis
House Sparrow – Passer domesticus

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Here’s my year-end update for my sad Green Birding effort for 2016. My previous post covered January through June, so here’s what happened in July and beyond.

In July I added a few lists incidental to bike rides, where I ticked Eurasian Collared-Dove in Sanford (a new county for my green listing). At home I added a handful of birds as well. On July 23rd I joined West Volusia Runners for a group run at Beck Ranch Park. I ran towards the Lake Monroe Conservation Area bridge where I thought I saw a Purple Gallinule out on the water. It was one of the many times I wished it was practical to carry a pair of binoculars on a run — though this would not have been for my green list as I had driven to Beck Ranch. A few days later I biked out to the bridge (about 26 miles round-trip) and confirmed my suspicion, excited to add Purple Gallinule to my all-time green list.

Baby Florida Softshell Turtle on the East Regional Rail Trail, July 15 2016

Black Vultures on the carcass of a cow at Lake Monroe Conservation Area, July 25 2016

Purple Gallinule at Lake Monroe Conservation Area (WOO HOO), July 25 2016

August wasn’t very birdy (or I guess it wasn’t very birdingy) but I saw some herps while out on the trails.

Ring-necked Snake on the Spring-to-Spring Trail, August 1 2016

Scarlet Kingsnake on the East Regional Rail Trail, August 6 2016

Surprise Gopher Tortoise in our back yard, August 19 2016

I next added to the list in September, with a pair of warblers at Gemini Springs.

Mourning Doves sunning in our back yard, September 11 2016

Northern Cardinal at Gemini Springs, September 23 2016

In October I had a surprise Tennessee Warbler at home. Finally, in December, I added King Rail and Field Sparrow at Gemini Springs to finish the my 2016 list at 108 green birds.

Limpkin at Gemini Springs, December 20 2016

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