The Bird-a-Day Challenge rolls on!

In the last 10 days I picked up half of my birds at my trusty local patch, Gemini Springs. White-eyed Vireo, Snowy Egret, Common Yellowthroat and Little Blue Heron were all sort of gimmes – birds I would reasonably expect to find on a normal birding day at the park. I was glad to see a Swallow-tailed Kite on the 14th along the (Gemini Springs-adjacent) Spring-to-spring Trail. They are back in town after spending the winter in South America.

On April 11th, Arthur joined me on a morning bird walk. We spent the last part of the outing on the fishing pier watching birds flying out over the bayou. A wading bird flew over and I (insert sheepish grin) called it a Tricolored Heron and (insert sheepish grin) moved on. Arthur kept on it and shouted out “NIGHT HERON!” Yikes! I got back on the bird and boy, am I glad I did. At great distance we were able to put doubts on calling the bird the more common Black-crowned. Luckily the bird proceeded to FLY DIRECTLY ABOVE US right over the fishing pier! I had a horrible klutz attack while fumbling with my camera and I ended up taking zero photos of the bird. I am very glad I got good looks, though, at my BIGBY / Volusia County / 2012 / second ever in my life Yellow-crowned Night-Heron!

Two planned non-birding day trips yielded a pair of nice birds I wouldn’t expect to find locally.

On April 15th Arthur and I went to Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park in Orlando. Prior to the trip, I looked at eBird to determine what birds I might expect to find there. Rock Dove is my go-to theme park bird, which I luckily have not had to use thus far. eBird divulged the strong possibility of finding a White-winged Dove at Islands of Adventure, so that was my “target bird” for the day. We saw them a couple of times during our stay; Arthur took this photo with his point-and-shoot.

White-winged Dove at Islands of Adventure theme park | 15 April 2012

I always wonder about the poor saps (including me) who submit eBird checklists from the theme parks. Were they dragged there by family? Did they bring their binoculars and wait / bird while the rest of their party experienced rides or shows? I love going to Disney and our day at Islands of Adventure was a blast (Wizarding World of Harry Potter FTW!) – don’t get me wrong. But… “always be birding”, you know? So I have to pause when our path takes us close to water (any ducks? any waders?!) or if I see something flitting about in nearby trees (was that a dove? what kind?!). Anyway, I’m very grateful to my fellow eBirders for helping me to find my Bird-a-Day on April 15th.

The other day trip occurred last Tuesday when Arthur and I headed to the Space Coast to bid farewell to the Space Shuttle Discovery as she was transported by Boeing hearse to Washington, D.C. After the 7AM departure we spent some time at the Visitor Center before devoting the afternoon to some birding. Usually on days like this (we’ve been to a few launches in the past year) we head to Merritt Island NWR. I’ve got county birding fever though, so I devised a plan to hit a couple of Volusia County spots instead. One of those spots was Smyrna Dunes in New Smyrna Beach. Along a stretch of beach accessible to cars, a flock of Royal Terns harbored a pair of Sandwich Terns – my Bird-a-Day for April 17.

Sandwich Tern at Smyrna Dunes | 17 April 2012

On Thursday mornings I volunteer at the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland. Birding hotspot Mead Gardens in Winter Park is nearby, so I decided to head there last week after my volunteer shift. Reported warbler sightings enticed me, but I came up empty, warblerly speaking. I briefly spoke with a pair of birders along a part of the boardwalk, who helpfully told me about the Ovenbird, Worm-eating Warbler and American Redstart seen earlier in the day, and the Black-throated Blue they had just a moment ago. Sure. A Great Egret hanging out with a Wood Stork and a Great Blue Heron became my Bird-a-Day last week.

Great Egret at Mead Gardens | 12 April 2012

For today I used the Great Crested Flycatcher that landed on the creance line at the Center at the start of my volunteer shift. It pained me to use a “yard bird” but it was the “best” bird I saw all day.

I’ve revised my list of “easy” local birds down to just 11 species, three of which I can find in our yard on a normal day. With 18 days to go before I head to Chicago, I wonder if I have a chance? Stay tuned…!

Share the birds, share the love!

• 

Today is the 100th day of the year, and I’m still alive in the Bird-a-Day Challenge! My original goal was simply to beat last year’s lame total. In my previous update I figured I had a least 6 more weeks to play, which brought me up to the end of March. Now, at 100 birds, I have a new goal. I hope to make it another four weeks until I visit my family in northern Illinois next month. It’s going to be tough. First, a quick look back at birds 50-100. You can see the list (for this update, from February 19 to today) here.

I picked up two great birds over my birthday weekend, with a Green-tailed Towhee on February 26 and a Long-tailed Duck on the 27th. Neither is common in Florida. Speaking of uncommon, the rarest bird for this batch was undoubtedly the pair of Whooping Cranes Arthur and I went to see in Lake County.

On a visit to the theme parks, I picked up my first Purple Martins of the year at a colony at Epcot.

Purple Martins at Epcot | 21 March 2012

I picked up 8 birds in our yard. Burning through these is usually bad in terms of the game, though it does mean I didn’t spend any fossil fuels to find a bird that day. 24 more birds were found locally, either at Gemini Springs, the Spring-to-spring Trail, or via short non-birding errand trips outside the neighborhood.

Red-shouldered Hawk in our yard | 31 March 2012

Pine Warbler on the Rail-to-trail bike path in Deltona | 18 March 2012

I found six birds while volunteering at the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland. My best bird there was a House Finch at the feeders – my first House Finch in Florida! One day, I learned of a couple of rescued baby owls that were recently returned to nests in DeBary. Arthur and I went to check on a Barred Owlet placed in a nest box after its nest tree was cut down, and a baby Great Horned Owl who fell out of a flimsy nest and was returned to its parents in a brand new man-made nest platform. Technically, I counted the adult owls (perched in an adjacent tree) that day, but this image of the baby looking down at me is much cuter for sharing purposes. 🙂

Great Horned Owlet in DeBary | 22 March 2012

Today I checked off another yard bird. Arthur found our FOY Brown Thrashers in our front yard two weeks ago. That was after a long day of birding on 28 March, when I used Purple Sandpiper for my Bird-a-Day. Today the pair returned. Arthur got me out of bed to see them – I’m glad he did. 🙂 The thrashers stuck around; we saw them later in the day and I managed to take this picture through our wavy windows.

Brown Thrasher in our yard | 9 April 2012

The prognosis for my future in this game is a bit shaky. I really want to last until May 8th – 29 more days. That’s when I’ll visit my parents in northern Illinois, where adding a week’s worth of birds should be a breeze. My list of probable / “easy” local birds is down to just 20-something, with a measly five being common in our yard (when you see me use Northern Cardinal, Carolina Wren, Carolina Chickadee, Northern Mockingbird or Great Crested Flycatcher, you’ll know I’m in trouble). And of course nothing is certain. I don’t want to start driving around the county to remain in the game… but if it’s May 5th and I’m outta birds — a few little road trips will certainly be very tempting! A day trip to Titusville is already scheduled for next week, and one or two long birding days aren’t out of the question. More than than, though, I can’t say. Stay tuned – I’m going to try for weekly updates from now on.

Share the birds, share the love!

•