Hi, Tweeters,

We thought that Tweeters might enjoy reading about our recent
February-March birding trip to Florida where we visited many of
the National Wildlife Refuges. Birding was fabulous and we saw
most of the birds that one would hope to see when visiting
Florida in winter. We started at the Ding Darling Refuge on
Sanibel Island south of Tampa on the Gulf side. We arrived before
the refuge opened at 7:30 A.M. for cars, so walked along the
route for about 1/2 hour before retrieving the car. We did not
want to miss that early morning sighting of the *Roseate
Spoonbill*, as we had read that they fly away in the early
morning. As it turned out we saw Roseate Spoonbills all over the
refuge. Pale pink immatures to bright pink mature birds stood out
among the *White Ibis*, white *Great Egrets*, *Snowy Egrets* and
white immature *Little Blue Herons*. *Great Blue Herons*, mature
Little Blue Herons, *Tri-colored Herons*, a few *Green Herons*,
one *Reddish Heron*, several wide awake *Yellow-crowned Night
Herons* plus several sleepy-looking *Black-crowned Night Herons*
completed the Heron and Ibis entourage that were everywhere on
the refuge. *Brown Pelicans* and *White Pelicans* seemed to have
special spots while the *Double-Crested Cormorants* found all the
pilings and dead snags to stand on. As it was a warm sunny
day, the Alligators were hauled out on logs or grass here and
there although their numbers were not great. One big female
crocodile was motoring slowly along in one area, her tail moving
back and forth, providing the power. The ranger said she had come
into the refuge recently and was making herself at home.
*Pied-billed Grebes* were everywhere, as were *Osprey* who were
already feeding young in their nests. Actually we saw Osprey at
all the places we visited in Florida. We also saw *Red-shouldered
Hawks* every place we went. Such vocal hawks they are, they can't
be ignored.
Continuing the sightings at Ding Darling, there were *Ring-
billed Gulls*, one *Royal Tern*, many *Willets*, a few winter-
plumage *Black-bellied Plovers*, *Spotted Sandpipers* and
*Killdeers*. There were not many ducks; perhaps they had already
headed north. *Blue-winged Teal* were plentiful plus a few
*Mottled Ducks*, *American Wigeon*, *Pintail* and groups of
female *Red-breasted Mergansers* here and there. Never did see
the male mergansers.
We did see the male and female *Anhingas*. In breeding plumage
the male Anhinga's fluorescent green spectacles and white plumes
are spectacular while the female has attractive brown-and-black,
fuzzy-appearing plumage.
The small birds were a bit scarce and hard to locate, although
we saw and heard a few. Seeing the *Prairie Warbler* and hearing
him sing as we watched through the spotting scope was indeed a
thrill. *Yellow-rumped Warblers* were numerous. Heard and saw a
few *Common Yellowthroat*, *Blue-gray Gnatcatchers*,
*Kingfishers*, *Cardinals* and *Mourning Doves*. Also saw one
raccoon.
We had planned to visit Corkscrew Swamp, an Audubon Sanctuary,
inland from Ding Darling, but got there too early. It did not
open until 9:30 A.M. so we continued on backroads to Lake
Okeechobee, birding as we went. And rewarding it was! A *Crested
Caracara* feasted on road kill along CR833 and later on another
one flew over the highway as did a huge *Wood Stork*. Other
sightings along the route included *Kestrels*, *Northern
Harriers*, *Red-shouldered Hawks*, *Green Heron*, *Tree
Swallows*, *Black Vultures*, *Cattle Egrets*, *Eastern Phoebes*,
*Boat-tailed Grackles*, *Killdeers*, *Kingfishers*,
*Mockingbirds* and *Robins*.
The boat trip on Lake Okeechobee began at the mouth of the
Kissimmee River and was well worth the trip. We saw our first
*Purple Gallinule* on this trip, also saw *Common Moorhens*, and
the full complement of Egrets and Herons. Alligators were much in
evidence also. *Bonaparte Gulls* still in winter plumage along
with *Ring-necked Ducks* and *Lesser Scaup* , *Red-winged
Blackbirds*, *Ospreys*, *Ring-billed Gulls* and *Crows* completed
the sightings.
We got to Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge just in time to take the
bird walk with the 4 P.M. group led by Wildlife Refuge Volunteer
Ruth Baker of Gig Harbor who spends her winter months in Florida.
Her insights and knowledge were most enlightening. Just as we
voiced a desire to see a *Limpkin*, there it was right on cue! We
had several more chances to see Limpkin on our Florida birding
trip but Loxahatchee was our first sighting. We also saw
*Loggerhead Shrike*, *Yellow-breasted Sapsucker* and *Glossy
Ibis*. We observed a Great Blue Heron stab a huge catfish and
after wrestling with the fish for several minutes he swallowed
it. Wow what a meal!
We saw some *Red-headed Woodpeckers* at the Nature
Conservancy's Tiger Creek property, the only place we saw them.
We found a Burke-Gilman type trail in the middle of nowhere
called The Withlochatchee Park Trail (state owned), an old
abandoned RR grade that has been paved for 47 miles. We walked
along it for several miles and saw many small birds including
*Cardinals*, flocks of *Yellow-rumped Warblers*, *Black and White
Warblers*, *Carolina Chickadees*, *Tufted Titmice*, and *Blue
Jays*. At a home-grown Lemonade Stand, not yet open for the
season, but now catering to the bird population by supplying suet
and feeders, *Downy Woodpeckers* chased each other around and
around while a *Red-bellied Woodpecker* perused the trunks of
Slash Pine and *Blue-gray Gnatcatchers* flitted among the bushes.
A *Carolina Wren* perched atop the unoccupied stand and sang his
distinctive song. *Red-shouldered Hawks* flew overhead, screaming
as they passed while *Turkey Vultures* soared silently round and
round.
Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge was our next stop.
Many *Glossy Ibis* dominated this refuge. We were able to observe
their beautiful iridescent plumage close up. There were just a
few *White Ibis* and all the herons and egrets were represented
except the Reddish Egret. As sounds of splashing water caught our
attention, we could not believe our eyes; not ten feet away was a
colorful *King Rail* taking a late afternoon bath, splashing
water every which way. He continued with this vigorous activity
for several minutes then disappeared into the tall grasses. How
lucky can you be! Several *Lesser Yellowlegs*, *Common Snipe*,
and *Killdeer* probed the mudflats for morsels while a *Forster's
Tern* flew low over the marsh and a *Caspian Tern* perched atop a
sign post. At this NWR we saw our one and only *Palm Warbler* of
our trip keeping low in the brush along the canal-like waterway.
*Coots* and *Moorhens* paddled here while flocks of *Yellow-
rumped Warblers* investigated all the bushes, keeping track of
each other with their constant, soft, high-pitched sounds. *Pied-
billed Grebes* and *Blue-winged Teal* found their niche at Lake
Woodruff NWR. Several Alligators ranging in size from a few feet
to one huge 10 footer sunned themselves on logs and grass. We
just missed seeing one devour a Turtle; other visitors to the NWR
reported to us.
At Hontoon Island State Park we took a a pontoon boat trip on
the St. Johns River. We saw several *Anhinga* most of the egrets
and herons, a *Wood Stork*, *Purple Gallinules*, *Moorhens* and
our first *Bald Eagle*. We also flushed up a *Barred Owl*.
We drove the one-way grid at Merritt Island NWR. The road is
very narrow but does have turn-outs where we could set up our
scope. We did not need the scope to see a gorgeous *Reddish
Egret* in spectacular breeding plumage displaying right along the
edge of the shoreline by the road. Magnificent! We also got a
fleeting glimpse of a *Sora* and *Virginia Rail*. *Tri-colored
Herons* were everywhere. One female *Northern Harrier* flew
across the scene. We saw a few additional ducks at this NWR
including *Blue-winged Teal*, *American Wigeon*, *Pintail* and
several *Shovellers*. *Ring-billed Gulls*, a few *Caspians Terns*
and our first sighting of *Great Black-backed Gulls* completed
the birds at this NWR. We finally saw a number of live Armadillos
along the mowed grassy sides of the main road as we left the
Merritt Island NWR. (We had seen many road killed ones before
the live ones).
Friendly Forest Service people in the Ocala National Forest
took us to a special place to see the *Florida Scrub Jay*, a most
interesting bird who has a social order all its own. Other
friends of ours knew where to go to see the *Red-cockaded
Woodpecker*, who is not able to adapt and must have live Longleaf
Pine trees with red-heart rot in which to make their nest. They
abrade the bark around the opening to make the tree exude pitch
keeping snakes and other predators from getting inside. The
Forest Service is managing their Longleaf Pine forests just for
this endangered woodpecker. The management plan includes
prescribed burns of the forest floor understory. We also saw
*Pileated Woodpeckers* in the Ocala National Forest and heard
them in many other places.
A few other birds we saw once or twice on our trip included
*Eastern Bluebird*, *Brown Thrasher*, *Laughing Gull*, *Solitary
Vireo*,
*Hairy Woodpecker*, *Catbird*, and *Sandhill Cranes*.
We went to several other NWR's including the Lower Suwannee on
the west coast of Florida where we saw *Wild Turkey* and a slow
fly-over of one *Swallow-tailed Kite*. Such a beautiful bird. We
feel lucky to have seen one of them; must have been an early
spring arrival as they spend the winter in South America.
Our last day included a stop at Cedar Keys NWR also on the
west coast of Florida, where we finally saw some *Common Ground
Doves* at a feeder plus a large colony of *Eurasian Collared
Doves* in downtown Cedar Keys. Yes, our birding trip to Florida
was a grand one, we could not have asked for better.

Bill and Erin Woods Woods Tree Farm Redmond, WA U.S.A.
<wwwbike at halcyon.com>