I was in Florida for 5 weeks this winter and it was amazing! This wasn’t just a bird vacation, rather a relaxing, enjoying the daily sun and not being in Wisconsin for winter type of vacation. I think I did less bird things than I would normally do, but I still ended up with over 150 species and 12 life birds. I tried to focus on a few birds that I had not seen before and without spending too much time driving for them. Snail Kite was a top priority, which I made a separate post about earlier this week. I also saw that Vermilion Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird and Tricolored Munia (ABA bird) were being seen at Torry Island. I made several trips there but was unsuccessful with the Tricolored Munia. I found the other two, along with a Blue Grosbeak and several Painted Buntings. There was also an Indigo x Painted Bunting seen occasionally and I found that as well. Another spot I focused on was Three Lakes WMA. I saw that Brown-headed Nuthatch, Red-cockaded Woodpecker and Bachman’s Sparrow were seen among others. I had seen all three before, but I wanted to spend more time with photos on them. I did the Lake Apopka Wildlife Dr, which is only open on the weekends, and is an 11-mile one way drive. It’s basically water or marsh on both sides of the road and is incredible for photography. Another awesome place was St Marks NWR, which has been hosting an American Flamingo (ABA bird) for over a year. This time I was able to go and see it, among many other things. All in all, it was a very enjoyable time spent in Florida. I took over 15,000 photos and edited over 400, while down there! This is a very large photo gallery post, so please take your time going through it. If you have any questions or would like more info on any of the places I visited, feel free to contact me. Enjoy!
Northern Pintail at South Shore Yacht Club
Yesterday afternoon there was a beautiful male Northern Pintail at the yacht club. He was hanging out with 50 or so Mallards and 4 American Black Ducks, near the boat launch. This was the best view of a male that I ever had. So close and really tame! If someone would walk past or drive by, he swam out a little bit, but always came right back to the shore. I just wish I would’ve had some sunlight for the photos. I sat in my truck and watched the ducks for a little over and hour. Spring migration is definitely underway, with new birds arriving daily. Pictures are from the afternoon. Enjoy!