Florida Trip ~ January 6, 2020

I left early and did the nearly 2-hour drive across the Tamiami Trail to the Lely Resort near Naples. It was here that the White-cheeked Pintail was appearing daily. At around 8:30, it flew in to the lake on the west side of Lely Resort Boulevard and joined several Mottled Ducks.

White-cheeked Pintail

White-cheeked Pintail with a Mallard x Mottled Duck

About an hour later as workers mowed the grass around the lake, it took off with the Mottled Ducks to the west.

White-cheeked Pintail

While there, Wood Stork, Brown Pelican, Cattle Egret, and Blue-winged Teal posed for photos.

Wood Stork

Brown Pelican

Cattle Egret

Blue-winged Teal

Other notables seen there included Pied-billed Grebe, Anhinga, Great Egret, Tricolored and Green Heron, White Ibis, Osprey, Killdeer, and Boat-tailed Grackle.

After not seeing any reports of the Antillean Palm-Swift from 2020, there was a surprising report of one from the Billy Creek Preserve near Fort Myers. Since it was only about 45 minutes from the Pintail site, I decided to drive up there and take a look. It was an area of impoundments and marsh that produced plenty of photo opportunities, but there was no swift present.

Beware of Alligator (not Dog) sign

White Ibis

Limpkin

Little Blue Heron

Tricolored Heron

Common Gallinule

Black Vulture

Wood Stork

From there, I drove over to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. Since it was fairly late in the day, I didn't walk the boardwalk. Instead, I checked out the visitor center's feeders and birded around the parking lot. The only new bird was a Common Ground Dove at the feeders.

Common Ground Dove

I made the long drive back across the Tamiami Trail and returned to my motel for the night.

Looking southeast from the Tamiami Trail.

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