Regency Boulevard, Hollo Road, and Newburg Road ~ October 31, 2022

With almost all of the warblers gone and many of the sparrows having moved on, the woods edge by the Regency Boulevard ponds was pretty quiet, although I did see a Winter Wren.

The north pond held a young Ruddy Duck, an American Coot, six Killdeer, and a Great Blue Heron.

Ruddy Duck

The south pond produced three Hooded Mergansers and two Northern Shovelers.

Hooded Mergansers

Northern Shovelers

At the Hollo Road pond, the Stilt Sandpiper continued to be seen along with the three Lesser Yellowlegs and four Killdeer.

Stilt Sandpiper

Lesser Yellowlegs (left) and Stilt Sandpiper (right)

Over at the Newburg Road pond, a Merlin was perched atop a tree by the pond.

Merlin

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Stilt Sandpiper at Hollo Road Pond ~ October 30, 2022

I was planning on stopping at the Hollo Road pond on the way to my mom's place when an alert was sent by Bill Etter that a Stilt Sandpiper was there. So, I left a little earlier, stopped there, and saw the Stilt Sandpiper along with a Wilson's Snipe and three Lesser Yellowlegs. Eight Green-winged Teal were also there.

Stilt Sandpiper

Wilson's Snipe

Green-winged Teal

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And Then There Were None ~ October 27-29, 2022

It appears that after Tropical Storm Karl moved west below Florida, the storm bands pushed record numbers of Red-legged Honeycreepers northward into Florida. They were reported at several sites in mid-October. Mike Schall and I decided to drive down to Florida and try to see them.

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Thursday, October 27, 2022

We left around 11 AM and started the 16-1/2 hour drive to the northernmost honeycreeper spot in Florida. Unfortunately, no reports of any of the birds had been entered on eBird during the day while we driving down, so things weren't looking good.

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Friday, October 28, 2022

We arrived at Sebastian Inlet State Park near Melbourne, Florida at around 5 AM on Friday morning. We were able to grab about an hour of sleep before daylight came and then walked into the area of the campground where a pair of birds had been seen two days before. We spent about six hours watching the favored fruiting fig tree where they had been seen. It was fairly active with birds. We saw Northern Parula, Cape May, Bay-breasted, Palm, Blackpoll, and Black-throated Blue Warbler, and Red-eyed Vireo. However, no honeycreepers showed up.

Northern Parula

Cape May Warbler

"Western" Palm Warbler

Blackpoll Warbler

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Red-eyed Vireo

Birds seen flying in and around the area included Caspian Tern, Anhinga, Brown Pelican, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Little Blue and Tricolored Heron, White Ibis, Red-shouldered Hawk, American Kestrel, Wood Stork, and many Ospreys.

Wood Stork

Back at the parking lot, which was along the edge of the bay, we saw Willet, Snowy Egret, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Sandwich Tern, and Royal Tern.

Willet

Snowy Egret

Ruddy Turnstones

Sanderling

Sandwich Tern

Royal Tern

With no new reports of any honeycreeper sightings, we took a fairly short drive over to the Viera Wetlands. I was really surprised when I found the dike roads gated off. A local birder explained that it had been closed for about a year after inconsiderate people were blocking the road, not allowing the workers to get to where they had to go. We walked a portion of the area, but the impoundments were mostly empty. Birds spotted included Roseate Spoonbill, Common Gallinule, Anhinga, Great and Snowy Egret, Tricolored Heron, and White and Glossy Ibis. Bald Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk, and Belted Kingfisher were seen in flight. Birds seen in the brush and trees surrounding the impoundments included Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Eastern Phoebe, White-eyed Vireo, Loggerhead Shrike, Savannah Sparrow, and warblers comprised of Common Yellowthroat, Pine, Palm, Prairie, Bay-breasted, and Yellow-rumped.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Pine Warbler

At this point, there had not been any new honeycreeper sightings for three days, so we left there and headed north out of Florida and stayed overnight just inside Georgia at a Microtel motel in the town of Kingsland. It will interesting to see if, when, and where all these birds turn up in the coming weeks and months.

Saturday, October 29, 2022

We headed back and got home around 11 PM. The trip covered 2205 miles and only produced 67 species since we only birded about half a day. More photos can be found in my Florida Photo Album.

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Florida Trip ~ October 27-29, 2022

1) Brown Pelican
2) Anhinga
3) Double-crested Cormorant
4) Tricolored Heron
5) Little Blue Heron
6) Cattle Egret
7) Snowy Egret
8) Great Egret
9) Great Blue Heron
10) Wood Stork
11) Glossy Ibis
12) White Ibis
13) Roseate Spoonbill
14) Turkey Vulture
15) Black Vulture
16) Osprey
17) Northern Harrier (GA)
18) Bald Eagle (NC)
19) Sharp-shinned Hawk (VA)
20) Cooper's Hawk
21) Red-shouldered Hawk
22) Red-tailed Hawk (NC)
23) Common Gallinule
24) Sandhill Crane
25) Killdeer
26) Willet
27) Ruddy Turnstone
28) Sanderling
29) Laughing Gull
30) Herring Gull
31) Sandwich Tern
32) Royal Tern
33) Caspian Tern
34) Rock Pigeon
35) Common Ground Dove
36) Mourning Dove
37) Yellow-billed Cuckoo
38) Belted Kingfisher
39) Red-bellied Woodpecker
40) Eastern Phoebe
41) Loggerhead Shrike
42) White-eyed Vireo
43) Red-eyed Vireo
44) Blue Jay
45) Fish Crow
46) Tree Swallow
47) Barn Swallow
48) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
49) Gray Catbird
50) Northern Mockingbird
51) European Starling
52) Northern Parula
53) Cape May Warbler
54) Yellow-rumped Warbler
55) Black-throated Blue Warbler
56) Prairie Warbler
57) Bay-breasted Warbler
58) Blackpoll Warbler
59) Pine Warbler
60) Palm Warbler
61) Common Yellowthroat
62) Savannah Sparrow
63) Song Sparrow
64) Northern Cardinal
65) Red-winged Blackbird
66) Boat-tailed Grackle
67) House Sparrow

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Brown Creeper on the Neighbor's Chimney ~ October 25, 2022

I glanced out the window at the feeders and something caught me eye on the neighbor's chimney. It turned out to be a Brown Creeper. I got some photos of it working up and down the chimney and even checking out her flower bed alongside it. It was the first time I've ever seen a Brown Creeper on the ground.

Brown Creeper

There was also a Ruby-crowned Kinglet flitting around in the crabapple tree.

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Regency Boulevard and Green Pond Once Again ~ October 23, 2022

The woods edge at the Regency Boulevard retention ponds produced Tufted Titmouse, Red-winged Blackbird, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and sparrows that included Field and Savannah among the expected Song and White-throateds. Sparrow numbers were way down from yesterday, most likely because the soybean field had been harvested the day before. A Sharp-shinned Hawk flew by and landed in one of the nearby trees, which also shut down the bird activity for a while.

The north pond held a Green-winged Teal, a Killdeer, a Great Blue Heron, 3 American Coots, 2 Northern Shovelers, and a male Ruddy Duck. This was a different Ruddy Duck from the one seen yesterday, which was an immature.

American Coot

Male Ruddy Duck

A visit to Green Pond included a stop at the retention pond along Farmersville Road, located across the road from Green Pond. There, I found two American Black Ducks and both a Turkey Vulture and a Black Vulture perched on the same branch.

American Black Ducks

Black Vulture

Turkey Vulture (left) and Black Vulture (right)

The treeline between the gravel parking lot and the golf course produced a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and a Chipping Sparrow, plus a 'fly-by' Sharp-shinned Hawk.

The little pond area by the house at the intersection held Eastern Phoebe, Red-winged Blackbird, and Yellow-rumped Warbler. A Great Blue Heron was at Green Pond.

I spotted a Swamp Sparrow among a good number of Song Sparrows at the flooded field area.

Swamp Sparrow

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