This whole story began with a post on the "What's This Bird?" Facebook page that amazingly contained photos of a Little Bunting, a Eurasian bird with only seven records in the contiguous United States and none of those ever seen east of Arizona! The post was from someone in Pensacola, Florida. What was even more amazing was that a friend of one of my birding friends happened to be working within minutes of this area of Florida and was working on a plan with the homeowner to help coordinate access to the small, fenced-in yard the bird was visiting. My friend, Jason Horn, was in touch with him to see if we could also get access. He talked with her during his visit on Friday morning and asked if we could come in with him on Saturday. She thankfully agreed. So, Jason, Rick Wiltraut, and I quickly rented a car and started the 16-hour drive to Pensacola. We passed through Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama.
Saturday, March 11, 2023
We made it to Florida with enough time to grab a quick breakfast before heading over to the Pensacola property. The property owner, Monica, met us and walked us through the side yard and back to her deck. There, we waited, hoping the bird would show. Within a half-hour, the bird was spotted, perched in a bush just over the fence. I quickly snapped a photo of my life Little Bunting!
After moving around in the trees in the neighbor's yard, it eventually flew in and down to the ground underneath her feeders to feed, allowing me to get some closer photos of it.
A group of Scaly-breasted Munias also came in to feed at the feeders.
After discussing with the homeowner possible ways to allow more birders in to see the bird, we left and headed for another Pensacola yard that held a Buff-bellied Hummingbird. It was seen feeding at a honeysuckle next to the house. I also saw it perched in a cedar tree along the driveway, but it zipped around too quickly for me to grab a photo. Other birds spotted there included Cooper's Hawk, Eastern Phoebe, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Scaly-breasted Munia, American Goldfinch, Orange-crowned and Yellow-rumped Warblers, and this White-winged Dove.
From there, we drove down to the Fort Pickens section of the Gulf Islands National Seashore. It was midday when we got there, so we didn't see a lot, but we did manage to find Bufflehead, Horned Grebe, Bonaparte's and Laughing Gull, Common Loon, Double-crested Cormorant, Brown Pelican, Osprey, Cooper's Hawk, Bald Eagle, Eastern Phoebe, Loggerhead Shrike, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, House and Marsh Wren, Swamp Sparrow, Boat-tailed Grackle, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Common Yellowthroat.
We headed northeast towards "3-Notch Road" in the Blackwater River State Forest to look for Red-cockaded Woodpecker and Bachman's Sparrow. Thanks to Jason's hearing, we ended up finding both and getting fairly good photos of both. A pair of Brown-headed Nuthatches and Pine Warblers were also flitting around in the pines while Carolina Wren, Eastern Towhee, and Common Yellowthroat were in the understory.
An American Flamingo had been present at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge for several years, so we planned on birding there the next morning. We drove to a motel outside Tallahassee where we spent the night.
Sunday, March 12, 2023
We got to St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge just before dawn and had a Chuck-will's-widow and a Barred Owl calling along the entrance road. A Pileated Woodpecker called a little farther down the road while numbers of Northern Parulas were singing their abruptly-ending song.
A stop at the East River Pool produced Northern Harrier, Bald Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk, Common Loon, Sora, a few Barn Swallows among a group of Tree Swallows, Little Blue Heron, Great Egret, Anhinga, Double-crested Cormorant, Swamp Sparrow, and Common Yellowthroat.
The next stop was at the Headquarters Pond where we tallied Black-necked Stilt, Black-crowned Night-Heron, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, American Wigeon, and many Common Gallinules and American Coots.
We got to the lighthouse at sunrise and the flamingo was very obvious, standing in the middle of the pool. The sunlight lit up the bird's rich pink color and its reflection looked like fire on the water.
At one point, it flapped its wings, showing off its black flight feathers. The wings appeared to be a somewhat small in relation to its overall size.
A Reddish Egret was also there. It was pretty far off but eventually flew in and landed fairly close to where we were.
Other waders seen there included Tricolored Heron, Snowy Egret, Cattle Egret, and Great Blue Heron.
There were a good number of shorebirds there, too. Several of the Willets flew back and forth, showing off their bold white wing stripes.
Other photographed shorebirds included American Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Least Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, and a Marbled Godwit that Rick picked out of the one grouping, exposing its two-toned, upturned bill. Semipalmated Plover, Ruddy Turnstone, Short-billed Dowitcher, and Greater Yellowlegs were also there.
Several species of waterfowl were spotted. They included Greater and Lesser Scaup, Redhead, Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Bufflehead, and Red-breasted Merganser. Other notables included Pied-billed and Horned Grebe, Royal and Forster's Tern, and Ring-billed and Laughing Gull.
We walked the trail between the pool and the Gulf of Mexico to look for the Long-tailed Duck that had been sporadically reported there. Jason pointed out two American White Pelicans among the Brown Pelicans way out on a distant sandbar, but we couldn't find the duck.
The lighthouse parking lot held numbers of begging Boat-tailed Grackles of the "Gulf Coast" race, told by their brown eyes. The glossy-colored males were displaying among the brownish females.
Around 11:30, we exited the park with 67 species and started the long drive back to Pennsylvania.
Monday, March 13, 2023
We got home at 5:30 AM on Monday. The trip covered 2,546 miles over 64-1/2 hours. We recorded 108 species. More photos can be found in my Florida Photo Album.
Florida Trip ~ March 10-13, 2023
1) Canada Goose (GA)
2) Green-winged Teal (FL)
3) American Wigeon (FL)
4) Northern Shoveler (FL)
5) Blue-winged Teal (FL)
6) Redhead (FL)
7) Greater Scaup (FL)
8) Lesser Scaup (FL)
9) Bufflehead (FL)
10) Red-breasted Merganser (FL)
11) Common Loon (FL)
12) Pied-billed Grebe (FL)
13) Horned Grebe (FL)
14) American White Pelican (FL)
15) Brown Pelican (FL)
16) Anhinga (FL)
17) Double-crested Cormorant (FL,GA)
18) Black-crowned Night-Heron (FL)
19) Tricolored Heron (FL)
20) Little Blue Heron (FL)
21) Reddish Egret (FL)
22) Cattle Egret (FL)
23) Snowy Egret (FL)
24) Great Egret (FL,GA)
25) Great Blue Heron (FL)
26) American Flamingo (FL)
27) Glossy Ibis (FL)
28) White Ibis (FL)
29) Turkey Vulture (FL,GA)
30) Black Vulture (FL,GA)
31) Osprey (FL)
32) Northern Harrier (FL)
33) Bald Eagle (FL)
34) Cooper's Hawk (FL,GA)
35) Red-shouldered Hawk (FL,GA)
36) Red-tailed Hawk (FL,GA)
37) American Kestrel (GA)
38) Sora (FL)
39) Common Gallinule (FL)
40) American Coot (FL)
41) Semipalmated Plover (FL)
42) American Oystercatcher (FL)
43) Black-necked Stilt (FL)
44) Willet (FL)
45) Greater Yellowlegs (FL)
46) Marbled Godwit (FL)
47) Ruddy Turnstone (FL)
48) Dunlin (FL)
49) Western Sandpiper (FL)
50) Least Sandpiper (FL)
51) Short-billed Dowitcher (FL)
52) Laughing Gull (FL)
53) Bonaparte's Gull (FL)
54) Ring-billed Gull (FL)
55) Herring Gull (FL)
56) Royal Tern (FL)
57) Forster's Tern (FL)
58) Rock Pigeon (FL,GA)
59) Mourning Dove (FL,GA)
60) Eurasian Collared-Dove (FL,GA)
61) White-winged Dove (FL)
62) Barred Owl (FL)
63) Chuck-will's-widow (FL)
64) Buff-bellied Hummingbird (FL)
65) Belted Kingfisher (FL,GA)
66) Red-bellied Woodpecker (FL,GA)
67) Red-cockaded Woodpecker (FL)
68) Downy Woodpecker (FL,GA)
69) Pileated Woodpecker (FL)
70) Eastern Phoebe (FL)
71) Loggerhead Shrike (FL,GA)
72) White-eyed Vireo (FL)
73) Blue Jay (FL,GA)
74) American Crow (FL,GA)
75) Fish Crow (FL)
76) Tree Swallow (FL,GA)
77) Barn Swallow (FL)
78) Tufted Titmouse (FL)
79) Carolina Chickadee (FL)
80) Brown-headed Nuthatch (FL)
81) House Wren (FL)
83) Carolina Wren (FL,GA)
84) Marsh Wren (FL)
85) Ruby-crowned Kinglet (FL)
86) Eastern Bluebird (FL,GA)
87) American Robin (GA)
88) Gray Catbird (FL)
89) Northern Mockingbird (FL,GA)
90) European Starling (FL,GA)
91) Cedar Waxwing (GA)
92) Orange-crowned Warbler (FL)
93) Northern Parula (FL)
94) Yellow-rumped Warbler (FL,GA)
95) Pine Warbler (FL)
96) Palm Warbler (FL)
97) Common Yellowthroat (FL)
98) Eastern Towhee (FL)
99) Bachman's Sparrow (FL)
100) Swamp Sparrow (FL)
101) Little Bunting *** (FL)
102) Northern Cardinal (FL,GA)
103) Red-winged Blackbird (FL,GA)
104) Common Grackle (GA)
105) Boat-tailed Grackle (FL)
106) American Goldfinch (FL)
107) House Sparrow (FL,GA)
108) Scaly-breasted Munia (FL)
*** denotes life bird.
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