Florida Trip for Yellow-headed Caracara ~ December 12, 2024

I left the motel at 4:00 AM and made the 4-hour drive to the Bahia Beach Nature Preserve near the town of Ruskin. I was the only one there when I arrived around 8:00 AM. A strong cold front had moved through the night before. It was 41 degrees with a 10-20 mph wind. I was very glad that I had my coat and gloves with me. Lots of Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers were low in the grasses chipping while searching for insects. I searched the area where the flycatcher was most often seen and kept coming up empty. One lady showed up, spent an hour looking, and then left.

I walked out along both the west and east sides of the impoundment, which held a bunch of birds. Four Caspian Terns were flying over the water.

Caspian Tern

American White Pelicans were present along with Great Egrets and White Ibis.

American White Pelicans

American White Pelicans, a White Ibis, and Great Egrets.

White Ibis

Tricolored Herons, Little Blue Herons, and Snowy Egrets fed in the pond along with American Coots.

Tricolored Herons

An adult Little Blue Heron.

Immature Little Blue Herons.

Snowy Egret

American Coot

Several Wood Storks flew by while I watched an Anhinga in an adjacent pond with a Common Gallinule.

Wood Stork

Anhinga with a Common Gallinule.

Other birds seen at the preserve included Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Glossy Ibis, Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Bald Eagle, Osprey, Killdeer, Willet, Wilson's Snipe, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Eastern Phoebe, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and Boat-tailed Grackle. A Loggerhead Shrike and a Common Ground Dove were found perched in separate bushes along the east side of the preserve.

Loggerhead Shrike

Common Ground Dove

There was still no sign of the flycatcher. It looked like the cold front might have pushed the bird out and I was going to be making a long, depressing drive back to the motel. A little after 10:00, two birders from the Jacksonville area arrived. I walked around the south and west edge of the impoundment with them. I looked back towards the southwestern corner of the impoundment and spotted a Belted Kingfisher perched low on a stalk over the water. That's when I noticed a flash of white pass by the kingfisher. Further study eventually confirmed that it was the Fork-tailed Flycatcher! We walked all the way back to the other side and got some photos of it flycatching over its preferred area.

Fork-tailed Flycatcher

Amazingly, the bird eventually flew over to some brush right next to the parking lot and preened itself, unconcerned about us taking numerous photos of it.

Fork-tailed Flycatcher

I happily got back in my car and started the long drive back to the east coast. New trip birds seen along the highway included Western Cattle Egret and Sandhill Crane. At one point, I was stopped at a construction site behind a flatbed truck and laughed when I saw that there was a toy truck strapped to the back of it.

I got back to the motel a little after dark and went out to eat at a nearby Cracker Barrel.

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