Migrants on Sanibel, Summer Tanager and more

A different look at today's migrants on Sanibel, FL. The best action was on Pond Apple Trail. The male Summer Tanager looked down on us. The Northern Waterthrush was in the "Commerce Pond" the first water area as you walk from the Chamber of Commerce parking lot, showing a view another waterthrush may see as it faced it. What's with those eyebrows anyway? The female Northern Parula sat looking upward, her yellow throat glowing. An Ovenbird was so skulking in the underbrush to the right of the pond in deep shadow, I gave it a "diffuse glow" from photoshop to capture the feeling. And a female Northern Cardinal was determined to build her nest in the woods.

Gray Kingbirds Have Arrived!!

Gray Kingbird migrants were coming into Sanibel today, a few at the lighthouse and this one was on the wires near the East End Deli. They are  in the flycatcher family of birds, hence the sitting on wires and flying out to catch insects as this one did. This species mainly breeds in coastal FL and a little into coastal AL and GA. What a treat to see these arrive!! Migration is just gearing up, lots more warblers and songbirds to come.

Sanibel-Captiva FL Christmas Bird Count 2015, bird numbers down!

Osprey with fish

This is not NH, where I'm from, it's Captiva, FL with high winds and cold, just for a day.

I am recording the numbers of birds we see today.

So many Ospreys, 69 total, many circling overhead at once, what a treat!

Don, left, and Steve Oresman are the rest of our team, counting the birds on the northern tip of Captiva, FL.

Line ups of Double-crested Cormorants and Brown Pelicans.

And these Turkey Vultures posed nicely, adult on left, juvenile on right.

Hiding in mangroves out of the wind was this juvenile Tri-colored Heron.

In a blow-your-hats-off wind sending temps dropping, we did the Sanibel-Captiva Christmas Count yesterday and numbers of birds were way down. Myself, Don and Steve Oresman covered the tip of Captiva. My favorites were the 69 Ospreys, so many constantly circling overhead made counting a challenge. We also had 369 Brown Pelicans, no rarities. We only had 37 species and the whole of the Sanibel-Captiva Count had 88 species (14,494 individuals) whereas last year the count had 102 species (14,154 individuals). Evidently Ding Darling NWR was hopping with Ibis, herons and shorebirds as the high winds made for exposed tidal flats just right for feeding. It has been unseasonably hot and humid here (except yesterday). Not many land birds. What crazy weather, caused by this strong El Nino season.

Beautiful Black-necked Stilts have just arrived!

Black-necked Stilt, male

Black-necked Stilt

Black-necked Stilt, preening

Black-necked Stilt, female

Black-necked Stilts have just arrived here on Sanibel, FL and elsewhere. Such a beautiful shorebird! The male has a jet black back and female has a more brownish back. Their most outstanding feature is the bubble-gum-pink long legs which enable this bird to wade out into deeper water to get insects off the water surface. Stilts are mostly coastal in eastern and Gulf states but can be found on inland lakes and marshes of the Midwest and West. The nest is a scrape or mound of vegetation placed near water. The female lays 3-4 eggs and incubation takes 25 days. When the young hatch they are fully feathered and can feed themselves, the parents job is mainly to protect them. By the way, if you want to know this type of breeding and nesting information, which is great to know to enjoy birds more, you  should pick up a copy of our new The Stokes Essential Pocket Guide to the Birds of North America, it has all that information as well as all new photos and great ID info. Available now at online booksellers, bookstores and wild bird stores (just ask.)

White-crowned Pigeon, Again, Sanibel, FL!

We saw a White-crowned Pigeon on the Shell Mound Trail, Ding Darling NWR this morning. We had also seen this bird there last year. Maybe it is the same bird. Such a treat to see as it is listed as threatened in FL.
This is a very unusual bird for here, although there have been a very few sightings previously on Sanibel. Research has indicated that the total distribution of this bird occurs in the Caribbean Basin, the Bahamas and extreme southern Florida, but they make long over-water flights between breeding and wintering areas within this region. They are threatened due to loss of habitat and hunting and poaching in their range. White-crowned Pigeons feed mainly on fruits of hardwood trees and they are an important dispersal agent for these trees. It was nice to see this bird on the Shell Mound trail, which had a lot of fruiting hardwood trees, thus providing the type of habitat crucial for this bird species. What a special bird for us to see!!

Blackpoll Warbler Migration Underway, Sanibel, FL

Blackpoll Warbler, male

migrant arrived at the Sanibel Lighthouse

and helped himself to a well-earned meal, having come all the way from South America where he wintered!

Yesterday and the day before we saw migrant Blackpoll Warblers arriving at the Sanibel Lighthouse park, Sanibel, FL. This bird is a male and he looks like a cross between a chickadee and a Black-and-white Warbler! These birds breed in the northern boreal forest then fly all the way to South America to spend the winter. In winter Blackpoll Warblers look nothing like this and are streaked olive-green above with pale yellow or whitish underparts with indistinct olive streaking on flanks, white undertail coverts and dark or pink-sided legs and always yellow soles of feet. Yes, you can see the yellow soles of their feet if you look! See our The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America for complete photos and ID information.

Black-billed Cuckoo, Sanibel Lighthouse park, FL a Wow Migrant for here!

Black-billed Cuckoo

There are slender white tail markings, very different than the bold white tail spots of a Yellow-billed Cuckoo.

Birders went cuckoo today over the sighting of a migrant Black-billed Cuckoo at the Sanibel Lighthouse park, Sanibel, FL. This is a rare bird for here and many birders and tourists lined up to get a view or photograph while keeping a respectful distance from the bird. The cuckoo put on a show and posed in the shrubs, a few times going down into the grass to grab a small lizard for a snack. 

We see Black-billed Cuckoos on our NH property although not very frequently. Here in Sanibel, where they have Mangrove Cuckoos in Ding Darling NWR, and Yellow-billed Cuckoos as migrants, the Black-billed Cuckoo is the one that steals the show.

Blue-Winged Warbler, Common Nighthawk and More Migrants, Sanibel Lighthouse

Blue-winged Warbler

Common Nighthawk

Yesterday this beautiful Blue-winged Warbler was among the migrant birds landing at the Sanibel Lighthouse, Sanibel, FL and thrilling birders. The Common Nighthawk was resting on a branch of a tree. Storms out in the Gulf of Mexico and north of us made it a wise choice for these migrants to land, rest and feed. We also saw Blackburnian, Worm-eating, Prairie, Palm, and Cape May Warblers and Common Yellowthroat, Eastern and Gray Kingbirds, Indigo Buntings, Orchard Orioles, and, at dusk, many hundreds of Barn Swallows and some Northern Rough-winged, Cliff, and Bank Swallows staged at the lighthouse and some began moving to the mainland, awesome sight!

Tennessee and Blackburnian Warblers, Sanibel Lighthouse Today.

Blackburnian Warbler

Blackburnian Warbler

Tennessee Warbler

These  showed up today at the Sanibel Lighthouse Park, Sanibel, FL, migrants who crossed the Gulf of Mexico! The Tennessee was eating the fruits of the fig trees there. Birders were thrilled with the beauty of the Blackburnian.

Blue, Blue, Blue: Indigo Bunting Mania Coming Your Way!

Indigo Buntings continue to pour into Florida. We have seen many the last 3 days at the Sanibel lighthouse park. They come in after their migration and stop in the dune sunflowers and eat the seeds.
So much blue, so much fun.

Short-tailed Hawk, Yes!

Short-tailed Hawk, dark morph, adult. We saw this one recently in Ft. Myers, FL. Lucky us!

Here's a Short-tailed Hawk, light morph.

Short-tailed Hawk, light morph adult. We have seen two of these together this year over Bailey Tract, Sanibel, FL. double lucky us!

Saw the above Short-tailed Hawk, dark morph adult, soaring over a park in Ft. Myers, FL a few days ago when I was photographing the Least Bittern. 

Short-tailed Hawk, is a sought-after Florida speciality for birders and not easy to see. This bird breeds primarily in southern and central Florida and a little in southern AZ and south TX. 

The Short-tailed Hawk comes in two morphs, a light morph, shown here, and a dark morph. Dark-morphs are dark below with blackish brown body and wing coverts, paler flight feathers and tail, and dark trailing edge to wings. Short-tailed Hawks mostly soar and may hang in one spot for a time. We almost always see them in flight when we encounter them.

Sora, Bailey Tract, Sanibel, FL. and Canon SX 50 HS.

Sora, Bailey Tract, Sanibel, Florida. I had fun at this location photographing this rail and other birds yesterday with my Canon SX 50 HS point and shoot super-zoom camera.

Soras are usually secretive birds that stay in the shadows, but this one came out into the sun and the open at the end of the day, hunting for food before the cold (for here) night set in.

Soras are beautifully colored and I love their tail. It reminds me of a White-tailed Deer's tail.

The Sora was on the first water area on the right on the main trail. Here's a long view with an immature White Ibis for scale.

There were many ducks there. I will post more about them tomorrow. Here's a female Mottled Duck, resting in the grasses, but still alert. One of the things I like about the Canon SX 50 HS camera is the fact that it zoom out to 1200mm (and beyond in the digital range, up to 4800mm) which allows you to get close photos of birds without disturbing them. This is a big plus in bird photography.

An immature Osprey sat on a dead tree, surveying the scene, eyes alert. I always am paying attention to the way the light falls on the bird and what subtle and unique photos it makes. One does not always have to have a perfectly front lit bird for an interesting photo.

Here it is showing the whole body.

This immature Tri-colored Heron still has rust colors in its plumage and was dramatically posed in the late sunlight against the dark water.

Photography is so much fun. I enjoy playing with the effects of light and shadow and capturing intimate glimpses of birds.