Some photos from this past weekend’s adventure to MINWR (Both Bio Lab Road and Black Point Drive). I had never been on Bio Lab Road before, but it looks to be a good place for shorebirds and waders, much like a lot of Black Point Drive.
While both locations didn’t offer the best photographic opportunities, the birding was good, and I did finally to manage to get my first Spotted Sandpipers of the year.
There was a duck on Bio Lab Road that was hard to ID at first, but was also maimed, with his right wing partially missing. I had to do some digging and questioning (thank you Brdbrains!) to positively identify him, but it seems this is a Ring-necked Duck drake that had been injured in the early spring and has been cruising around all summer. I was glad he seemed healthy and I am sure he’ll be happy to see his kin in the fall.
Bio Lab Road:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S24469175
- Wood Stork
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Anhinga
- Great Blue Heron
- Great Egret
- Snowy Egret
- Little Blue Heron
- Tricolored Heron
- Cattle Egret
- Green Heron
- White Ibis
- Glossy Ibis
- Black Vulture
- Turkey Vulture
- Osprey
- Common Gallinule
- Black-necked Stilt
- Semipalmated Plover
- Killdeer
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Least Sandpiper
- Laughing Gull
- Mourning Dove
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Northern Flicker
- White-eyed Vireo
- Blue Jay
- Northern Cardinal
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Eastern Meadowlark
- Boat-tailed Grackle
Black Point Drive:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S24469169
- Ring-necked Duck
- Pied-billed Grebe
- Wood Stork
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Anhinga
- Great Blue Heron
- Great Egret
- Snowy Egret
- Little Blue Heron
- Tricolored Heron
- Reddish Egret
- White Ibis
- Glossy Ibis
- Osprey
- Common Gallinule
- American Coot
- Black-necked Stilt
- Killdeer
- Greater Yellowlegs
- Willet
- Laughing Gull
- Least Tern
- Caspian Tern
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Flicker
- Loggerhead Shrike
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Boat-tailed Grackle
As the summer is moving on, some of the early shorebird migration is getting started, and even some larger numbers of gulls and terns are starting to gather. Some of the lists at Fort DeSoto over on the Gulf coast are already getting impressive (at least from these meager Atlantic birding grounds!).
Lonely Birder 