Here are some photos from this past weekend’s Orlando Wetlands Park adventure (map). It was a nice day, with slightly broken overcast skies, which cut down on the glare.
A first-year male Vermilion Flycatcher and Scissor-tailed Flycatcher had been reported there last week. If you recall my blog from earlier this year, an adult male Vermilion Flycatcher has spent most of the last few winters there. It’s interesting to me that another of that species has shown up. There has been no sign of the bird from this past winter, yet.
There was no sign of the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (and it hasn’t been listed on eBird or the mailing lists for over a week now), but plenty of other birds were around, as well as some non-avian friends. There were a few Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks with chicks. Being a relatively new arrival to the area, I’m wondering if these ducks are figuring out they can breed year-round or at least stick around longer in Florida. I suppose time will tell.
There was an impressively large aggregation of Blue-winged Teals, but no other duck species that I noticed (besides the Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks). More should be arriving soon.
Other birds of note include Purple Martins (quite late in the year for them), Royal Terns (unusual this far inland), and a Solitary Sandpiper (hanging out with some Lesser Yellowlegs).
Here’s a link to the eBird list for the day (61 species!):
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25541355
- Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
- Blue-winged Teal
- Pied-billed Grebe
- 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
- Roseate Spoonbill
- Black Vulture
- Turkey Vulture
- Bald Eagle
- Red-shouldered Hawk
- Purple Gallinule
- Common Gallinule
- American Coot
- Sandhill Crane
- Solitary Sandpiper
- Lesser Yellowlegs
- Wilson’s Snipe
- Royal Tern
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo
- Barred Owl (♫)
- Chimney Swift
- Belted Kingfisher
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Downy Woodpecker
- Pileated Woodpecker
- Eastern Phoebe
- Vermilion Flycatcher
- White-eyed Vireo (♫)
- Fish Crow
- Northern Rough-winged Swallow
- Purple Martin
- Tree Swallow
- Barn Swallow
- Tufted Titmouse (♫)
- House Wren
- Marsh Wren
- Carolina Wren (♫)
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Gray Catbird
- Northern Mockingbird
- European Starling
- Common Yellowthroat
- American Redstart
- Magnolia Warbler
- Palm Warbler
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
- Savannah Sparrow
- Northern Cardinal
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Boat-tailed Grackle
Orlando Wetlands Park closes to the general public on November 15th and will reopen February 1st. According to the Friends of the Orlando Wetlands website:
In order to purchase the property for the Wetlands, a 50 year agreement was made with the landowners allowing them to hunt the property during the closed season.
Oh, the deals you sometimes have to make. Looking forward to 2037…
Lonely Birder 