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DESTINATION - SOUTHWEST FLORIDA
Typical BIRD SIGHTINGS
Provided by SRQ Bird Alert
31 December - I stopped by the ponds at the west end of El Conquistador Pkwy this
morning to check on the ducks that I had seen earlier in the week. I didn't see the Canvasback or the
Redheads. But there was a nice pair of American Wigeons as well as the 3 female Buffleheads, Lesser
Scaup, and a pair of Northern Shovelers.
Jeff Fisher, Bradenton
30 December - I stopped by the pond today that Jeff Fisher had posted as having some
more interesting ducks to check it out. There were three male N. Shovelers that have joined the female; they
showed up quite well even though the light was starting to fade. This made ID'ing some of the other waterfowl difficult,
so I am going to try again in the AM. Many American Coots were on the pond plus a good number of "ducks" that I
was not able to firmly ID.
Dee Hanny, Bradenton
28 December - I managed to stop by some of the ponds at the end of El Conquistador
Parkway (in Bradenton) late this afternoon and saw that the two female Buffleheads that were seen there on the
Manatee christmas Count were still there and joined by a third female. Also were two male Redheads and a female
Canvasback along with 2 N. Shovelers,Ring-Necks, Coots, etc. Not bad for a 5 minute stop after work. Maybe
more there stuff tomorrow.
Directions: from US-41 in Bradenton: head west on El Conquistador Parkway past 34th street west. Continue on
El Conquistador Pkwy past the golf course and through a traffic circle (keep heading west) until you come to the end of
the road. Make the last left onto Champions Way (it's gated but the gates are usually open) then make the first immediate
left. Follow this road about 100 yds. and the pond is behind the lone house off to the right.
Jeff Fisher, Bradenton
27 December - While biking the delightful Hammock Trail at Rothenbach Park (at the
far east end of Bee Ridge Road), I heard a loud ruffling of feathers and looked up to find a Barred owl posing
nicely. Good birding.
Mark Davis, Longboat Key
27 December - I just had 7 adult Northern Bobwhite in the back yard. My land is
next to 11 undeveloped acres in North Port, FL, Sarasota county. The frequency of sightings has gone down over the last
10 years as well as bobcats with the development of swfla. Also want to issue a BOLO! I was hiking up at the
Myakkahatchee Environmental Park in North Port the other day and ran into a very large female boar. She was alone and
maybe pregnant and went on her way without incident. She was large enough to put a saddle on her!
Tom Allen, North Port
26 December - Went to Viera Wetlands near Melbourne (on the east coast of Florida,
far from Sarasota) to see the drake Masked Duck. As of today December 26th it was still being seen cell # 4.
Viera Wetlands is on Wickham Road off of I-95 ( exit 191). Good Luck and Good Birding,
Rick Greenspun
21 December - We took a late afternoon boat ride down to Stump Pass in Englewood,
and spotted a Bonaparte’s Gull, swimming with a group of Laughing Gulls and Brown Pelicans at the
tip of Stump Pass Beach State Park, where the Pass meets the Gulf. I have enclosed a picture of the Bonaparte’s (the top
left of the three gulls) with two Laughing Gulls so field marks could be compared. Notice the wing pattern, color of
back, bill shape, and dark ear-spot on the BOGU. The BOGU is also a smaller gull, though that is not
apparent in this picture. I have also included a shot of the bird flying. Though photographically the photo is lacking,
it does show the wing and tail pattern. The usual gulls, terns, and shorebirds were present on both sides
of the Pass, with a bonus Kestrel spotted on the mangrove island east of Ski Alley. A group of about 30 Am.
White Pelicans were loafing on their preferred sandbar at the entrance to Rum Bay, and we also picked up a Common
Loon swimming in the ICW on our return trip home. Pulling in to Lemon Creek, we also got a Pied-billed Grebe,
Black-crowned Night-Heron, and Spotted Sandpiper.
Susan Daughtrey, Englewood
18 December - We saw both the female bufflehead and female common
goldeneye at 3:45 PM in the far side of the pond. They were among about fifty other ducks.
Peter & Frances Rice
18 December - A group of intrepid birders guided by Valeri Ponzo braved high winds
and lots of rain for a walk on Lido Key Beach in search of shorebirds. In the group were two visitors from Seattle,
Washington and one from London, England! Great to have visitors from all over for these excursions. We were on the beach
for about an hour and had the following: Northern Gannet (1 immature about 100 yards out in the water),
Red-breasted Merganser (2 flying out past the shoreline), Brown Pelicans, Laughing Gulls, Ring-billed Gulls,
Herring Gulls (including 2 first year birds), Sandwich Terns, Royal Terns, Snowy Plovers, Sanderlings, Ruddy
Turnstones, Black-bellied Plovers, Red Knots (2 banded that we saw, Valeri has the tag ID), Palm Warblers
(several heard in the grassy area near the parking lot). Not bad for an hour in terrible weather! I tried to take some
pictures, we'll see how they turn out.
Dan Irizarry, Bradenton
17 December - Jeanne Dubi, Kathryn Young, and I met at the pond today around 10:15 am
and we were able to see both ducks, the Common Goldeneye and the Bufflehead. A scope is recommended. The
birds are VERY skittish. A few of the ducks took off, including the two in question, but they should come back later.
Stay on the sidewalk and use the bushes for cover to prevent scaring the birds.
Dan Irizarry, Bradenton
16 December - BirdFriends, my good friend (and now crack birder) Marina Scarr called
and alerted me to the fact that there was(is) a Common Goldeneye in a pond in the Founders Club on Fruitville Rd.
To find the pond, go east on Fruitville Rd about two miles east of I-75 until you see the Shining Light Church. Cross
the road (carefully!!) the pond is on the SOUTH side of Fruitville directly across from the church. There is plenty of
parking at the church, please do not park on the shoulder or go onto the pond edges. This is private property and there
is a nice sidewalk that affords great views of the pond. There are also about 50 Hooded Mergansers, Scaup, Teal,
etc. Good Luck and Good Birding.
Rick Geenspun
Please send your input about rare and/or interesting bird sightings to:
SRQbirdalerts@msn.com"
SRQBirdAlerts is brought to you by Peter Rice in association with the Sarasota Audubon Society. Visit them at
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