I've been travelling with work again. This time to Florida and California. I was based in Marco Island, FL for 5 days for a conference, then Santa Cruz, CA for another 4 days (for another conference) and then back to Florida for 4 days birding.
Marco Island was a lovely base for some nice birding, with sites like Tigertail Beach and Rookery Bay very nearby providing lots of birding opportunities. Tigertail Beach on the north point of Marco Island and hosts a range of shorebirds at both high and low tide. I parked at Tigertail Beach Park at the end of Hernando Drive, walked out to the lagoon and then followed the inland shore of the lagoon south and then back north, along the seaward side of the the lagoon to where the beach opens out into a long sandy spit with lots of shorebirds roosting between the lagoon and beach.
The area around the car park and walk to lagoon was quite good for songbirds with Indigo Bunting, Blue-grey Gnatcatcher and Northern Parula being the best. The list of shorebirds was the most impressive though, with counts of the following: Willet (50), Black-bellied (Grey) Plover (30), Semi-p Sand (5), Western Sand (30), Wilson's Plover (10), Snowy Plover (15), Piping Plover (10), Semi-p Plover (20), Least Sand (10), Dunlin (30), Turnstone (25), Sanderling (50), Greater Yellowlegs (5) and Short-billed Dowitcher (100).
Wadingbirds (herons, egrets, etc) were also plentiful with Green Heron, Reddish Egret, Tricoloured Heron, Roseate Spoonbill, Great White Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Brown Pelican and White Pelican.
Other birds seen in the area were Belted Kingfisher, Osprey (up to 6 at a time), American Kestrel, Royal Terns (30), Sandwich Tern (1) and Common Ground-Dove (2).
Finally, a bit further south along the beach, in front of the Marriott resort, was a really nice mixed flock of Black Skimmers, Royal Terns and Laughing Gulls. They were very tame, allowing close approach and provided some excellent photo opportunities.
Below are a few of the birds I managed to photograph on my walk.
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| Eastern Willet, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
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| Eastern Willet, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
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| Semi-palmated Sandpiper, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
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| Wilson's Plover, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
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| Wilson's Plover, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
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| Snowy Plover, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
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| Piping Plover, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
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| Piping Plover, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
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| Semi-palmated Plover, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
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| Least Sandpiper, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
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| Dunlin, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
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| Short-billed Dowitcher, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
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| Osprey, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
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| American Kestrel, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
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| American Kestrel, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
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| White Ibis, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
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| Black Skimmer, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
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| Black Skimmer, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
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| Black Skimmer, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
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| Black Skimmer, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
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| Black Skimmers, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
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| Royal Tern, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
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| Royal Tern, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
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| Royal Tern, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
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| Royal Tern, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
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| Ring-billed Gull, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
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| Laughing Gull, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
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| Palm Warbler, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
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| Snowy Egret, Tigertail Beach, Marco Island, FL |
A morning visit to Rookery Bay National Estuarine Reserve (take the 951
north and then turn east on Shell Island Road) produced a few nice
birds. I stopped at various places along the approach road and then
walked a few of the trails at the end of the road. Yellow-rumped and
Yellow-throated Warblers were nice to see, along with Red-headed,
Red-bellied and Pileated Woodpeckers. Two Swallow-tailed Kites and both
Yellowlegs were also in the area. On the way back I took the 90/41 south
and stopped at 6-L farm as it had a number of birds around it,
especially Tomato Rd on the most SE side of the farm (turn off the
highway). Red-backed Hawk, Wood Stork, Cattle Egret, Tree Swallow,
Common Yellowthroat, Common Ground-Dove, Anhinga, Bald Eagle and Green Heron were all in the area.
And finally, a brief visit to Frank E. Mackle Jnr. Community Park on Marco Island produced Ring-necked Duck, Mottled Duck, Loggerhead Shrike, Yellow-rumped Warbler and Purple Martin.
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| Black Vulture, Marco Island, FL |
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| Tricoloured Heron, Marco Island, FL |
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| Mottled Ducks, Marco Island, FL |
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