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Recent
Sightings and Activity |
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What , When Where |
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May 8, 2008 Ken Tracey - At a small Port Richey Park, Brasher, I found this Clapper Rail perched in a
tree, (Black Mangrove). May 8, 2008 Ken Tracey - At several coastal sites in West Pasco Semipalmated Sandpipers have been found.
Webbing between the toes, on this one I found on a small salt barren, may be a
good field mark. Photo May 1, 2008 Ken Tracey - Great flight of warblers, 857, flew over the count site this morning Other migrants; April 30, 2008 Ken Tracey - Besides a good flight of warblers, 301, a record number of Bobolinks flew over
the count site. 468 is a one day record for the Funnel and is also higher than
any other years spring total! April 29, 2008 Ken Tracey - Strong north winds this morning at the funnel meant few warblers, 15 total. 1
Amer. Redstart, 3 Northern Waterthrush and 5 Prairie Warblers were
ID'd. Vireos and Thrushes from Green Key photo2, photo3 April 25, 2008 Ken Tracey - From 6:25am to 8:45am, 1197 warblers flew past the count point. Other migrants; April 22, 2008 Ken Tracey - For the last couple of days A Spotted Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, 3 - 4
Lesser Yellows, 1 Greater Yellowlegs, 2 Least sandpiper have been at a temporary
pond at the corner of a pasture south of Mitchell High School Road off Little
Road in West Pasco. Jim McKay notified me of these birds. April 21 2008 Ken Tracey - I went on a survey with biologist this morning on the salt barrens at the
Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park. Sightings; April 18 2008 Ken Tracey This morning 4 Bobolinks (F.O.S.) flew over the Green Key Funnel location. The
only interesting warbler out of an unexpected slow morning (39 warblers), was a
Blackpoll Warbler. April 14 2008 Ken Tracey - This morning at the north end of Werner-Boyce State Park in Pasco, I found a few
migrants. (photo) Also I got a comparison photo of Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs at the golf course this
afternoon in
Mar 5, 2008 Ken Tracey -- I took a photo of an Orange-crowned Warbler at Green Key this morning. This is the
first time I taken photos showing the orange in it's
crown! Feb 27, 2008 Ken Tracey - West Pasco birds the last 3 days;
Jan 31 Mike Kell Wood Storks have returned to Tidewater Rd and starting the pair up and nest site selection. 22 Wood Storks have been counted here. Jan 30 Maria Valentine Nesters are arriving and jostling for sites at the Embassy Crossing Rookery.
Today I saw 8 Wood Storks (photo), several Great Egrets—one pair already staked
out the single small low cypress tree on north and were building; male of
another pair was displaying madly. She apparently wasn’t too impressed
and flew off to check out someone else; 20 or so Snowy Egrets, several Little
Blues, including at least 2 white morphs, 1 Anhinga, Common Moorhens,
Kingfisher, Shrike.......3 turtles.....one photographer....5 other human
observers. Looks like the birds are going to be OK even with the construction
next door. Jan 22, 2008 Ken Tracey - As 53 Palm Warblers were passing through the "Funnel" this morning at Green Key
from 7:00am to 8:00am, an America Redstart was noted. Also the first Glossy Ibis
for the Key was also found along with a House Wren and 30 Tree
Swallows. Jan 12 2008 Ken Tracey -Warbler sightings continued today when I stopped at Starkey Park at 11:00 am. In
a large mob of birds moving past the center's boardwalk, I found a male
Black-throated Green Warbler. The mob also included numerous Tufted Titmouse,
Carolina Chickadees, Yellow-throated, Black-and-white, Pine, Palm, and
Yellow-rumped Warblers, along with 3 Blue-headed Vireo and 4 Yellow-bellied
Sapsucker. Jan 1, 2008 Mike Kell A New Year’s day trip to Veterans
park was an nice afternoon outing today. Dec 31 20074:00 pm Mike
Kell A pair of Black
Hooded Parakeets were on the wire across from the Tarpon Springs Golf driving
range (east side) next to the Osprey nest on US 19 just north of Anclote river.
Sorry no camera in car.
Dec 19 2007 Ken Tracey..While doing some CBC scouting yesterday I found 3 Grasshopper Sparrows along this fence in Pasco. Junk and weeds seem to be a sparrow requirement. The photo shows a Grasshopper and Savannah Sparrow, a good comparison between the two. This morning I found this partially leucistic European Starling along Trouble Creek, just east of US 19 in west Pasco. Dec 18 2007 Aggie Condon - Three female Bufflehead ducks on a retention pond in Waters Edge. Go north on Moon Lake Rd and turn left into Ventana Townhomes. ( Across from Boondocks) Left on Castine. Right on Reedville to the end. The pond is across the street. These ducks are very WARY! Dec. 2nd 2007 Aggie Condon. SR. 52 Retention Pond. Ibis in the Morning 2 Glossy Ibis.
The show starts about 7a.m. when two flocks of White Ibis total-
ling
about 300 come in to feed. Also egrets, herons and Wood Stork.
This pond is one mile west of the intersection of Moon Lake Rd. &
S.R. 52. Turn South into Colony Lakes and park in the pull off just
past the entrance. Walk a short distance West to the fenced pond.
Nov 28th 2007 Mike Kell, Spotted two Northern Shovelers on the pond behind the Bealls store on Hwy 54 at Rowan RD. Nov 24th 2007 Dennis Brown, Horned Grebes on Cider Mill Pond in Beacon Woods. Take Majestic from 52 and 2nd right on Clock Tower to Oak Forest Lane. They were very active and much fun to watch. Nov 17th 2007 Green Key & Anclote Park Field Trip Report, Photo Gallery Nov 10th Aggie Condon -White Pelicans. At least 100 soaring but steadily progressing south. Seen at Little Rd & Hudson Ave. Nov 9th Mike Kell - No small visitors at Green Key this AM, only laughing Gulls and One Black Skimmer. Perhaps the cold air has encouraged them to move on south. Nov 5th Ken Tracey At 3:00pm this afternoon I stopped by Lake Lisa Park in Port Richey. While watching a group of House Sparrows and House Finches move along a clump of dead Brazilian Peppers this White-crowned Sparrow jumped up. Nov 5th 2007 Mike Kell-There was a big crowd at Green Key Beach. Ken and Linda Tracey, Aggie Condon and Mike Kell all showed up early in the morning to practice their new found shore bird identifications from Saturday's program. Among the large number of Laughing Gulls were found Herring Gull, Turnstones, Semipalmated Plovers, Willets, one small Marbled Godwit, Dunlins, Sanderlings, Western Sandpipers and Least Sandpipers. Mike Kell's camera has returned from repair and this was he first chance to practice his new slider technique. When the crowd flew up we looked around in time to see a Peregrine Falcon fly by at some distance. A Orange Crowned warbler was found by Ken, Linda and Aggie in the mangroves. Photos: Crowd, Willets, Dunlin1, Dunlin2, Dunlin3, Least Sandpiper, ID these three, Woops a palm. Nov 5th Aggie Condon, Field Trip Scouting Sea Forest--- Spotted Sandpiper.
Norther Harrier. 10 Wood Storks.
Eagle Point--- Green Heron, Belted
Kingfisher. Great and Little blue Herons.
Yellow-crowned Night Heron.
Anclote Power Plant---Bald Eagle on the
nest.
Holiday Rec.--- American Kestrel. Monk
Parakeets. Titmouse "mob" with gnat-
catchers, Downy woodpeckers, Carolina and House wrens, Common
Yellowthroat,
Black&White Warbler and Ruby-crowned Kinglet.
Sail
Drive---16 Wood
Storks.
Oct 27, 2007 Ken Tracey - I went back to Lake Lisa Park this afternoon to look for Western Tanager, no luck. Did locate Indigo Bunting, House Finches, Prairie Warbler, and a Eastern Palm Warbler. Just started looking this fall for the eastern Palms, instead of binocular ignoring Palms. See attached photo. This very yellow eastern looks more like Prairie Warbler until you see slightly darker cap and malar stripe. Oct 27, 2007 Ken Tracey - Yesterday and this morning we had a good mix of birds at Lake Lisa, Port Richey. A pale adult Western Tanager was high up in the trees, see attached photo. Short stubby bill, gray belly, yellow chest and face, dark notched tail, dark wing with light wing bar evident were identifying characteristics. Also had numerous House Finch, one Baltimore Oriole, several Chestnut-sided Warblers, Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Wood-Pewee, and several Cooper's Hawk. Oct 25, 2007 Ken Tracey - Wednesday found my first eastern Palm Warblers at Lake Lisa, Port Richey. Also had 5 Marsh Wrens at Green Key, rufous coloring suggest they are migratory eastern Marsh and not Marian's subspecies. Photo Oct 22, 2007 Ken Tracey - There has been a good mix of migrants yesterday and today in West Pasco. At Starkey Park we had ; Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Scarlet tanager, Summer Tanager, Indigo Buntings, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, House Wren, Warblers: Pine, Palm, and Common Yellowthroat Downtown new New Port Richey this morning; Black-throated Green Warbler, Tennessee, Yellow-throated, Black-and-white, Palm Lake Lisa, Port Richey at noon; Warblers: Palm, Yellow-rumped, Prairie, Yellow, American Redstart, Bay-breasted Blackpoll? (ID confirmation needed, see photo which has not been color or light corrected; I noted, white under-tail covert, streaked breast and back, grayish neck, besides other characteristics that could be either Bay-breasted or Blackpoll) and a Baltimore Oriole Oct 20, 2007 Ken Tracey Lake Lisa, Port Richey An immature Cooper's Hawk watched closely as I called in a good mob of birds at this small park in Port Richey at noon today. The mob included; Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee, Yellow-throated Warbler, House Wren, Carolina Wren, Palm Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, White-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, and Gray Catbird. This mob found the Cooper's and then took turns diving at it until it flew off. Also saw Indigo Bunting and Yellow Warbler there. I found my first fall Green-winged Teal at Gulf Harbors. Oct 19, 2007 Mike Kell, A quick AM trip out to Green Key Beach found a lone Black Skimmer ( my first for this season) sitting in a flock of Laughing Gulls and Fosters Terns. Willets, Semi Plamated Plovers, Sanderlings, a couple Least Sandpipers, a Black Bellied plover, and one Marbled Godwit hanging around. Marbled Godwit Oct 10th, Mike Coppola, I spotted the first Wood Storks return to my area, Land O” Lakes, on September 1. I finally came within range of my camera to get a few pictures. A white Ibis was with the seven storks in one of the wetlands in our community. At a near by pond was, what I believe to be, a Tricolored Heron. I recently read that Wood storks have been known to not return to an area if destruction of their habitat occurs within 30 miles of the roosting area. We had a massive destruction of habitat in Land O’ Lakes with the clearing of hundreds of acres in the Connerton Development. I am recording my sighting in eBird, (Ebird.org) and have noticed that no other recordings have been made in the area this season. Have any Wood Storks been observed in your area? Oct 10th Ken Tracey Early this morning I walked some of the mud flats at Sand Bay, West Pasco, for approx. 1 1/2 miles. High-lites included approx. 550 Blue-winged Teal, flying south in groups of 30 or more, and one large flock of 250 birds. Some stopped on the flats. Also seen; 40 Roseate Spoonbills 24 Caspian Terns 6 Marbled Godwits 4 Greater Yellowlegs + numerous other common sandpipers, terns, and waders. Note; For our Christmas Bird Count on 12/29 several birders are needed with the stamina and skill to walk the soft mud flats here that Saturday morning. Contact me if interested. Ken Tracey Green Key late this morning found a few warblers; 2 Northern Parula 1 Common Yellowthroat 1 Palm 1 Hooded 1 Yellow 2 Prairie Oct 9th Mike & Laurie Kell Green Key beach. Found two Marbled Godwits among the normal shore birds. Sept 30 Ken Tracey Green Key, This morning at the Key the warbler flow was slow until I decided to leave, east of the causeway I stopped for 10 minutes and watched as a steady flow of western Palm Warblers all flew north? Final Count; 92 Palm Warbler 2 Prairie 1 Northern Waterthrush 2 American Redstart 1 Yellow 1 Common Yellowthroat Sept 19 Mike Kell, Tidewater RD, Warbler migration is not limited to Green Key as I found this Ovenbird on my patio. Sept 18th Ken Tracey Green Key; Today's flight of Yellow Warblers through the Key has been steady and is continuing this afternoon. I spent 11/2 hours out there this morning and 1/2 hour just after lunch. 45 Yellow Warblers were found along with 5 Prairie Warblers. The Yellow Warbler color mix is interesting with brown, green and bright yellow birds. See photo. Starkey; Yesterday I found a Veery on the Day Use nature trail. James E. Grey Preserve, New Port Richey; This park along the Pithlachascotee River will soon re-open with nature trails and boardwalk along the river. Yesterday I had a white morph Short-tailed Hawk soar overhead. Sept 12th -- Since Aug 9th the Yellow Warbler migration along the Pasco coast through Green Key has been occurring every day I surveyed. I have only missed a few days out there, but for the 33 days surveyed since Aug 9th, 15 Yellow Warblers have been the average seen each day for approx 1-2 hours of survey time. My visits have ranged from morning to late afternoon. Every half hour or so a new group of Yellow warblers will fly in and feed on the Key before they move on. These groups are usually two to four birds, although one morning 12 landed and worked their way through the mangroves. Eventually all seem to move east to the causeway and then fly off. I expect this rate of Yellow Warbler migration to continue until the first or second week of Oct. The Prairie Warbler migration has now changed. Although approximately equal numbers to Yellow warblers were seen throughout August, the average for the last 2 weeks for Prairie has been 5 per day and I expect that number to continue to drop. Sept 5 This evening's quick check out at the beach on Green Key produced a small group of sandpipers that included a Piping Plover. A rare plover for this small beach. Fall Migration continues on Green Key 8/31/2007 in the morning at Green Key, Ken found this strange gull on the beach, slightly smaller than Laughing Gull, with bright red legs and bill. Also had 25 Blue-winged Teal fly over. Also had great group of terns; 6 Black Tern 2 Sandwich tern 8 Forster's Tern 2 Royal Tern 5 Least Tern Warblers; 2 Prairie 12 Yellow 6 Protnotary And one Eastern Kingbird 8/28/2007 Jim McKay spotted an Orange Bishop on the wires . Ken Tracey found: 1 Blackburnian 1 Northern Waterthrush 1 American redstart 3 Prairie Warbler 4 Yellow Warbler 8/25/2007 The last 3 days at the Key has seen a steady flow of warblers; 39 Prairie 30 Yellow 11 Prothonotary 2 Black-and-white 3 Northern Waterthrush* (*or Waterthrush species as all were identified by chip) Also the first drab Yellow Warblers have shown up. The two in the photo look like Sibley's "Brownish 1st year", or Peterson's "first fall, amnicola" August 23, 2007 by Ken Tracey...This morning on the way to Green Key I had a coyote run across the road in New Port Richey near Main St and Rowan Rd. While on the Key, 3 individual Bobolinks flew south overhead doing their "pink, pink" call. This morning was also the best on the key for Prothonotary Warbler fall sightings ever with 8 seen. Yesterday Jim McKay had an Eastern Kingbird on the wires with the resident Gray Kingbirds and a fly-over of 2 American Avocets. Warblers today; 13 Prairie warbler 8 Yellow Warbler 8 Prothonotary Warbler August 6, 2007 by Ken Tracey...I surveyed the Courtney Campbell Causeway, the Honeymoon Island Causeway, and the Fred Howard Park Causeway this morning from 6:30am to 9:30am, the following 1776 sandpipers were counted, comprising 15 species, plus 6 tern species were found: Sandpipers; 9 Black-bellied Plover 123 Semipalmated Plover 12 Wilson's Plover 19 American Oystercatcher 15 Greater Yellowlegs 218 Willet 1 Spotted Sandpiper 50 Marbled Godwit 107 Ruddy Turnstone 8 Red Knot 254 Sanderling 165 Western Sandpiper 6 Semipalmated Sandpiper 65 Least Sandpiper 724 Short-billed Dowitcher Terns; 11 Royal Tern 10 Sandwich Tern 4 Forster's Tern 134 Least Tern 22 Black Tern 18 Black Skimmer Flock Photo Composite of sandpipers and the one imm? Marbled Godwit attached. August 2, 2007 by Ken Tracey...I did a tour of the Courtney Campbell Causeway this morning. At the beach near 49 th street there was a small group of sandpipers, gulls, and terns, including 15 Black terns. On the Tampa side a 1/4 mile stretch just west of the Ben T. Davis Beach held a tremendous number of sandpipers and terns including the following, some counts are actual some are estimates*, but most numbers are probably under counts as the flocks were moving; 15 Black-bellied Plover 20 Wilson's Plover 50* Semipalmated Plover 8 American Oystercatcher 100* Willet 20 Greater Yellowlegs 60 Marbled Godwit 1 Probable immature? Marbler Godwit (composite photo attached) 60* Ruddy Turnstone 200* Sanderling 50* Western Sandpiper 60* Least Sandpiper 500* Short-billed Dowitcher Terns; 6 Sandwich Tern 40 Royal Tern 1 Forster's tern 1 Gull-billed Tern 30 Black Tern 130 Least Tern July 28, 2007 by Ken Tracey... Birding in the rain can be good! Yesterday evening at the state park(Boyce Werner) I counted 3000+ Purple Martins flying south and found 1 Spotted Sandpiper. This morning at Green Key I counted 450 Swallows flying south; 90% were Barn, rest were Northern Rough-winged and Bank. At the Gulf Harbors Golf Course I found 2 Pectoral Sandpipers. Went out to the golf course this afternoon at Gulf Harbors in West Pasco. Sandpipers were flying into the flooded driving range in small flocks every 10 minutes or so. Best birds seen were; 2 Stilt Sandpiper (photo attached, still in mostly alternate plumage with dark blotches on back evident) 9 Lesser Yellowlegs 1 Spotted Sandpiper July 27, 2007 by Ken Tracey I did get photo of Brown-headed Cowbird young as it begged food from female Red-winged Blackbird. Also the fall warblers showed good numbers today as Jim McKay and I found; 39 Prairie Warblers 6 Yellow Warblers 1 Yellow-throated Warbler 3 Prothonotary Warblers* *After Jim left, I ventured into the mangrove thicket looking for Prothonotary Warblers. I have noted that they stay in the dark and thickest mangrove cover, as the photo illustrates. July 26, 2007 By Ken Tracey...I went out on the mud flats at Sand Bay, West Pasco coast off Strauber Memorial Hwy, this evening, It has been weeks since our last extreme low tide. The square mile of mud flat was completely empty of birds except for one Whimbrel. The mangrove opening I walked through had an early Belted Kingfisher. July 24, 2007 This morning on Gteen Key Beach, Mike Kell and Ken Tracey found a Forster's Tern, a summer first for Green Key. Earlier I had photographed a new species for the Key; White-winged Dove. by Ken Tracey Photo |
Recent Sightings General Information Recent sightings page is designed to keep members aware of bird sightings and bird activity in the Area. For submissions email Mike Kell at jmkell@verizon.net
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