What a great enthusiastic group of birders that didn't want to call it a day, thanks. A strange spring trip to the Key, maybe the strange weather we've had played a part but instead of birds everywhere we had to work hard for them, not the usual day at the gulf. We saw and heard 61 species and had a fun lunch in town and all birders made a stop at Goethe State Forest for the Brown-headed Nuthatch (success) and the Red-cockaded Woodpecker (a no show), better luck next time. My personal favorites were the great showing of the first Clapper Rail as he walked along the mudflats in plain view along side the Solitary Sandpiper and of course the 2 young Great Horned Owls in the cemetery. Hope you all had as good a day as I did.

Birds Seen Today:

Mallard, Wild Turkey, Brown Pelican, Double-Crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Cattle Egret, White Ibis, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Swallow-Tailed Kite, Bald Eagle, Red-Shouldered Hawk, Clapper Rail, Black-Bellied Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Black-Necked Stilt, Solitary Sandpiper, Willet, Marbled Godwit, Laughing Gull, Ring-Billed Gull, Forster's Tern, Black Skimmer, Mourning Dove, Great Horned Owl, Belted Kingfisher, Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Great Crested Flycatcher, White-Eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, Florida Scrub-Jay, American Crow, Fish Crow, Barn Swallow, Brown-Headed Nuthatch, Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebird, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, Northern Parula, Prairie Warbler, Palm Warbler, Northern Cardinal, Red-Winged Blackbird, Boat-Tailed Grackle, Brown-Headed Cowbird And House Finch.

Birds Heard Today:

Red-Eyed Vireo, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Pine Warbler, Common Yellowthroat And Eastern Towhee.

Next up:
Our last club meeting of the spring calendar will be Saturday, April 24th, 9 am at Paradise Rec. Ctr. The speaker is Gary Babic on "Birding Tanzania". Hope to see you all there.