Spring has arrived and our winter visitors are on their way to nesting grounds in the north. Migration, here in Florida, has just begun and many of our waders are in the rookeries. Even with all of that said we counted 53 species today with the first of the season Black-necked Stilts a very cooperative American Bittern and a brief sighting of a Short-tailed Hawk. I'm sorry to report that there are little to no mud flats visible on the drive and this is not good for shorebirds. The Stilts were seen on the east side of the road at the Yale Canal area.

Birds Seen Today:

Blue-Winged Teal, Ring-Necked Duck, Pied-Billed Grebe, Double-Crested Cormorant, Anhinga, American Bittern, Great Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Bald Eagle, N. Harrier, Red-Shouldered Hawk, Short-Tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Purple Gallinule, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Limpkin, Sandhill Crane, Black-Necked Stilt, Lesser Yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper, Morning Dove, Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, E. Phoebe, Blue Jay, American Crow, Fish Crow, Carolina Wren, Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, Blue-Gray Gnatcher, American Robin, Gray Catbird, N. Mockingbird, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow-Rumped Warbler, Palm Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Savannah Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, N. Cardinal, Red-Winged Blackbird And Boat-Tailed Grackle

Birds Heard Today:

Tufted Titmouse And Northern Parula

NEXT UP:

Friday, March 30, Dora Canal by Boat. Details forthcoming.

Annual Meeting/Picnic Saturday, March 31, 10 AM, Panasoffkee Wildlife Management Area.