Wow, who said you had to leave home to see birds! Thanks to the Bird Walk Committee for coming up with a new approach to birding The Villages. 37 birders logged 79 species, in just 3 hours, on a not so nice weather day here in The Villages. Seven leaders (thanks) headed out in different directions to show folks what and where the birds are close to home. The small groups of birders and the types of birds that we saw (ducks, waders and shorebirds) made it a great teaching experience as the birds stayed put for viewing and IDing. Glad so many of you joined us for lunch to enjoy hot birding topics and your fellow club members. Hope you all learned a lot and had fun!

Here are a few of the places visited: Lake Miramar, Freedom Pt., Historic side lakes & doggie park, El Diablo Pond, Harmeswood, SECO station, preserve on Morse N. of 466, Lake we go to at Outdoor Expo (off Morse), behind churches at 466 & Morse, Veteran's Memorial park, Lake Sumter, Summerhill pond behind pool, pond behind S. Trace shopping mall, El Diablo golf course pond and Bonnybrook pond. There are many more great places to bird in The Villages but these are a few of them that could be done in the time aloud

Birds Seen Today:

Black-Bellied Whistling Duck, Canada Goose, Egyptian Goose, Muscovy Duck, Wood Duck, Gadwall, Mallard, Blue-Winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Canvasback, Ring-Necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Hooded Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Pied-Billed Grebe, Double-Crested Cormorant, Anhinga, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Cattle Egret, Green Heron, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Wood Stork, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Sharp-Shinned Hawk, Red-Tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Sandhill Crane, Killdeer, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper, Wilson's Snipe, Bonaparte's Gull, Ring-Billed Gull, Forster's Tern, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Downy Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher, Blue Jay, American Crow, Tree Swallow, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, Brown Thrasher, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow-Rumped Warbler, Pine Warbler, Black-And- White Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Chipping Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Red-Winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Boat-Tailed Grackle, House Finch, American Goldfinch And House Sparrow

Next up:
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge: meet Steve at Belk's parking lot 6 am, Thursday Jan. 14th. I will meet you at the bridge in Titusville for one of our best days of birding. If you haven't been to Merritt Island this is a must and we might be lucky and see the eurasian wigeon, which I saw at Christmas time, that is wintering there. This is a full day of birding so bring snacks and drinks. Some may choose to lunch in Titusville. Some of us are heading down on Wednesday for an additional day of birding. If you are interested in where we are staying or want to hook up with us send me an email and I'll fill you in.