Florida’s Forgotten Coast
Apalachicola and Vicinity, St. Mark’s NWR & Wakulla Springs
February 10-16, 2009 - Bird/Species Trip List
Peg Abbott, guide with 7 participants

HO = heard only
LO = leader only

 

Birds
Common Loon – first seen on our Apalachicola River cruise, then seen each day mainly on ocean coasts and in salt water bays
Horned Grebe – first seen off St. Joseph Island then at several ocean locations
Pied-billed Grebe – we had great looks, up close at several places at this little cutie, which is quite common in wetlands throughout the region
Am. White Pelican – four birds seen near the marina in Apalachicola
Brown Pelican – abundant, seen daily
No. Gannet – at least four individuals, seen in the distance from Cape San Blas
Double-crested Cormorant – abundant, seen daily
Anhinga – seen in flight near the Apalachicola River, but then quite common at both St. Mark’s NWR and Wakulla
Great Egret – common, seen daily
Snowy Egret – common and at times quite tame, we enjoyed very close looks at individuals on the beaches of St. Vincent
Reddish Egret – two individuals in mixed group of roosting herons in small pond going out to St. Joseph State Park
Great Blue Heron – common, seen daily
Tricolored Heron – seen on several days, one group of 12 or more most memorable at St. Mark’s NWR
Little Blue Heron – our first one was on the way out to St. Joseph, a young white bird. We saw scattered other individuals and then several at close range on the Wakulla boat cruise
Black-crowned Night-Heron – great close looks at several individuals, adult, immature and first year birds roosting in an abandoned crane in the boat harbor near the start point for our river cruise
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron – LO, two individuals coming in to roost at Wakulla, right at dark
White Ibis – St. Mark’s and Wakulla, both immature birds and adults
Mallard – one individual in small pond near Posies’ restaurant
Gadwall – a few pair at St. Mark’s in ponds off the main tour road
Am. Widgeon – St. Mark’s and Wakulla
Wood Duck – fabulous books at numerous pair at Wakulla
Redhead – several pair near the end of the tour road at St. Mark’s NWR
Ring-necked Duck – gorgeous looks at a male at Wakulla, as Richard said, “I could finally see the ring on the neck!”
Greater Scaup – several pair and small groups seen off the coast at Shell Point
Lesser Scaup – common in large rafts at the mouth of Apalachicola Bay
Bufflehead – seen daily, bright males and females, seen in both fresh and salt water
Hooded Merganser – amazing close looks on the boat cruise at Wakulla
Black Vulture – first seen right outside of the Tallahassee airport, then a few individuals most days, far less common than Turkey Vultures
Turkey Vulture – abundant, memorable was the roost at Wakulla seen on our final morning walk
Osprey – already sitting by nests in Apalachicola Bay, seen daily but small numbers
Coopers Hawk – one individual over the channel to St. Vincent
Northern Harrier – one individual (female) seen at St. Mark’s at road’s end near the lighthouse
Red-tailed Hawk – scattered individuals seen each day
Red-shouldered Hawk – seen on three days, often flying through wooded landscapes Richard spotted one perched on our Apalachicola National Forest day and we all got good looks
Bald Eagle – marvelous views on our river boat cruise, then adults performing a nest exchange at the nest near St. Vincent NWR was a treat. We could hear them calling and could watch large chicks raise their heads for feed
Am. Kestrel – one individual on first day driving down from the Tallahassee airport
Sora – Peg spotted one right out in the open on our Apalachicola River cruise
Clapper Rail – everyone wanted to see this secretive bird, so with a bit of help from our IPOD we had them fly in IMMEDIATELY.  We had great looks and let them wander and call without harassment.  A treat for all…
Common Moorhen – common at Wakulla
Am. Coot – abundant at St. Mark’s, fairly common at Wakulla
Am. Oystercatcher – regular in coastal areas, several pair seen on two days
Black-bellied Plover – scattered individuals seen along the coast, close views on bay side of Alligator Point and a flock of 8 at the Apalachicola airport
Piping Plover – one individual seen on St. George Island
Snowy Plover – a pair observed on St. George Island, on a rugged, windy day
Semipalmated Plover – seen on several days, including close looks on bay side going out to Alligator Point
Wilson’s Plover – Alligator Point
Killdeer – seen on two days, then in good number at the Apalachicola airport
Least Sandpiper – St. Joseph State Park, bay side
Western Sandpiper – one individual mixed in with Dunlin, ocean side near Carrabelle
Willet – one of the more common shorebirds, seen whenever we were near the beach or at estuaries
Ruddy Turnstone – seen bay side at St. Joseph State Park, then at several Oceanside locations between Apalachicola and St. Mark’s
Dunlin – the star of our rainy day shorebird watching, close observations near That Place on 98 at Eastpoint
Sanderling – our most common and regular shorebird, our ruler for observing other species
Lesser Black-backed Gull – one individual, a first year bird, roosting with Herring and Laughing Gulls on St. George, stormy day
Herring Gull – scattered individuals, seen whenever at Oceanside beaches
Ring-billed Gull – very common, seen daily
Laughing Gull – abundant, seen daily
Bonaparte’s Gull – seen on three days, one or two individuals at a time, infrequently
Forster’s Tern – very common, seen on all days near the ocean
Royal Tern – seen roosting and in flight, best viewed on island sand bars
Caspian Tern – seen along coast near Eastpoint and again at the end of the road by Shell Point and St. Mark’s near the lighthouse
Mourning Dove – Carol’s annoyance, common and singing all the time!
Eurasian Collared Dove – very common, seen daily, also calling regularly, esp. by our hotel
Belted Kingfisher – seen daily, it was fun to have time to watch them call, fish and fly
No. Flicker – seen first at Wright’s Lake, then each day after that
Pileated Woodpecker – HO, Wright’s Lake and Wakulla
Red-bellied Woodpecker – very common, vocal and seen daily
Downy Woodpecker – Wakulla from boat cruise, and heard also in town of Apalachicola
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – seen commonly, and at each place we saw Red-cockaded Woodpeckers
Red-cockaded Woodpecker – success!  What a thrill, we watched two different groups, listening to their odd vocalizations and watching them feed and fly tree to tree to probe for insects
Red-headed Woodpecker – new for several of our group and what a beauty  We took time to watch several individuals while also searching for our Red-cockaded Woodpeckers
Eastern Phoebe – seen daily, a few here and there, nice to see a tail-flicking landbird
Tree Swallow – abundant, huge numbers over salt grass islands at the mouth of Apalachicola Bay
Blue Jay – daily, vocal, common
Am. Crow – likely more present amid hoards of Fish Crows, but in Apalachicola NF we paid attention and got birds calling
Fish Crow – abundant, seen daily
Carolina Chickadee – seen on four of our days
Brown-headed Nuthatch – seen well on our Apalachicola NF day
House Wren – seen in town and at Ft. Gadsdon
Carolina Wren – fairly common, seen or heard daily, best views near city park on morning walk in Apalachicola
Marsh Wren – HO marsh areas in several locations
No. Mockingbird – abundant, the classic wire bird for this tour
Gray Catbird – very regular, seen in all wooded areas
Am. Robin – common, seen daily, huge numbers at the Apalachicola airport
Eastern Bluebird – seen in small number in pine woodlands
Hermit Thrush – one individual seen on St. Vincent
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – seen at three locations
Ruby-crowned Kinglet – one of the more common songbirds, though dwarfed by numbers of Yellow-rumped Warblers
Yellow-throated Warbler – one individual seen in pine woodlands
Sprague’s Pipit – one individual found on our second try at the Apalachicola airport, directly in front of the office, between active runways
Loggerhead Shrike – LO, on telephone wire while driving, near St. Mark’s NWR
European Starling – common, seen daily
Yellow-rumped Warbler – abundant, big numbers in varied habitat, we grew a bit weary of sorting through such numbers, wow!
Pine Warbler – fairly common in appropriate habitat
Palm Warbler – seen in small numbers on several days, the first near our boat dock for the Apalachicola River cruise
Common Yellowthroat – heard at two locations, Peg had a glimpse in thick shrubs at St. Mark’s
House Sparrow – common in towns
Eastern Meadowlark - HO at the Apalachicola Airport where we were focused on finding
Red-winged Blackbird – common, a nice sound of spring on a February day!
Boat-tailed Grackle – common, seen daily
Common Grackle – much less common than Boat-tails, but regular
Savannah Sparrow – big numbers in open habitat by the Apalachicola airport, and in shrubbery and open areas of St. Joseph State Park, smaller numbers several other locations
Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow – an inquisitive bird came in to our calling. Linda said, am I seeing it right, is this bird doing the splits?’  At very close range it fed and moved with ease between sea grasses, such a beautiful little sparrow!
Vesper Sparrow – a few individuals mixed in with Savannah Sparrows
Chipping Sparrow – quite common, seen most days, fair sized group on feeders at Wakulla
Swamp Sparrow – great views just after our oyster feed at Indian Pass, another in wet area near city park in Apalachicola
Song Sparrow – seen in small number on most days
Bachman’s Sparrow – we worked pretty hard for this beauty but were well rewarded as one came in to check out our calling.  It perched on a Longleaf Pine for several minutes, quiet and just observing – wonderful views of this species
No. Cardinal – females very common and more visible than males, but good numbers throughout of each
Eastern Towhee – vocalizations led us to these brush loving birds on St. Vincent, then seen at several locations

Mammals
White-tailed Deer – seen from the river boat cruise at Wakulla Springs
Raccoon – seen between cypress knees at Wakulla, from the cruise
Fox Squirrel – common in wooded locations
Flying Squirrel – one individual trying to cross the road, a quick look while driving
Bottle-nosed Dolphin – seen off St. Vincent and along the coastal drive

Reptiles
Am. Alligator – our first was encountered in one of the ponds of St. Mark’s NWR, then we saw them with ease at Wakulla including some sleeping on the bottom of side channels of the spring
Soft-shelled Turtle – basking in the sun on logs in the Apalachicola River
Suwannee Cooler – Wakulla Hot Springs, seen well swimming underwater in the clear spring waters

 

 

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