Two life birds on day two?

Orange County, FL

Wednesday 1 March 2023 80 °F

This morning, my dad, his friend Dan, and I set out at a bright-and-early 6:50am for two lifers. We would hit Wewika Springs State Park in search of Bachman’s Sparrow (which would be difficult) and Lake Apopka in search of Gray-headed Swamphen (which should be easy).

After picking up our rental car, we made it to Wewika Springs by 8:00am and birded a bit by the gate before the park opened. There, we had NORTHERN PARULA:

YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER:

Once entering the park, we stopped every once in a while in the right pine forest habitat and listened for any Bachman’s Sparrows that might be around.

YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER:

YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER was nice:

Then, I HEARD IT! BACHMAN’S SPARROW!!!! Its song was unique with a single drawn-out note followed by a trill, and after a bit of bushwhacking, I scared it up out of the undergrowth and it perched for about ten seconds — but long enough for photos!

Notice the slight yellow patch by the bill and the slight yellow wash to the folded wings — somewhat reminiscent of a Botteri’s or Grasshopper Sparrow. But there is no exactly similar species to the Bachman’s in the southeastern pine forests!!!! Absolutely amazing as I have searched for this species probably four or five times without success in Florida in the past.

So we continued on to Sand Lake which was a nice loop hike for the three of us. RED-SHOULDERED HAWK:

We noticed a lot of Gopher Tortoise burrows around, though no Tortoises were seen.

The lake itself was gorgeous.

And hosted two nice MOTTLED DUCKS:

EASTERN BLUEBIRD:

Our next stop was Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive for my prospective lifer Gray-headed Swamphen. We were greeted by plenty of their cousin, the COMMON GALLINULE:

TRICOLORED HERON:

GLOSSY IBIS:

This American Alligator looked like it was about to feast on a Mallard X Mottled Duck hybrid:

But thankfully the duck waddled (and eventually flew away) to safety.

ANHINGA drying its wings:

BLUE-WINGED TEAL:

PIED-BILLED GREBE with a female Teal:

Mixed flock of COMMON GALLINULE and AMERICAN COOTS:

Same species, plus a GREATER YELLOWLEGS:

OSPREY:

Then, after a bit longer of a search than I suspected it would take, I laid eyes on my lifer GRAY-HEADED SWAMPHEN upon scanning the far edge of the marsh! It was a beautifully indigo-violet bird. Absolutely awesome! This is an introduced species from Asia that has become a fixture of Floridian marshes in recent years, and countable by ABA standards.

And off it went:

A watchful Alligator:

WHITE IBIS:

And in the afternoon we made it to our hotel in Sarasota, where the view from the rooftop pool is quite nice:

It was a fantastic day of birding! Bird-of-the-day to my lifer Bachman’s Sparrow with runner-up to my lifer Gray-headed Swamphen. Awesome! Stay tuned: tomorrow on our way from Sarasota to Naples, I will keep my eyes peeled for Short-tailed Hawks and we will stop to photograph Burrowing Owls!

Happy birding,
Henry
World Life List: 1148 Species (2 life birds today: Bachman’s Sparrow & Gray-headed Swamphen)

Posted by skwclar 21:54 Archived in USA