Just here for the White-cheeked Pintail plus...

I spent Monday morning at Pelican Island NWR watching the White-cheeked Pintail,(ABA Code 4),and hanging out with the other birders who came for the bird, or just came to bird and had the bonus of finding a very rare bird, indeed.  It actually wasn't the only rare bird, as Buffleheads are not very common in Florida either and there was a nice male hanging out in the pond as well.  I met a gentleman for whom it was a life bird, after 30 years birding in Florida.  Of course, I added it to my Florida State List, which now has reached 206, seen over the course of just 77 days of birding since February 4, 2012.

It was a great morning and fun to hang out with other birders who were just as excited to look for it. We started at the butterfly garden and looked about the entire pond without success, but there were lots of little inlets so we split up and walked to different vantage points  Eventually one of my fellow chasers spotted the bird and we all raced over to get our first looks at the pintail.  Too bad I don't use "Pintrest," as it would be a perfect bird to pin.  We watched it float about from one side of the pond to the other and took lots of photos and videos.  It was lots of fun, without the pressure of having to rush away to the next bird.

But by noon I was ready to head up to Merritt Island NWR.  I have been there in a couple of times in the past, but never made it out to the Black Point Wildlife drive in 2012, and with no other rarities to chase, and a free afternoon, I headed up for a look.  I stopped a couple of times along the way for Gulls and Terns, and a Brown Booby at Jetty Park, just south of Cape Kennedy.  At first I thought I was watching the a juvenile booby in flight, but upon closer examination it was a juvenile Northern Gannett.  I continued on and made it to Merritt Island by late afternoon.  The first part of the wildlife drive was devoid of not just birds, but any wildlife I could see.  I was wondering if there were any birds here when I hit the jackpot with  a pond full of terns, ducks, shorebirds, egrets and herons.  This was prime real estate for the birds and the bird photographers.

I snapped lots of photos, and continued on my way.  The rest of the loop was fairly quite and afterwards I headed up to the scrub trail for a walk in search of Florida Scrub Jays, but instead got to see and hear Eastern Towhee's calling back and forth to each other, and a few flocks of Roseate Spoonbills.

Which brings me to this evening's post work excursion to Dunedin Hammock Park, where I was once again looking for the resident Barred Owl and Bald Eagle I had seen last year in March.  No owl, but I did get to watch the eagle eating a fish in a tree right across the path from where I found it last year.  Then, along another path, I discovered a spoonbill out for a stroll.  It eventually cut across and into the creek for an early dinner.  Up in this area I have only ever seen spoonbills in flight at dusk, so this was a cool find.  I still haven't been to Fort DeSotto, so perhaps tomorrow will finally be the day.

Poor guy, got his foot all turned around