I did get the Tufted Duck, but lost out on the lifer in Florida, the Swainson's Warbler, and left Florida on the same morning a Bahama Mockingbird was seen down in Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park. Had it been seen and reported yesterday morning while I was birding in Fort DeSoto, I would have driven straight down and seen the bird by dinner time. Last year I'd have been frustrated at the missed opportunity. This year, I can look back on my day at Fort DeSoto with memories nearly as fond as the Fallout of 2012, last April.
There was a fallout of sorts. Birders were there in great numbers. I saw and birded with nearly as many birders as I saw species yesterday, and I saw at least 34, though I wasn't keeping strict track of them all, especially the shore birds, or the birders. However, by the end of the afternoon, I had seen male and female Hooded Warblers, a Loggerhead Shrike, a pair of Magnificent Frigatebirds, an Orchard Oriole, two Prairie Warblers, heard the call of, and had a brief look at a Wormeating Warbler,(no photo), a White-eyed Vireo,(got my first photo of one), a Scarlet Tanager and best of all, a close up look at a Prothonotary Warbler, with lovey photos.
And now, I am in cold, rainy Lansing, Michican, with not too much on the birding radar here. Even the Barnacle Goose I had hoped to photograph while in Michigan is gone. Yes, you don't always get what you want, but when not doing a Big Year, it's nice to just be happy with what you see.
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