Northern Parula, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Mar 18, 2022
Common Yellowthroat, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Mar 18, 2022
Black and White Warbler, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Mar 18, 2022
Yellow throated Warbler, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Mar 18, 2022
Prairie Warbler, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Mar 18, 2022
Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Mar 18, 2022
Northern Parula collecting nest material, Signia by Hilton Hotel, Orlando, FL, Mar 18, 2022
Palm Warbler 'western', Signia by Hilton Hotel, Orlando, FL, Mar 18, 2022
After flying into Florida from Colombia on the 17th we would spend a few days in the Orlando area before we headed east to the coast in the Melbourne Beach area. On the first full day in the Orlando area I headed out to the Orlando Wetlands Park where I spent the entire morning and walked several miles. Fog made viewing a bit tough to start the day but it eventually burned off and it warmed up a lot. I found a total of eight species of warblers there with the predominant species being Northern Parula, Yellow rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat and Palm Warbler. New species for the year included Yellow throated Warbler and Prairie Warbler. After leaving the park a bit after noon I headed back to the hotel and walked around some edge habitat nearby and found my first Pine Warbler of the year plus a Northern Parula collecting nest material.
Palm Warbler 'western', Lake Apopka North Shore, Apopka, FL, Mar 19, 2022
Palm Warbler 'western', Lake Apopka North Shore, Apopka, FL, Mar 19, 2022
Common Yellowthroat, Lake Apopka North Shore, Apopka, FL, Mar 19, 2022
Common Yellowthroat, Lake Apopka North Shore, Apopka, FL, Mar 19, 2022
Prairie Warbler, Lake Apopka North Shore, Apopka, FL, Mar 19, 2022
Northern Parula, Oakland Nature Preserve, Oakland, FL, Mar 19, 2022
Pine Warbler, Oakland Nature Preserve, Oakland, FL, Mar 19, 2022
On Saturday I was out the door early again and this time I headed north to Lake Apopka to check out this restored area that has become one of the more popular birding spots in the state. I had never visited there before and the wildlife drive is only open a few days a week so I got lucky to be in the area for one of those days. The big draw along the wildlife drive are the large numbers of water related birds but I nonetheless had a decent showing of warblers, especially at the end of the drive were some wooded sections held a variety of species with some singing. The biggest highlight was a rather uncooperative Louisiana Waterthrush that showed only briefly. Nonetheless it was notable for me as I had never had the species in the state before. I had loads of Common Yellowthroats and Palm Warblers all along the drive and added five more warbler species by the end of the drive. I made a few other stops as I worked my way down the west side of the lake including Green Mountain Trailhead and Oakland Nature Preserve. Oakland Nature Preserve was the most productive with half a dozen species in a few mixed flocks with lots of singing from the Northern Parulas.
Cape May Warbler, West Beach Park, Orlando, FL, Mar 20, 2022
Black and White Warbler, West Beach Park, Orlando, FL, Mar 20, 2022
For the last day in the Orlando area I had plans to go to the Tibet Butler Preserve but the gates there didn’t open until eight so I tried to come up with a spot to stop before the preserve opened and decided to try a small park on the way called West Beach Park. I really didn’t expect much there given the tiny size of the park but I made a quick walk around and found a few species and then came across a mixed flock feeding in a few trees in the park and quickly picked up a Cape May Warbler among seven other species of warblers. I quickly returned to the car and got the camera to document the Cape May Warbler as it is flagged as early in eBird. I eventually got some identifiable photos of the warbler. Sometimes you never know what even a small bit of habitat can produce. Tibet Butler Preserve was fairly quiet as I walked a few of the trails there with just a handful of warbler species but among them was a Yellow throated Warbler, which added another warbler for the day. We headed east late in the morning toward the coast but broke up the trip with a visit to the Orlando Wetlands Park. I tried in vain to find a reported Magnolia Warbler at the location but perhaps the large crowds on the weekend and the midday time kept the bird out of view. We made it to the Melbourne Beach area in the mid afternoon and got settled for the next four nights.
Prairie Warbler, Maritime Hammock Sanctuary, Melbourne Beach, FL, Mar 21, 2022
Common Yellowthroat, Pelican Island NWR, Vero Beach, FL, Mar 21, 2022
The first full day on the coast can be best described as a warbler desert…it was very slow with few warblers around despite walking over ten miles at various locations. I started the morning before dawn at Maritime Hammock Sanctuary and had just five warblers (of four species) overall! My other stops for the morning were equally unimpressive. I finished the day with just six species and 16 individual warblers…crazy slow for sure.
Prairie Warbler, Jungle Trail, Vero Beach, FL, Mar 22, 2022
Prairie Warbler, Jungle Trail, Vero Beach, FL, Mar 22, 2022
Common Yellowthroat, Jungle Trail, Vero Beach, FL, Mar 22, 2022
After the abysmal showing of warblers the day before I headed a bit further south on Tuesday in the hopes of better luck. I started off at Captain Forester’s Hammock Preserve about 15 minutes south. It was a little better but still less than I would expect given the date. I had four species overall with total counts that made it to double digits at least. The habitat at the location looked great for migrant birds and I’m certain the place can be hopping at times. I then covered various locations along an old road known as the Jungle Trail that has been known to be quite productive for migrants but I didn’t have much luck. I finished the morning with a walk at Pelican Island NWR and had very few warblers there.
Pine Warbler, Turkey Creek Sanctuary, Palm Bay, FL, Mar 23, 2022
Pine Warbler, Turkey Creek Sanctuary, Palm Bay, FL, Mar 23, 2022
Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle, Captain Forster Hammock Preserve, Vero Beach, FL, Mar 23, 2022
Without a lot of luck in the local area the previous two days I headed off the barrier island early on Wednesday to make my way to Turkey Creek Sanctuary. Thankfully the wind was less of an issue and I actually had some warblers around although the numbers were still lower than I expected. I had a total of eight species of warbler including my first Ovenbird and American Redstart for the trip to Florida with double digit counts of multiple species. A stop at Captain Forester's Hammock Preserve on the way back produced a couple mixed flocks but nothing unusual among them with no obvious sign of any new arrivals.
Cape May Warbler, Melbourne Beach, FL, Mar 24, 2022
Cape May Warbler, Melbourne Beach, FL, Mar 24, 2022
We came home on the 24th and I had a little time in the morning so I walked the road near our lodging and managed to find another Cape May Warbler for the trip and with some effort got some photos through the binoculars with my phone. After a few delays we eventually got home late in the day.
Overall I had 13 species of warbler during my time in Florida with one species (Louisiana Waterthrush) new for me in the state. My state total of warblers for Florida now stands at 22 species. Whenever I’m down in Florida, especially in March, I always hold out a small glimmer of hope that a Bachman’s Warbler will pop up as the species was know to winter in Cuba and the make its return trip to breeding grounds migrating through Florida. Sadly the species is almost certainly extinct and gone forever.
