Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Lake Apopka North Shore, FL, Jan 15, 2023
Palm Warbler 'yellow', Lake Apopka North Shore, FL, Jan 15, 2023
Common Yellowthroat, Lake Apopka North Shore, FL, Jan 15, 2023
Yellow throated Warbler, Lake Apopka North Shore, FL, Jan 15, 2023
Palm Warbler 'western', Lake Apopka North Shore, FL, Jan 15, 2023
Orange crowned Warbler, Lake Apopka North Shore, FL, Jan 15, 2023
Black and White Warbler, Lake Apopka North Shore, FL, Jan 15, 2023
Prairie Warbler, Lake Apopka North Shore, FL, Jan 15, 2023
Northern Waterthrush, Lake Apopka North Shore, FL, Jan 15, 2023
On my first full day in Florida I headed out on a very frosty morning to Lake Apopka. My first stop was to the North Shore Trailhead in Mount Dora where I arrived before dawn. Once it started getting light the warblers started calling with the vast majority being Palm Warblers, Yellow rumped Warblers and Common Yellowthroats. With the sun up and the temperatures slowly starting to climb I found more new warblers for the trip including Northern Waterthrush, Orange crowned Warbler and Prairie Warbler. I then walked a portion of a nearby loop trail and came across a decent mixed flock that held nine species of warbler including my first Ovenbird, Black and White Warbler, Northern Parula, Pine Warbler and Yellow throated Warbler of the trip. I hit a few other areas along the northern portion of Lake Apopka through the rest of the morning and into the early afternoon and added a new subspecies for the trip with a single ‘yellow’ Palm Warbler. By the end of the first day I had seen eleven species of warblers...a nice start to the vacation.
Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Lake Apopka North Shore, FL, Jan 16, 2023
Palm Warbler 'western', Lake Apopka North Shore, FL, Jan 16, 2023
American Redstart, Lake Apopka North Shore, FL, Jan 16, 2023
Wilson's Warbler, Trimble Park, Mount Dora, FL, Jan 16, 2023
Wilson's Warbler, Trimble Park, Mount Dora, FL, Jan 16, 2023
Orange crowned Warbler, Lake Apopka North Shore, FL, Jan 16, 2023
Common Yellowthroat, Lake Apopka North Shore, FL, Jan 16, 2023
The second day of the trip once again found me heading over to Lake Apopka. It was cool morning but just a couple spots of frost so not as bad as the previous morning. I made my way to the wildlife drive right at dawn and enjoyed having the place much less crowded than the day before. I tried in vain to find a Yellow Warbler as I covered a large portion of the drive. The Common Yellowthroats, Palm Warblers and Yellow rumped Warbler were around in good numbers. After the wildlife drive I headed back down to the North Shore Trailhead to walk the small loop trail where I had a great mixed flock the day before. I walked in and had a few species right away including an unusual American Redstart and got a few marginal photos of it. Otherwise the trail was quiet. I saw a post about another unusual warbler nearby so I headed north to Trimble Park to try to see the Wilson’s Warbler (I have only had the species once before in Florida and that was down in the Everglades back in 2001). I arrived in the park and walked out to the area where the bird has been and seen and after a bit of searching through tons of Yellow rumped Warblers I found it and got some photos. The male showed fairly well and another birded nearby got to see it too. The individual is unique in that it is missing part of its lower mandible but seems to be feeding fine. The park held a total of half a dozen species of warbler. I made a few other short stops on my way back to Orlando and added a couple more warblers for the day and ended the day with ten species of warbler.
Common Yellowthroat, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Jan 17, 2023
Orange crowned Warbler, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Jan 17, 2023
Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Jan 17, 2023
Yellow rumped Warblers 'myrtle' feeding on lily pad insects, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Jan 17, 2023
Yellow throated Warbler, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Jan 17, 2023
Yellow breasted Chat (still an honorary warbler to me), Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Jan 17, 2023
Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', LeRoy Wright Rec Area, Cocoa, FL, Jan 17, 2023
For my last morning in the Orlando area I headed east with a dawn stop at the small LeRoy Wright Park in another fruitless search for a reported Yellow Warbler at the location. I spent over an hour trying to locate the bird without any luck. The habitat looked good for the species but it did not want be seen during my time there. The only warblers at the location were the expected Common Yellowthroats, Palm Warblers and Yellow rumped Warblers. My next stop was up to the Orlando Wetlands Park in the small town of Christmas. I had most of the morning free before I had to go to the airport to pick up Sherri and continue the vacation on the coast and I spent the next three hours at the park with the main goal being to find the overwintering Magnolia Warbler there. I had a frustratingly brief look at the bird down low in some dense vegetation before it disappeared again not to be seen again despite devoting almost half my time there trying. All was not lost as the park was good for other stuff including seven warbler species in total (plus a bonus Yellow breasted Chat, which although no longer considered a warbler it once was). The rest of the day was spent driving with the final destination being the coast outside Fort Pierce.
Prairie Warbler, Round Island Conservation Area, Vero Beach, FL, Jan 18, 2023
Common Yellowthroat, Round Island Conservation Area, Vero Beach, FL, Jan 18, 2023
Black and White Warbler, Round Island Conservation Area, Vero Beach, FL, Jan 18, 2023
Ovenbird, iPhone shot, North Hutchinson Island beach, Fort Pierce, FL, Jan 18, 2023
The next four nights were spent on North Hutchinson Island and I explored a variety of nearby areas. Wednesday I went as far north as Pelican Island NWR and then worked my way back south over the course of the morning. No new warblers but some decent views of a variety of species with multiple Ovenbirds and Prairie Warblers among a total of seven species for the day.
Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Jack Island State Preserve, Fort Pierce, FL, Jan 19, 2023
American Redstart, Wildcat Cove Preserve, Fort Pierce, FL, Jan 19, 2023
Thursday was another warm day and the first morning I had to contend with mosquitoes. I decided to try a variety of areas close by including Jack Island State Preserve, Wildcat Cove Preserve and a few other beach areas. Overall it was very quiet for birds and I only had five species of warblers with the best being an adult male American Redstart at the end of a multiple mile walk.
Yellow throated Warbler, Fort Pierce Inlet SP, Fort Pierce, FL, Jan 20, 2023
Orange crowned Warbler, Fort Pierce Inlet SP, Fort Pierce, FL, Jan 20, 2023
Palm Warbler 'western', Round Island Conservation Area, Vero Beach, FL, Jan 20, 2023
On Friday I was out early again to some nearby spots before taking a kayak trip at Fort Pierce Inlet SP. I hit Round Island Conservation Area and walked a few miles but didn’t find anything beyond the three expected species there. Kayaking took up most of the rest of the morning and the mangroves also didn’t hold any unexpected warblers. After a quick lunch I headed back to Fort Pierce Inlet SP and despite the heat of the day had a few more species of warblers, bringing the day total up to half a dozen.
Black and White Warbler, Round Island Conservation Area, Vero Beach, FL, Jan 21, 2023
Northern Parula, Pepper Beach Park, Fort Pierce, FL, Jan 21, 2023
American Redstart, Pepper Beach Park, Fort Pierce, FL, Jan 21, 2023
Prairie Warbler, Pepper Beach Park, Fort Pierce, FL, Jan 21, 2023
Palm Warbler 'western', Peaceful Waters Sanctuary, Wellington, FL, Jan 21, 2023
Black and White Warbler, Peaceful Waters Sanctuary, Wellington, FL, Jan 21, 2023
On the last full day in Florida I had a couple hours free in the morning before we started the drive south to eventually end up near the Palm Beach Airport for an early flight home on Sunday morning. I started off at Round Island (both the conservation area and the waterfront park) and had the expected species there. I also briefly tried Wildcat Cove but the mosquitoes were too bad to go too far. I was about ready to just head back to our lodging to pack up but instead decided to try the small Pepper Beach Park nearby and I was glad I did. I ran across a great mixed flock that contained seven species plus a very interesting calling individual that I was never able to see in the mangroves. I ran out of time and had to tear myself away. We then drove down south with an hour plus stop at Jonathan Dickinson SP mid morning (featuring a lot of Pine Warblers) and then a nearly two hour stop at Peaceful Waters Sanctuary in the afternoon. This small park was quite active but I failed to turn up a hoped for Yellow Warbler once again. Overall a nice day for warblers with a total of ten species.
Total warblers for the trip came to 14 species (Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Black and White Warbler, Orange crowned Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart, Northern Parula, Magnolia Warbler, Palm Warbler, Pine Warbler, Yellow rumped Warbler, Yellow throated Warbler, Prairie Warbler and Wilson’s Warbler). I tried to find some new warblers for my Florida list but no luck on this trip so my Florida list stays at 22 species of warblers.
Information on birds and other stuff for the trip at the following link.
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