Monthly Archives: April 2013

On March 18th I teased about a fun raptor encounter I had that topped a Bald Eagle flyby and an Osprey-Red-tailed Hawk nest fight.

What could top seeing those birds of prey in action? Only a Barred Owl.

Earlier that morning, I was standing at an overlook of one of the springs, watching a Great Blue Heron. I don’t often walk right up to the spring openings themselves, so I was surprised to see such a large bird standing right there just a few feet away from me.

In that quiet moment a Barred Owl swooped down between the heron and me, and flew down the spring run. I scrambled down the path towards where the owl was heading, trying to get a fix on its location. I found it sitting on a branch near the water.

I held my breath as the bird dipped into the water to bathe. It splashed around a bit and then returned to the branch. It jumped back into the water several times. I took a little video.

After its morning dip, the owl flew up to a higher perch, but it would get no rest. Two Blue Jays began harassing the owl. I captured a moment on video: a jay dive-bombing the owl. See the slo-mo action:

I was especially thrilled to see a Barred Owl in this part of Gemini Springs. Last year a pair of owls raised a pair of chicks to branching age and beyond, and I had so much fun watching them each time I visited the park. This year I have been looking and listening for signs of nesting, but until the day I spotted this bathing beauty I had not seen any sign of owls in the same area. I’m hopeful that I will be able to see more Barred Owl action at the park in the coming weeks.

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I submitted 15 checklists from Gemini Springs to eBird in March. Wow! I didn’t realize I visited so often… but I know April will be a super-busy month so I guess I tried to squeeze in a lot of birding before the chaos begins. 🙂 I ended up seeing 79 species (but still no Limpkin!) — see the full list at the end of this post.

New to my all-time Gemini Springs list were House Finch, Sedge Wren, and Lesser Scaup.

American Robin | 02-MAR-13

I spent some time in the early part of the month looking for the Fox Sparrow I first spotted on February 25th. I learned from other observers that the area where the bird was hanging was a sinkhole, not a “marshy area” as I had described. Anyway, I was only able to find the Fox Sparrow one more time, on March 9th. According to eBird, our avian northern visitor was last seen by anyone on March 10th.

Birders seeking Fox Sparrow | 02-MAR-13

My last look at the Fox Sparrow | 09-MAR-13

I found Barred Owls in a part of the park I don’t usually visit. I managed to spot a roosting owl in the same spot a few more times in the month. I’ve been looking and listening in a few spots for signs of babies, but no luck so far.

Barred Owl | 05-MAR-13

Boat-tailed Grackles | 05-MAR-13

Live Oak with Spanish Moss | 05-MAR-13

Great Blue Heron | 06-MAR-13

Pied-billed Grebe looking up | 06-MAR-13

omnomnom | 06-MAR-13

Nine-banded Armadillo | 11-MAR-13

Northern Cardinal | 12-MAR-13

I saw the Bald Eagle pair off their nest quite a lot, and I saw juvenile birds soaring over Gemini Springs a few times this month. I hope this means the eagles have successfully raised a chick or two or three to fledge. I am kind of frustrated that I have not been able to find their nest. Keeping in mind that males are smaller than females, can you tell who is who in the photo below?

Bald Eagles at dusk | 12-MAR-13

sunset | 12-MAR-13

grasshopper sp | 13-MAR-13

Common Gallinule in the fog | 15-MAR-13

Anhinga preening | 15-MAR-13

Great Blue Heron | 15-MAR-13

Gemini Springs | 15-MAR-13

Northern Mockingbird | 15-MAR-13

Black Vulture on the fishing pier | 18-MAR-13

Chipping Sparrow in the sinkhole | 18-MAR-13

Blue Jay gathering nesting material | 26-MAR-13

Red-shouldered Hawk | 26-MAR-13

I had two surprises towards the end of the month. I found a Black-crowned Night-Heron standing across from the fishing pier on March 26th, my second ever at Gemini Springs. The next day I found a totally unexpected Lesser Scaup swimming on the spring side of the dam, my first ever at the park.

Black-crowned Night-Heron | 26-MAR-13

Lesser Scaup | 27-MAR-13

rodent, species unknown | 27-MAR-13

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Gemini Springs, March 2013 month bird list
Muscovy Duck (Domestic type) – Cairina moschata (Domestic type)
Blue-winged Teal – Anas discors
Lesser Scaup – Aythya affinis
Pied-billed Grebe – Podilymbus podiceps
Wood Stork – Mycteria americana
Double-crested Cormorant – Phalacrocorax auritus
Anhinga – Anhinga anhinga
American Bittern – Botaurus lentiginosus
Great Blue Heron – Ardea herodias
Great Egret – Ardea alba
Snowy Egret – Egretta thula
Little Blue Heron – Egretta caerulea
Tricolored Heron – Egretta tricolor
Cattle Egret – Bubulcus ibis
Green Heron – Butorides virescens
Black-crowned Night-Heron – Nycticorax nycticorax
White Ibis – Eudocimus albus
Glossy Ibis – Plegadis falcinellus
Black Vulture – Coragyps atratus
Turkey Vulture – Cathartes aura
Osprey – Pandion haliaetus
Swallow-tailed Kite – Elanoides forficatus
Northern Harrier – Circus cyaneus
Cooper’s Hawk – Accipiter cooperii
Bald Eagle – Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Red-shouldered Hawk – Buteo lineatus
Red-tailed Hawk – Buteo jamaicensis
Common Gallinule – Gallinula galeata
American Coot – Fulica americana
Sandhill Crane – Grus canadensis
Killdeer – Charadrius vociferus
Black-necked Stilt – Himantopus mexicanus
Ring-billed Gull – Larus delawarensis
Caspian Tern – Hydroprogne caspia
Forster’s Tern – Sterna forsteri
Mourning Dove – Zenaida macroura
Barred Owl – Strix varia
Belted Kingfisher – Megaceryle alcyon
Red-headed Woodpecker – Melanerpes erythrocephalus
Red-bellied Woodpecker – Melanerpes carolinus
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – Sphyrapicus varius
Downy Woodpecker – Picoides pubescens
Pileated Woodpecker – Dryocopus pileatus
Eastern Phoebe – Sayornis phoebe
White-eyed Vireo – Vireo griseus
Blue-headed Vireo – Vireo solitarius
Blue Jay – Cyanocitta cristata
American Crow – Corvus brachyrhynchos
Fish Crow – Corvus ossifragus
Tree Swallow – Tachycineta bicolor
Carolina Chickadee – Poecile carolinensis
Tufted Titmouse – Baeolophus bicolor
House Wren – Troglodytes aedon
Sedge Wren – Cistothorus platensis
Marsh Wren – Cistothorus palustris
Carolina Wren – Thryothorus ludovicianus
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – Polioptila caerulea
Ruby-crowned Kinglet – Regulus calendula
American Robin – Turdus migratorius
Gray Catbird – Dumetella carolinensis
Northern Mockingbird – Mimus polyglottos
Cedar Waxwing – Bombycilla cedrorum
Black-and-white Warbler – Mniotilta varia
Orange-crowned Warbler – Oreothlypis celata
Common Yellowthroat – Geothlypis trichas
Northern Parula – Setophaga americana
Palm Warbler – Setophaga palmarum
Pine Warbler – Setophaga pinus
Yellow-rumped Warbler – Setophaga coronata
Yellow-throated Warbler – Setophaga dominica
Chipping Sparrow – Spizella passerina
Fox Sparrow – Passerella iliaca
Swamp Sparrow – Melospiza georgiana
Northern Cardinal – Cardinalis cardinalis
Red-winged Blackbird – Agelaius phoeniceus
Common Grackle – Quiscalus quiscula
Boat-tailed Grackle – Quiscalus major
House Finch – Haemorhous mexicanus
American Goldfinch – Spinus tristis

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