Note: this post is back-dated
In July I birded at Gemini Springs 5 times and recorded 31 different species. It’s a bit pathetic, but it’s a great improvement over the measly 25 I saw during July 2013. The complete list from this month is at the end of this post.
In addition to the meager species count, I have a meager number of photos to share from July. Here we go…
Hibiscus sp. | 14 July 2014
unknown black fungus | 14 July 2014
Green Heron photoshop fun | 14 July 2014
Meadow Beauty sp. | 14 July 2014
Southern Toad | 16 July 2014
Red-shouldered Hawk | 16 July 2014
Gemini Springs, July 2014 month bird list
Anhinga – Anhinga anhinga
Great Blue Heron – Ardea herodias
Great Egret – Ardea alba
Little Blue Heron – Egretta caerulea
Tricolored Heron – Egretta tricolor
Cattle Egret – Bubulcus ibis
white egret sp. – Egretta/Bubulcus sp.
Green Heron – Butorides virescens
White Ibis – Eudocimus albus
Black Vulture – Coragyps atratus
Osprey – Pandion haliaetus
Red-shouldered Hawk – Buteo lineatus
American Coot – Fulica americana
Mourning Dove – Zenaida macroura
Red-bellied Woodpecker – Melanerpes carolinus
Downy Woodpecker – Picoides pubescens
Pileated Woodpecker – Dryocopus pileatus
Great Crested Flycatcher – Myiarchus crinitus
White-eyed Vireo – Vireo griseus
Blue Jay – Cyanocitta cristata
American Crow – Corvus brachyrhynchos
Fish Crow – Corvus ossifragus
Carolina Chickadee – Poecile carolinensis
Tufted Titmouse – Baeolophus bicolor
Carolina Wren – Thryothorus ludovicianus
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – Polioptila caerulea
Northern Parula – Setophaga americana
Northern Cardinal – Cardinalis cardinalis
Red-winged Blackbird – Agelaius phoeniceus
Common Grackle – Quiscalus quiscula
Boat-tailed Grackle – Quiscalus major
Hello Amy, I really enjoy your blog entries. And I am glad you’ve “adopted” Gemini Springs as a hotspot. I see so many entries on ebird for GS and most of the data is due to you!
I have also “adopted” a couple of under-birded places in the Raleigh NC area. I lead a monthly bird walk at an urban park that has a small wetland for filtering storm water. (Fred Fletcher Park).
I try to visit my parents in Port Orange FL a few times a year –and when I do, they know I go birding every morning…. I am theirs for the afternoons and evenings, but the mornings belong to the birds! And I ebird every trip.
I just wish I had more time to visit the under-birded hotspots in Volusis and surrounding areas.
One spot ithat needs more ebird checklists in particular is FESTIVAL PARK, which is just a bit southeast of Lyonia Preserve. The official park is 5 acres, but it is surrounded by a swath of marsh, field and woodland (part of Butler Lake chainI think). My one visit (March 2014) to Festival Park yielded plenty of goodies, including a Harrier and nesting Sandhill Cranes. (The bugling of the cranes led me to the park, which lies at the end of a short, rutted, dirt road… The entrance is across from a McD and a Walmart near Howland and 415. I marked it very carefully on ebird, so if you zoom in on satellite view you will see how to get there… And the comments on my checklist describe how to get there. And where to walk.)
I think a good trip for an Audubon walk would be to start at Festival Park, then a short drive to follow up with a walk at Lyonia (that preserve opens quite late, but Festival opens at sunrise, I think).
I won’t be back in FL until late December….but I am hoping SOMEONE will bird at a Festival.
I hope you will drive to FESTIVAL PARK and get a few ebird checklists uploaded for that hotspot. It has a lot of potential, and it’s very lonely! (Has a great playground and restrooms, so good for birders with families)
Erla