I birded Gemini Springs five times during May, tallying just 45 species for the month.
A lot of my birding time at the park was spent watching a family of Barred Owls and a pair of Red-shouldered Hawk fledglings. I will have some separate follow up posts with these birds of prey in the coming days. The photos below represent the non-baby-raptor highlights from May.
New for the year list: Swallow-tailed Kite; Northern Bobwhite (heard only; may have heard them earlier but not noted); Roseate Spoonbill (flyovers – first ever for my Gemini Springs list); Ruby-throated Hummingbird (another Gemini Springs all-time first for me). The complete list is at the end of this post.
![Anhinga](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7236/7346894464_e38c816604_z.jpg)
Anhinga | 2 May 2012
![Black-and-white Warbler](http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8153/7346894724_c57680f7f8_z.jpg)
Black-and-white Warbler | 2 May 2012
![Anhinga](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7241/7161683433_5d2d963e4e_z.jpg)
Anhinga | 4 May 2012
![Gulf Fritillary](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7087/7346894246_97c1c18ca8_z.jpg)
Gulf Fritillary | 4 May 2012
![itchy](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7074/7346893086_29aec34e7a_z.jpg)
Great Blue Heron | 4 May 2012
![RBWO](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7091/7161683821_fd96c60940_z.jpg)
Red-bellied Woodpecker | 4 May 2012
Raptors were not the only juvenile birds I saw at Gemini Springs in May. On the 4th, a family of Pileated Woodpeckers worked a few trees together, traveling from trunk to trunk.
![PIWO](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7080/7346893584_df536c210e_z.jpg)
Pileated Woodpeckers | 4 May 2012
![PIWO](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7083/7346893774_9c057e71e7_z.jpg)
Young Pileated Woodpecker | 4 May 2012
![Gemini Springs](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7239/7161685693_31a8ec6741_z.jpg)
Foggy morning | 7 May 2012
![Gemini Springs](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7226/7161685503_e326f1486e_z.jpg)
Foggy morning | 7 May 2012
![Common Snapping Turtle](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7230/7346894942_775f46eba8_z.jpg)
Common Snapping Turtle | 7 May 2012
![Great Crested Flycatcher](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7093/7161686029_c8f860a535_z.jpg)
Great Crested Flycatcher with prey | 27 May 2012
May 2012 bird list, Gemini Springs
Northern Bobwhite – Colinus virginianus
Double-crested Cormorant – Phalacrocorax auritus
Anhinga – Anhinga anhinga
Great Blue Heron – Ardea herodias
Great Egret – Ardea alba
Snowy Egret – Egretta thula
Little Blue Heron – Egretta caerulea
Tricolored Heron – Egretta tricolor
Green Heron – Butorides virescens
White Ibis – Eudocimus albus
Glossy Ibis – Plegadis falcinellus
Roseate Spoonbill – Platalea ajaja
Black Vulture – Coragyps atratus
Osprey – Pandion haliaetus
Swallow-tailed Kite – Elanoides forficatus
Bald Eagle – Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Red-shouldered Hawk – Buteo lineatus
Common Gallinule – Gallinula galeata
American Coot – Fulica americana
Sandhill Crane – Grus canadensis
Black-necked Stilt – Himantopus mexicanus
Mourning Dove – Zenaida macroura
Barred Owl – Strix varia
Ruby-throated Hummingbird – Archilochus colubris
Red-bellied Woodpecker – Melanerpes carolinus
Downy Woodpecker – Picoides pubescens
Pileated Woodpecker – Dryocopus pileatus
Great Crested Flycatcher – Myiarchus crinitus
Red-eyed Vireo – Vireo olivaceus
Blue Jay – Cyanocitta cristata
Fish Crow – Corvus ossifragus
Carolina Chickadee – Poecile carolinensis
Tufted Titmouse – Baeolophus bicolor
Carolina Wren – Thryothorus ludovicianus
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – Polioptila caerulea
Northern Mockingbird – Mimus polyglottos
Brown Thrasher – Toxostoma rufum
Black-and-white Warbler – Mniotilta varia
Common Yellowthroat – Geothlypis trichas
Northern Parula – Setophaga americana
Swamp Sparrow – Melospiza georgiana
Northern Cardinal – Cardinalis cardinalis
Red-winged Blackbird – Agelaius phoeniceus
Common Grackle – Quiscalus quiscula
Boat-tailed Grackle – Quiscalus major