My Sector of the Sarasota Christmas Bird Count December 30 2023

 

Totally by surprise was a Royal Tern flying overhead 6 miles from the ocean!  A first for my sector of the Christmas Bird Count

By Nicholas Atamas - Photograph taken with EF 70-200mm F/4 L on a Canon EOS300D at 200mm, F/6.3 exposed for 1/1600sec, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=678974

Here are the results from this morning's run of my 2 square mile chunk of suburbia inside the Sarasota Christmas Bird Count circle. 70 species plus the confusing Mallard/Mottled (here called Muddled Duck) Duck complex makes this the best year by 5 species for my count.  I now have 86 species plus the hybrid duck in my sector over 5 years.

New species for my sector included Pied billed Grebe, American Coot, Royal Tern  (complete surprise inland) Black-crowned Night-Heron, Red-headed Woodpecker, Brown-headed Nuthatch (at the southern limit of its range here) Eastern Towhee, Orange-crowned Warbler and Summer Tanager (heard first using its classic "pick-it-up" call)

Oh, yes, and the annual Cottonmouth with a shitty attitude was curled up by his favorite wetland in Deer Hollow.  I think that snake waits there all year long for me to show up so he can scare the trump out of me.

Major misses include Common Ground-Dove -- they nest in our development just haven't started to call yet.  White-winged Dove - there is usually one or two by Gecko's Restaurant wetland but nobody showed up today, and Glossy Ibis!! There were more than 100 of them in the area 1-2 weeks ago but they all disappeared today.

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck	21
Blue-winged Teal	3
Mottled Duck	8
Ring-necked Duck	1
Hooded Merganser	1
Pied-billed Grebe	1
Rock Pigeon	81
Eurasian Collared-Dove	6
Mourning Dove	8
Common Gallinule	9
American Coot	1
Limpkin	4
Sandhill Crane	2
Laughing Gull	1
Royal Tern	1
Wood Stork	2
Anhinga	3
Double-crested Cormorant	7
Black-crowned Night-Heron	1
Little Blue Heron	3
Tricolored Heron	1
Snowy Egret	1
Green Heron	1
Western Cattle Egret	11
Great Egret	2
Great Blue Heron	2
White Ibis	147
Roseate Spoonbill	1
Black Vulture	1
Turkey Vulture	18
Osprey	2
Cooper's Hawk	1
Bald Eagle (Subadult/Adults)	2/1
Red-shouldered Hawk	3
Belted Kingfisher	3
Red-headed Woodpecker	1
Red-bellied Woodpecker	7
Downy Woodpecker	2
Pileated Woodpecker	1
American Kestrel	1
Nandy Parakeet	2
Eastern Phoebe	2
Blue-headed Vireo	3
Loggerhead Shrike	2
Blue Jay	37
Fish Crow	30
Tufted Titmouse	3
Tree Swallow	84
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1
Brown-headed Nuthatch	3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher	5
Carolina Wren	2
European Starling	23
Gray Catbird	1
Brown Thrasher	1
Northern Mockingbird	11
Eastern Bluebird	1
House Finch	3
Eastern Towhee	1
Red-winged Blackbird	19
Brown-headed Cowbird	7
Common Grackle	37
Boat-tailed Grackle	117
Orange-crowned Warbler	1
Common Yellowthroat	4
Palm Warbler	44
Pine Warbler	2
Yellow-rumped Warbler	31
Summer Tanager	1
Northern Cardinal	3
Total Individuals	854
Total Species	70
Total Party Hours	5.5
Party hours on foot	2
Party Miles on foot	2.7
Party hours by car	3.5
Party miles by car	11.7
Start time	655
End time	1230

Holiday Greetings from the Little Latitudes

 

A pirate ship passing Los Arcos, Cabo San Lucas, Baja Mexico, November 4, 2023 (Photo by Cathy Hayslett)

I remember as a child thinking that it took forever to pass from one duck hunting season to another.  Now in the not-so-golden years it seems like years pass by us in a flash.  2023 was no different.

As proof of the golden years, Cathy reached the age of enjoying all the benefits of Medicare, and Craig had his left knee surgically replaced. Recovery was amazingly quick and my knee is about 98 percent back to normal.  

Cathy's rambunctious grandson Channing spent about every other weekend with us when we weren't traveling.  At 6 1/2 years old (don't ever forget to add the "half" or you will instantly be corrected) he is growing up too fast.  Math and Science seem to be his preferred classes in first grade and I hope that continues as he becomes older.  Minecraft and the skate park in Sarasota seem to be his favorite forms of recreation although I continue to subject him to identifying birds whenever possible.

Living in the Hurricane Zone we had only one brush with nasty weather this year as the persistent drought continues to dry out South Florida.  In September, Hurricane Idalia passed by just offshore from Sarasota.  It caused the loss of one palm frond here but did substantial damage in the Big Bend Region of North Florida where it made landfall near Steinhatchee (pronounced "Steen-hatchee), one of only 3 "Old Florida" towns remaining in rapidly developing Florida.

Cathy and I began 2023 with a journey aboard the Norwegian Star cruise ship from Buenos Aires Argentina to Antarctica.  I thought it was going to be a once in a lifetime journey.  However a week after returning Cathy said she wanted to repeat the trip in 2024 so I dutifully called Norwegian Cruise Line and booked a return trip for February 2024.

In late April we flew to Honolulu (aboard Alaska Airlines of course) and did a 16-day cruise aboard the Norwegian Spirit to Southeast Alaska and the Inside Passage to Vancouver, British Columbia.  Then in late October we flew to Seattle and enjoyed a 21-day cruise from there to Miami via the Panama Canal. I have a newly found respect for and awe in engineers after experiencing the 12-hour transit of the Canal and its 6 humongous locks.

About the only other travel in 2023 was Craig's annual pilgrimage to Barrow, Alaska, to conduct a Breeding Bird Survey route there.  Sadly no Polar Bears put in an appearance this year as they have in 3 of the 7 trips I have made to my most favorite town in Alaska.

We have three big trips and at least two surgeries planned for 2024.  Three days after returning from Antarctica Cathy will have surgery to repair her right hand from the ravages of Dupuytren's Contracture, an insidious condition that causes fingers to become permanently bent in an uncomfortable position.  Five days later Craig is having his right knee replaced thereby removing some more osteoarthritis from his aging skeleton.  If nothing else I'm looking forward to another hospital-grade Fentanyl buzz before the Jackson Juice puts me to sleep for a couple hours.

In mid-May I am spending a week in North Florida conducting 4 Breeding Bird Survey routes and checking on the damage wrought by Hurricane Idalia.  There have been three wicked hurricanes here in the last few years.  Each of them (Irma, Ian, Idalia) begins with the letter I.  Perhaps in 2024 the National Hurricane Center will pass over I in its hurricane naming scheme.

In late June we travel to beautiful Reykjavik, Iceland, to reconnect with the Norwegian Star on a 12-day cruise from Iceland to Greenland, Newfoundland, St. Pierre et Miquelon, Nova Scotia and finally New York City.  From there we travel to New England for a few days, stopping to see friends in Newport, Rhode Island and near Portland, Maine.  Finally in late November 2024 we travel to Rome for the start of a 15-day repositioning cruise from Italy to Miami. Prior to the cruise we are traveling either to Malta or to Tunisia to add a new country to our respective country life lists!

Jimmy Buffett's untimely death on September 1 reinforced the words in one of his songs that go "As the winds of time pass over my head, I'd rather die while I'm living than live while I'm dead."  Its a philosophy I prefer to follow as eternity quickly approaches. Part of that philosophy suggests to me that its pointless to hold on to old grudges and enjoy what little time we have left with friends and family.  

If your travel plans include Florida (they seem to for 99 percent of the population of the East Coast each winter) be sure to let us know.  It would be a pleasure to see you again.

Happy Holidays.