Christmas Birding Tradition

Least Sandpiper

Not much time to produce today.   Things to do and work birding later today.

Christmas Day and Dee and I join our friends, Pat, Bill, and Ken at Viera Wetlands for our traditional afternoon bird count and dinner at Denny's.

We got 51 species at the wetlands, not bad for a couple hours' birding.  Nothing outstanding, just a nice mix of ducks and other wet birds.  No Purple gallinules for Pat and Bill again this year.  Lots of heard only Least bitterns.  No Limpkins either.

The Click Ponds were a different story.  Low water levels continue to provide a wide variety of bird species.  51 species again, in just under an hour, with many new ones for the day.  Shorebirds abounded with 550 Least sandpipers and 170 Long-billed dowitchers leading the way.  There was one Western sandpiper, a couple Dunlin, several Stilt sandpipers, and both species of yellowlegs.  10 American avocets stole the show.   Green-winged teal dominated the duck scene with 800 counted.  One lone female pintail was among them as well as four Ruddy ducks in the north pond.  We finally added Caracara and Bald eagle near the ponds.  We left with 73 for the day, a new record for our Christmas tradition.

We had enough daylight to head to River Lakes Conservation Area where we added meadowlarks, and the wintering Ash-throated flycatcher along with a few others.  Finally got Limpkin on the canal on the way out as two of them came up to preen after a long day of eating snails and mollusks in the canal.  Last bird of the day was Black-bellied whistling ducks in the retention pond next to the Target on the south side of Wickham Road.

Ir was another great day of birding, friendship, and great weather in Florida.  I'm dragging from all the CBC's and stuff, but I am still having fun.  That's it for now.

eBird Viera Wetlands
eBird Click Ponds