Birding Bunche Beach in Fort Myers Florida

Long Billed Curlew at Bunche Beach

I spent the last week vacationing in Fort Myers Florida. The first few hours of my trip to Florida started with an early morning visit to Bunche Beach in Fort Myers. This little municipal preserve hosts 718 acres of natural tidal wetlands and beach [link]. I knew Bunche Beach was good, but I did not anticipate getting 3 lifers in the upcoming hour!

Great Southern White

Mangrove Buckeye - Distinguished by the orange bordering of the forewing eye

Upon arrival, I  had stopped along the road and photographed a few butterfly species. Mangrove Buckeye and Great Southern White were seen. At the beach I noted many many shorebirds particularily as you walk a 100m from the main beach access point. Mainly, shorebirds seen were:

100 Dunlin
70 Western Sandpipers (lifer!)
10 Piping Plovers
2 Black Bellied Plover
7 Semipalmated Plover
25 Willets
150 Sanderlings
1 Long billed Curlew (lifer!)

[2 Marbled Godwits *Second walk]
[2 American Oystercatchers *Second walk]

1 Redish Egret
1 Snowy Egret
1 Little Blue Heron
1 Tricoloured Heron

50 Black Skimmers
50 Royal Terns
15 Laughing Gulls
2 Brown Pelicans

1 Prairie Warbler (Life bird!)
3 Palm Warbler
1 Yellow Rumped Warbler
X Fish Crow

Western Sandpiper - Not the best photo, but I had only taken my 55-250mm lens. Not my 400mm!!!

I had read on a local birding listserve that Mangrove Cuckoo's were present but I did not hear or see any. I had met a few birders on the beach and asked them if Western Sandpipers were present, and they were like - Yes, they are the most abundant shorebird out there! I was all too happy to lifer that species!  I started talking to another man about Bunche Beach and he mentioned some other highlights from the beach such as an overwintering Long Billed Curlew! He mentioned it was on the other end of the beach, perhaps 1km from where we were standing. Just as was about to leave, I heard the ascending call of a warbler I missed last summer in the Georgian Bay Islands.... Prairie Warbler! I pished for a minute only to realize the bird was right above me in a tree along the beach's edge!

Prairie Warbler at Bunche Beach

Finding this Prairie Warbler was particularly exciting because honest to goodness, I heard it singing and recognized its song. I knew its song because it was one of my target birds last summer at Georgian Bay Islands National Park. Readers may remember that I never made it to the North end of the island, and only got to 'hear' them as the ferry driver drove by the north dock but did not have time to dock and explore.

A surprise find at Bunche Beach - A small trail from the beach edge lead me to this small pond full of Fiddler Crabs!

Black Skimmers & Royal Terns

So, three life birds in the first hour of my trip. The birding gods were good to me on my first morning, but my luck would not be so great as the rest of the week continued.


Another visit later in the week to Bunche Beach resulted in views of two Marbled Godwits and two American Oystercatchers! I also had an amazing walk with my son in the low tide waters of Bunche Beach...

Marbled Godwits

American Oystercatchers

Willets - attempting to mate

I will try to limit the remainder of my trip to one more posting. Stay tuned for part two.
Good birding!

Lifer summary:
Western Sandpiper 339
Prairie Warbler 340
Long billed Curlew 341

Ebird Checklist
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S17429458

More Florida March Break Birding...

I had been calling this bird a "crested caraca" instead of its proper name: "Crested Caracara" (kara-kara). I find I mis-pronounce many birds until someone corrects me out in the field. This phenomenon happened with Pileated Woodpeckers King Eider, and Surf Scoters.

Vierra Wetlands

Just days before I had planned to visit Vierra Wetlands, I had read an incredible posting from a Florida blogger named Scott Simmons about his recent trip to Vierra Wetlands. Sadly, my day was nowhere near as amazing as his. It had rained all day on my second day in Florida and the following day, the wetlands were only open to foot traffic, so I was not able to really drive the dykes as I was wishing to do. Besides seeing Least and American Bitterns, Scott had even seen a Grey Kingbird!

I must have seen 50+ species at Vierra Wetlands. Too many to list, but Loggerhead Shrike, Bald Eagle, and Glossy Ibis were noteworthy finds. I thought I saw a Black necked Stilt (at a great distance) but I think its just a Greater Yellowlegs.

Cocoa Beach Seashore
I was hoping to see a Northern Gannett, especially with some strong east winds blowing off  the ocean, but no such luck. Sandwich and Royal Terns were easily found while walking along the beach.

Note the black beak with light tip and smaller size of the Sandwich Tern

Sanderling
Rudy Turnstone
Brown Pelican
Royal Tern (295)
Sandwich Tern (296)


Merrit Island 

Assorted Shorebirds & Gulls
Reddish Egret
Eastern Meadowlark
Little Blue Heron

Disappointing... but I went at 6pm

Brevard Zoo

Captive Birds:
Scarlet Ibis, Maked Plover, Kingfisher (Laughing Kookaburra?)

Hal Scott Preserve
In a similar fashion to the aforementioned Blogger for Vierra, Hal Scott Preserve has a fantastic photographer on Flicker (D. Bales) who had Brown Headed Nuthatches, Bachmans' Sparrow, and Red Cockaded Woodpeckers at this location. Again, I had no such luck, but literally walked about for 30 minutes, not getting too far from the parking lot. A nice find at least was a Yellow Throated Warbler.

Yellow Rumped Warbler
Yellow throated Warbler
Pine Warbler
Eastern Bluebirds
Northern Cardinal

 

Shingle Creek trail (mid-Orlando)
I drove out at 7am to see this local trail on my last day in Orlando. A Florida birding Listserve posting mentioned Swallow-tailed Kites just days before I walked this trail, but the only raptors I saw were Red-shouldered Hawks.

Eastern Phoebe
Tufted Titmouse
Downy Woodpecker
Carolina Wren
Northern Mockingbird
Palm Warbler
Yellow bellied Sapsucker
White Ibis
Red shouldered Hawk
Wood stork
Cedar Waxwings

I think its been warmer in Windsor over the last week than in Florida. This is amazing weather. The fruit tries are blossoming in March!

Good Birding,
Dwaynejava

Life list Summary:
Crested Caracara (294)
Royal Tern (295)
Sandwich Tern (296)