Location Name: Lake Louisa State Park

Day Rating: B

Special Encounters: Pileated Woodpecker, Great Crested Flycatcher, White-eyed Vireo

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The Park is quiet at this time of the year, but there are a lot of non migrant songbirds around – morning/evening.
Saw the above and then some, heard: Eastern Meadowlark, Brown Trasher, Eastern Towhee and a lot more.
Many Dragonflies around as well, but slim pickings what Butterflies is concerned – their populations suffered severely
from the frost.

The water at Lake Luisa is as high as I have ever seen – so that’s a good thing, too.

submitted by: Klaus

Location Name: Fort de Soto Park

Day Rating: B

Special Encounters: A gorgeous place – and while the migrant songbirds didn’t show, we were treated by a lot of shorebirds. Whimbrel, Reddish Egret White Morph, Reddish Egret, Marbled Godwit, Shortbilled Dowitcher, Dunlin, Yellow Crowned Night Heron, Magnificent Frigatebird, American Oystercatcher, Black Skimmer and so much more. Friday was outstanding – Saturday not so much, since too many people were coming in.

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submitted by: Klaus

P.S.: It would have been a straight “A” Rating, if it were not for some of the recreational morons, that still are allowed in the park.
I’m not talking about sunbathers etc., but those who take Jetski’s into the lagoons, race along the beach or generally just give a damn, if they scare wildlife.

Location Name: Gatorland

Day Rating: A

Special Encounters: Just breathtaking activity. Babies to see from: Double Crested Cormorant, Tri-colored Heron, Great Egret, Woodstork, Common Moorhen, Green Heron, Limpkin, Snowy Egret and soon Cattle Egret. Alligator mating season is in full swing, too!

submitted by: Klaus

Location Name: Circle B Bar

Day Rating: A

Special Encounters: Snowy Egrets, Blue Herons, Green Herons, Cattle Egrets, Tricolored Herons, Anhingas, Gallinules, Limpkins, White Faced Ibis, Turkey Vultures, Ospreys, Red Shouldered Hawks, any many species of swallows flycatchers than I even know, more alligators than I could count, a Black Swallowtail Butterfly, Yellow Belly Slider Turtles, a juvenile Cottonmouth and a very curious Black Racer

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I have a friend who has just been raving about this place, and I have been trying to get out there for quite some time. My husband got a chance to go last Saturday, but unfortunately we were not able to spend as much time as we would have liked. But the time we did spend there was amazing. The wildlife viewing is just fantastic and it is by far one of the best parks in Central Florida. In just a few hours I was able to get shots of herons, hawks, turtles, snakes, alligators, and even a couple of butterflies, I cannot wait to go back there again.

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submitted by: Carolyn

Location Name: Jetty Park, Port Canaveral

Day Rating: B

Special Encounters: Northern Gannets, Flocks of Black Skimmers and Bonapart’s Gulls

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Jetty Park is a great place for me. This Sunday was cold, overcast, and particularly windy. However there were quite a few things going on.
On the fishing pier were Royal Terns, Ruddy Turnstones, Boat Tailed Grackles, and Brown Pelicans. Looking off the pier I found lots of Gannets of varying ages, Bonaparte Gulls, Royal Terns, Common Terns, and Cormorants. I often find Green Sea Turtles bobbing next to the pier as well, today was no exception.
On the beach, Royal Terns, Sandwich Terns, Common Terns, Least Terns, Sandpipers, Ruddy Turnstones, Black Skimmers, Herring Gulls, fully hooded Laughing Gulls, and Ring-billed gulls. Overhead you could see Osprey and Black Vultures. The Bonapart’s gulls were feeding in the waves with the Least Terns. Really nice!
Always look out for banded birds in this area, I find a large number of them here. Report those to USGS Bird Banding Site and Bandedbirds.org.

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submitted by: JamieD