Davis Park
by Lynn Mitchell
With early morning fog still present, three of us joined Mic McCarty on a field trip in Davis Park on Aug. 19. While the group was assembling, the typical bobbing motion of a Spotted Sandpiper caught our eye as we scanned the unusually large number of egrets and herons foraging in a flooded retention area.
Surprisingly, among the ten Little Blue Herons present, six were immatures still white in color which seemed to indicate that perhaps there was a nesting site nearby. We watched White Ibis clamoring for a landing spot in a huge Cypress tree bringing the final count to 84.
As our morning progressed, the participants all got good looks at a pair of Yellow-shafted Woodpeckers and a juvenile Black-Crowned Heron posing from its lakeside perch. Meanwhile, a Merlin winged by as we listened to a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk constantly calling to nearby adults, closing out our list of 35 species in a gem of a park in Brandon where there are plenty of ducks and birds to enjoy during any given season.
Lettuce Lake
by Lilian Saul, Trip Leader
Two couples enjoyed a morning of birding at Lettuce Lake Park Sept. 14. The complete list is here.
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