Trip Reports - Davis Park and Lettuce Lake

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.