Rock Springs Run State Preserve, 3/17/2012

Red-headed Woodpecker

This morning I went to Rock Springs Run State Preserve with members of the Orange Audubon Society.  It's always fun going with this group.  They are very friendly and knowledgeable, and I always learn something when I go with them.  Today we walked through several habitats, and while I didn't see a large number of species, I did see three that I've never seen in Florida.  The biggest highlight for me was seeing a Red-headed Woodpecker. I didn't get very close, but I'm thankful that the photos were sharp.  The last time I saw one of those was three years ago in Maryland.  We also saw several Carolina Chickadees and Eastern Bluebirds, which I haven't seen in Florida before. We saw several warblers, most notably we saw several Northern Parula and Pine Warblers, and one Black and White and Common Yellowthroat.  We heard several Eastern Towhee, and I saw a total of three.  Some members of our group saw a Swallow-tailed Kite and a Brown-headed Nuthatch, but I missed both of those.

Red-headed Woodpecker 

Red-headed Woodpecker 

Pine Warbler 

Carolina Chickadee

Eastern Bluebird

Here's the list of 29 species we saw between 8am and 12pm this morning:
Wild Turkey 1
Little Blue Heron 2
White Ibis 1
Glossy Ibis 18
Turkey Vulture 1
Bald Eagle 3
Red-shouldered Hawk 3
Sandhill Crane 8
Mourning Dove 3
Red-headed Woodpecker 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 7
Downy Woodpecker 5
Pileated Woodpecker 1
White-eyed Vireo 1
Fish Crow 1
Carolina Chickadee 5
Tufted Titmouse 1
Carolina Wren 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3
Eastern Bluebird 6
Black-and-white Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
Northern Parula 2
Palm Warbler 2
Pine Warbler 5
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
Eastern Towhee 3
Northern Cardinal 6