Birding in June

Pine Warbler
Econ River Wilderness Area

We have a friendly state-wide competition in Florida every June called "June Challenge." The rules are pretty simple--pick a county, get outside, and see how many birds you can find in that county during the month of June. You can't just hear it; you have to see it in order for it to count in the competition. So throughout the month you're competing with other birders in your county, and you're also hoping that your county does well compared to other counties. So I chose my home county, and even though my county doesn't sport the variety that surrounding counties have, it was a pretty fun month. I posted on the Birding is Fun blog about how this challenge gave me a renewed interest in the habitats that are right next door to where I live, but here I'd like to share some of my results.

Red-headed Nuthatch
Econ River Wilderness Area

White-Eyed Vireo
Econ River Wilderness Area

Eastern Towhee
Econ River Wilderness Area

Over the course of the month, I saw 80 species of birds in Seminole County, not including farm birds and hybrids. Of these, 13 were birds I've never before seen in my county, and 2 of these I've never before seen in Florida. I also found some wonderful places to visit here, and over the next few weeks I'll be posting reviews of each of these locations for people interested in locations and trails for viewing nature and wildlife in Central Florida. Here's are the places I visited most frequently this past June: Econ River Wilderness Area, Geneva Wilderness Area, Lake Lotus Park, Spring Hammock Preserve, Central Winds Park, Marl Bed Flats, Silvan Lake Park, Redbug Lake Park, and Cranes Roost.

Little Blue Heron
Geneva Wilderness Area

Limpkin
Cameron Wight Park

White Ibis
Central Winds Park

Tricolored Heron
Central Winds Park

And finally, here's a list of species I saw during the month. Birds followed by a * were birds I've never seen before in Seminole County. Birds followed by a ** were birds I've never before seen in Florida. Birds followed by an "x" were not countable in the competition:

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Muscovy Duck (Domestic type)
Wood Duck
Mallard (Domestic type)
Mottled Duck
Northern Bobwhite *
Pied-billed Grebe
Wood Stork
Double-crested Cormorant
Anhinga
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
White Ibis
Glossy Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill *
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Swallow-tailed Kite
Bald Eagle
Cooper's Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Crested Caracara *
Purple Gallinule *
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Limpkin
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
Least Tern *
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Common Ground-Dove *
Common Nighthawk *
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird *
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Great Crested Flycatcher
Loggerhead Shrike
White-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo **
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Purple Martin
Barn Swallow
Carolina Chickadee *
Tufted Titmouse
Brown-headed Nuthatch **
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Parula
Pine Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Eastern Towhee *
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark *
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Finch
House Sparrow

Uncountable
Helmeted Guinea Fowl (Domestic) x