Orlando Wetlands Park, 2/2/2014

Vermilion Flycatcher

What a fantastic morning at Orlando Wetlands Park!  The area was just filled with birds.  Of course, top on my list was seeing a Vermilion Flycatcher. It was right where has been--in the cypress trees in cell #17.  But the area was also filled with other birds.  Lots of Blue-winged Teal and Green-winged Teal, as well as a Gadwall, a few Northern Shovelers and American Wigeon.  There were also at least 40 Roseate Spoonbills, and I suspect many more. I didn't attempt to count them, but a friend of mine counted over 100 in the afternoon. There were also at least 45 American White Pelicans that flew over the park.  Perhaps the biggest surprise was seeing over 120 Long-billed Dowitchers, with a few Dunlin mixed in with them.  And in reality, the photograph below shows closer to 150 I believe. There were many wading birds there, including on American Bittern and 2 Least Bitterns (heard only), and a couple Purple Gallinules. In all we saw 72 species on the morning--pretty fun.

Long-billed Dowitchers

Roseate Spoonbills

Wood Stork

Northern Mockingbird

American White Pelicans