outdoor photography

Lincoln's Sparrow Canal St, Feb 2013 I didn't intend to attempt a Seminole Co. big year this year.  I intended to do at least a little birding every day, and since I have a little time before work, I tended to stick to Seminole Co. on most work days, with an occasional venture into Orange County to visit Mead Gardens or Wekiwa Springs.  On the weekends, I wanted to chase birds within about an hour's drive of my home.  But as finances became tight and time became limited, I found myself concentrating more and more on Semnole County. Eventually I decided to see if I could hit 200 in the year, and then once I did, I just had to keep going. Philadelphia Vireo Central Winds Park, Oct 2013 I believe my county is under-birded compared to neighboring counties (Orange, Lake, Brevard, Volusia). Seminole Co is small and filled with suburbs. It's inland so there's no coastline, and there's surprisingly few places to look for shorebirds.  But something about that...

Philadelphia Vireo This morning at Central Winds I came across my first ever Philadelphia Vireo. I'm still in awe of this bird, and not just because it's simple beauty--it's also my 300th bird I've seen in FL and the 200th I've seen in Seminole Co.  It was otherwise pretty slow--very few birds.  Most of the Northern Parula and American Redstarts have left.  I did, however, find 11 warbler species: Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Black and White Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart, Northern Parula, Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Palm Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, and Prairie Warbler.  White-eyed Vireos are very vocal throughout the park, and there's still a  Great-crested Flycatcher with only one tail feather hanging around. These aren't my best photos, but they're good enough for an ID. Philadelphia Vireo