Robin’s Nest Away from Nest-Week 2!

Hi everyone! Week 2 has been full of beautiful birds again! I have seen most of the birds I saw in week 1 and some more lifers! I put out a bird feeder to see if it would attract some new birds. I am so amazed that NO birds are coming to it! There must be too many natural food sources here. You can check out my eBird lists to see all the birds I have seen so far. My eBird profile link is on my Robin’s Nest page. My kids both came this week to visit, and my son is always up for taking me birding. My granddaughter loves birds too, so we went birding together-so much fun! We went to the Stuart Nature Center and saw the beautiful Tricolored Heron above!

I continued my daily walks through my little neighborhood. I saw more Great Blue Herons, Glossy Ibises, Little Blue Herons, and tons of White Ibises. I was amazed to see 4 White Ibis standing on a telephone wire looking down into our screened in pool! I saw more Loggerhead Shrikes, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Yellow-rumped, and Palm Warblers, different types of Doves, many Northern Mockingbirds, and lots of Gray Catbirds. I also saw some Black Vultures and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers this week. I also saw a Double-crested Cormorant posing on a fake goose who clearly wanted to be in my blog!

I stalked my parents’ neighborhood named Vitalia again. I went to their beautiful lake at sundown and saw SO many beautiful birds and a glorious sunset! There were more large groups of Ibises, and all the varieties of herons and a few more Anhingas. A storm had passed through, so it was still windy. I saw the American Kestrel trying to hang on to his perch in the wind. I saw huge flocks of Ring-necked Ducks, and more Common Gallinules. Tree Sparrows arrived this week too!

My son Colin and I visited the Manatee Observation Area in Fort Pierce. We saw tons of Brown Pelicans, Double-crested Cormorants, and different Gulls. I saw another lifer-Bonaparte’s Gulls, but we did not see any manatee. We also visited Allapattah Flats and I saw some Eastern Phoebes. I went to Spruce Bluff Preserve twice, once with Colin and again with my husband. I saw some Pine Warblers and Yellow-throated Warblers, and a shy Brown Thrasher to add to my 2023 total! My husband took me to Citrus Park, and I saw 2 Loggerhead Shrikes arguing and lots of Palm Warblers. We visited the Jensen Beach Causeway where I saw more gulls and lots of Rock Pigeons. An older couple was cleaning fish and feeding Brown Pelicans and egrets. I was jealous!

We visited beautiful Hutchinson Island and I had lunch with another lifer-a group of cute Ruddy Turnstones! They were turning rocks over looking for food. There were a few Ospreys hunting in the surf as well. We also went to Hobe Sound in Fort Pierce where I had a close encounter with a group of 9 sweet Sanderlings! I saw my first Northern Gannet but he dove under and disappeared before I could photograph him. I added a Spotted Sandpiper to my yearly list here as well. I saw some Black Vultures and a Gopher Tortoise digging in the sand at Nathanial Reed Hobe Sound Wildlife Preserve. I added the Florida Scrub Jay to my life list at Jonathon Dickinson State Park! They have a specific scrub area set aside to protect these endangered birds.

I am going to try some more new places next week. Trying to convince the husband to go across the state LOL! I am searching for Painted Buntings and Roseate Spoonbills to name a couple. Enjoy the pictures and audio below. I added a picture of the invasive Peter’s Rock Agama Lizard. He is from Africa and likes to eat butterflies! My daughter tried to catch one. The smaller lizard next to him is native to Florida. I posted some videos of the Sanderlings, Ruddy Turnstones and more to my social media pages so check them out. Follow me to see all kinds of amazing birds! Happy birding! Until next week, Robin