Sarasota, Florida's Famous Celery Fields and More!

 We spent part of the morning on Friday, February 18th birding The Celery Fields east of downtown Sarasota, Florida. This wondrous and busy place is maintained by the Sarasota Audubon Society. The weather was a little overcast and the air a bit humid and still. 

We first birded the visitor center where over a dozen Purple Martin crowded a house on the edge of the parking lot. It was thrilling to see these birds that will not make an appearance in Virginia until spring.

One of the first birds we saw (first spotted by our good friend Kevin who appreciates birds but would not call himself a birder) was a female Yellow-headed Blackbird with s small flock of Red-winged Blackbirds. This migratory western bird has been spotted in The Celery Fields previous to our arrival. It is certainly a rarity here!

 

We saw five lifers (birds we have never seen in person before) at The Celery Fields. One was the Nanday Parakeet, a south American import that has taken residence in Florida and is thriving. What a thrill to see our first wild parrot!

We also saw a Common Ground Dove, smaller than the more familiar Mourning Dove and with a speckled neck and breast.

Dan was lucky enough to catch another lifer, a female Pained Bunting. The male was seen too, but in a flash. Both birds stayed well hidden after that first, brief sighting.

We crossed over to the wetlands, just on the other side of the main road, where a nice boardwalk with gazebo on the end allowed us to have great views of the wildlife in the bull rushes and lily pads.

Blue-winged Teal, male and females slowly cruised the edges.

 

 

 

 Common Gallinule:

 

And Purple Gallinule, another lifer, which foraged on top of the lily pads.

 

And to continue the crazy cool tropical Florida bird parade, we saw three Grey-headed Swamphens. These birds are natives of India but they were in zoos and sanctuaries in Florida until Hurricane Andrew hit and the birds went "rogue" and flourished in the south Florida wilds.

 

Other birds in this wonderful watery habitat were the Tri-colored Heron:

The Glossy Ibis:

 

Sarasota has lots of small ponds in its neighborhoods. One such pond gave us great views if wading birds as well as a very active Cooper's Hawk.

 

The next day we visited Lido Beach on the gorgeous Gulf of Mexico. Ring-billed Gull, Laughing Gull, and Royal Tern cruised the beach. Ruddy Turnstone and Sanderling were quite at home in the wash plucking tiny shellfish from the wet sand.

We then walked a wonderful trail at the Ted Sperling Nature Park and Mangrove Tunnels. It was our first time being in a mangrove forest and the boardwalk allowed us a wonderful tour through the shady growth with its long root system.

Not too birdy but we did manage to see a few species including the Belted Kingfisher, Anhinga, Blue-Grey Gnatcatcher, and Palm Warbler.

 

Our time in Sarasota was so wonderful and so full of birds! We can't wait to return!