Florida 20th November 2012

So last day in Florida. I spent the first half of the day in and around Lake Apopka Restoration Area. This is/was one of the richest inland sites in Florida. It was all once farmland and has been converted back into wetlands. Thousands of waterbirds died in mass here a few years ago probably due to
bioaccumulation of pesticides. Most of the site is still off limits to visitors for this very reason. The Clay Island area is one of the few areas where you could access the site was a little frustrating as it consisted of flatland overgrown with tall vegetation which made it impossible to scan from the paths although I did have an Otter rolling around in the dirt here. There was at least one high tower which gave good views of the area. At one stage I did a very quick 360 scan and counted at least 13 Northern Harriers and 11 Ospreys in flight around the tower. There was hardly any open water on view which meant it wasn't great for waterfowl or waders. Plenty of rails and crakes were heard but as usual none were seen.
I also had a look at an area of farmland nearby where a Say's Phoebe has been wintering for a number of years. Unfortunately this Florida rarity wasn't on view while I was present.
Very last site of the trip were the Mead Gardens in Orlando city to twitch a two hummingbirds. I saw the rarer Rufous Hummingbird but failed to see the Ruby-throated Hummingbird here. I somehow managed to miss Ruby-throated Hummingbird completely over the last fortnight.
I had managed to see around 180 species during the fortnight, 124 of which were lifers for me which wasn't all that surprising given that it was my first trip to the States but hopefully not my last. Trip list below.

Painted Bunting

Clay-coloured Sparrow

Swamp Sparrow

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Downy Woodpecker

Orange-crowned Warbler

Ovenbird

River Otter

Osprey

Female Eastern Bluebird

Sandhill Crane

Sandhill Crane

Red-shouldered Hawk

American Goldfinch

Rufous Hummingbird

Rufous Hummingbird

Rufous Hummingbird

Red Cardinal

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Wilson's Plover House Wren Wood Duck Semipalmated Plover Sedge Wren Gadwall Piping Plover Marsh Wren American Wigeon Killdeer Blue-grey Gnatcatcher Mottled Duck American Oystercatcher Golden-crowned Kinglet Blue-winged Teal American Avocet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Northern Shoveler Greater Yellowlegs Eastern Bluebird Northern Pintail Willet Hermit Thrush Green-winged Teal Lesser Yellowlegs American Robin Redhead Long-billed Curlew Grey Catbird Ring-necked Duck Marbled Godwit Northern Mockingbird Greater Scaup Ruddy Turnstone Brown Thrasher Lesser Scaup Red Knot European Starling Surf Scoter Sanderling Ovenbird Bufflehead Western Sandpiper Northern Waterthrush Hooded Merganser Least Sandpiper Black-and-white Warbler Red-breasted Merganser Dunlin Orange-crowned Warbler Ruddy Duck Short-billed Dowitcher Common Yellowthroat Wild Turkey Long-billed Dowitcher American Redstart Great northern Diver Wilson's Snipe Northern Parula Pied-billed Grebe Laughing Gull Palm Warbler Slavonian Grebe Ring-billed Gull Pine Warbler Wood Stork American Herring Gull Yellow-rumped Warbler Magnificent Frigatebird Gull-billed Tern Yellow-throated Warbler Northern Gannet Caspian Tern Prairie Warbler American White Pelican Forster's Tern Black-throated Green Warbler Brown Pelican Royal Tern Eastern Towhee Double-crested Cormorant Sandwich Tern Chipping Sparrow Anhinga Black Skimmer Clay-colored Sparrow American Bittern Rock Pigeon Vesper Sparrow Great Blue Heron Eurasian Collared Dove Savannah Sparrow Great Egret White-winged Dove Grasshopper Sparrow Snowy Egret American Mourning Dove Swamp Sparrow Little Blue Heron Common Ground-Dove White-crowned Sparrow Tricolored Heron Barn Owl Summer Tanager Reddish Egret Burrowing Owl Northern Cardinal Cattle Egret Lesser Nighthawk Painted Bunting Green Heron Eastern Whip-poor-will Red-winged Blackbird Black-crowned Night-Heron Rufous Hummingbird Eastern Meadowlark Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Belted Kingfisher Common Grackle White Ibis Red-headed Woodpecker Boat-tailed Grackle Glossy Ibis Red-bellied Woodpecker Bronzed Cowbird Roseate Spoonbill Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Brown-headed Cowbird Black Vulture Downy Woodpecker Purple Finch Turkey Vulture Red-cockaded Woodpecker American Goldfinch Osprey Northern Flicker House Sparrow White-tailed Kite Pileated Woodpecker Snail Kite Eastern Phoebe Bald Eagle Vermilion Flycatcher Hen Harrier Ash-throated Flycatcher Sharp-shinned Hawk Great Crested Flycatcher Cooper's Hawk Tropical Kingbird Red-shouldered Hawk Western Kingbird Short-tailed Hawk Loggerhead Shrike Swainson's Hawk White-eyed Vireo Red-tailed Hawk Blue-headed Vireo American Kestrel Blue Jay Merlin Florida Scrub-Jay Peregrine Falcon American Crow Sora Fish Crow Purple Gallinule Northern Rough-winged Swallow Common Gallinule Tree Swallow American Coot Barn Swallow Limpkin Carolina Chickadee Sandhill Crane Tufted Titmouse Grey Plover Brown-headed Nuthatch Snowy Plover Carolina Wren