December Walkabout – Deer Prairie Creek
What a beautiful day for our December Walkabout as it started out sunny
and cool, and there was just a slight breeze. We had 22 birders attend and
the birds were plentiful. When we arrived in the parking lot, a RedShouldered
Hawk was enjoying a peaceful morning in a near-by snag, and
Yellow-Rumped Warblers and Eastern Phoebes greeted us in the trees. It
was just a short walk to the pond where we saw 2 Black Crowned Night
Herons, as well as a Green Heron, Little Blue, Great Egret, White Ibis, and
a Belted Kingfisher. We headed down the trail lined with oaks, pines, and
cabbage palms and saw our first Red-Headed Woodpecker, and
a flock of Robins that was the first of the season for some of us. By midmorning
we were walking through the Pine Flatwoods, the sun was hot,
and the bird activity died down a bit. We did enjoy seeing an immature
Red-Headed Woodpecker and a Sharp-Shinned Hawk flew overhead. All
together we saw about 30 species of birds and had a great morning.