Field Trip Report – Fort DeSoto Park

Fifteen BIrders Travel to Fort DeSoto Park with Peace River Audubon

On this past Saturday, 15 of us made the annual trek to Fort DeSoto Park to take advantage of the annual spring migration there. The day got off to a remarkable start as the trip leader (myself) forgot to set his alarm and overslept! Luckily, Eleanor Marr, who has led the trip in the past several years quickly filled in, and more then made up for this misadventure. I actually passed them at the entrance to Fort DeSoto by taking Rte 70 from Arcadia straight on up.

Once there, Fort DeSoto did not disappoint – there was a good sighting of 13 different warblers. Most were down around the fountain and the adjacent fig tree at the Egmont Ferry parking lot. The mulberry trees were rather barren of birds for some reason this year. The park was fairly crowded with birders as word must have gotten out, despite the lack of any northwest winds lately. The turnaround at North Beach was fairly barren as well save for a pair of yellow billed cuckoos. The southern edge of the lagoon at North Beach held a great quantity of different shorebirds on the sand bar opposite  the beach. Luckily, we had brought a spotting scope which made the IDs possible as they were quite a distance off. All in all, it was a good day with many sightings of beautiful warblers at close distances. The Kentucky Warbler was a life bird for me!. Mike Krzyzkowski, Peace River Audubon.

Photo of Blackpoll Warbler by Barbara Monn Taylor