Photo taken by Barney B.
Photo taken by Joan Winter
Photo taken by Bob Winter.
Dr. Bill Dunson from Lemon Bay Conservancy was joined by 33 enthusiastic people who toured Wildflower Preserve and Lemon Lake at Amberjack Park. Before the tour, Dr. Dunson explained how the $800,000 SWFWMD grant will create fresh water and salt water marshes. We saw an area where fresh water golf course ponds will be expanded to have emergent water plant littoral zones. Another area seen was a Pepper Bush Jungle which will be bulldozed and made into a tidal lake similar to Amberjack’s lemon Lake. Also pointed out was a stand of African Guinea grass with seeds that are a favorite food for the Indigo and Painted buntings. It was interesting to learn how this 80 acre abandoned golf course is and will be transformed into a first class nature preserve.
The cool windy day made for a comfortable outing and even though it made birding a little difficult, the group saw 27 species. The recently returned snow birds of Blue Winged Teal and Coots seen at Lemon Lake made up the largest number of birds counted.
The Bird list is:
Mottled Ducks
Blue-winged Teal
Pie-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Anhinga
White Pelicans flying
Great Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Green Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Bald Eagle
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Terns flying ( uncertain of the kind)
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpeckers
Eastern Phoebe
Carolina Wren (heard, not seen)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
American Robin (flock flying overhead)
Gray Catbirds
Cardinals
Starlings
Report submitted by Bob Winter.
Featured image of boardwalk taken by Phyllis Cady.