Lack of land bird variety and quantity - Florida gulf coast

Hi, I just made my first visit to Florida, staying with my parents at their condo in Pasco County. The morning after I arrived, when I awoke, there were about a dozen Turkey Vultures swooping right by the patio, and perching on the roofs and on the ground. My first outing, I stopped at a small park in a residential area that looked abandoned, but had a field of short grass and weeds. In it were 8 Cattle Egrets and an adult Little Blue Heron. Across the street was a small pond, with an immature Little Blue Heron. Went to a few parks on the gulf coast, caught a lot of big birds - White Ibises, Wood Storks, Anhinga, immature and adult Bald Eagles, Black Vultures, Cormorants, Roseate Spoonbil (trees blocked photos), Great Blue Herons, a Tri-color Heron, Reddish Egrets, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, lots of Ospreys, Limpkins, Willets, Black Skimmers, etc. Don't get me wrong, I was happy to find so many of these birds, many of which I had never seen or photographed before.

However, I expected to see a lot of birds such as sparrows, finches, and songbirds that I don't see in New York, or at least not in the winter. To my surprise, there were about 5% to 10% as many of these birds in this part of Florida, as I would find in NY in the winter, and all of them, except for one, were birds that I had seen before in NY; the difference was a Shrike, singing from the top of a bare tree right in downtown Tarpon Springs.

The most common bird was the Palm Warbler, which I expected to find in Florida in the winter, but not to the almost exclusion of everything else. Of the non-shorebirds and non-raptors, about 70% were Palm Warblers, 20% Yellow-rumped Warblers, and the rest, a mix of American Goldfinch, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Mockingbird, Gray Catbird, Northern Cardinal, and a mere two House Sparrows, and no true sparrows, or buntings. All of these birds, except the Palm Warbler, I could expect to find in NY during the Winter, and even the Palm is seen rarely in Winter.

Is this the way it is in the Pasco/Pinellas county areas? Is there anywhere I can expect to see some sparrow/songbird variety during the Winter in central/west Florida, next time I go? Is there any time before the mosquito activity picks up in the early spring, or after it dies down in the fall, when I can find a greater variety of these birds?

Thank in advance.

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John Sheehy wrote in post #17872282
Hi, I just made my first visit to Florida, staying with my parents at their condo in Pasco County. The morning after I arrived, when I awoke, there were about a dozen Turkey Vultures swooping right by the patio, and perching on the roofs and on the ground. My first outing, I stopped at a small park in a residential area that looked abandoned, but had a field of short grass and weeds. In it were 8 Cattle Egrets and an adult Little Blue Heron. Across the street was a small pond, with an immature Little Blue Heron. Went to a few parks on the gulf coast, caught a lot of big birds - White Ibises, Wood Storks, Anhinga, immature and adult Bald Eagles, Black Vultures, Cormorants, Roseate Spoonbil (trees blocked photos), Great Blue Herons, a Tri-color Heron, Reddish Egrets, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, lots of Ospreys, Limpkins, Willets, Black Skimmers, etc. Don't get me wrong, I was happy to find so many of these birds, many of which I had never seen or photographed before.

However, I expected to see a lot of birds such as sparrows, finches, and songbirds that I don't see in New York, or at least not in the winter. To my surprise, there were about 5% to 10% as many of these birds in this part of Florida, as I would find in NY in the winter, and all of them, except for one, was a bird that I had never seen before or in NY - a Shrike, singing from the top of a bare tree right in downtown Tarpon Springs.

The most common bird was the Palm Warbler, which I expected to find in Florida in the winter, but not to the almost exclusion of everything else. Of the non-shorebirds and non-raptors, about 70% were Palm Warblers, 20% Yellow-rumped Warblers, and the rest, a mix of American Goldfinch, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Mockingbird, Gray Catbird, Northern Cardinal, and a mere two House Sparrows, and no true sparrows, or buntings. All of these birds, except the Palm Warbler, I could expect to find in NY during the Winter, and even the Palm is seen rarely in Winter.

Is this the way it is in the Pasco/Pinellas county areas? Is there anywhere I can expect to see some sparrow/songbird variety during the Winter in central/west Florida, next time I go? Is there any time before the mosquito activity picks up in the early spring, or after it dies down in the fall, when I can find a greater variety of these birds?

This may be a good resource:
http://www.stpeteaudub​on.org …out-birds/ebird-sightings

I am not sure how to find the ebird page for your particular region of Florida, but I do know that ebird is the resource that most birders and bird photographers use to keep up with current sightings and/or viewing opportunities. Here's a link to the general ebird home page - hopefully you will be able to figure out how to use the site in a way that will filter reports for the part of Florida you are/will be in.
http://ebird.org/conte​nt/ebird/

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Heya,

This time of year, land-locked song birds are not going to be out and about and in abudance. This time of year, you will see more owls and hawks literally sitting out in the open, and a lot less fearful of humans as they are hunting anything that moves preparing for the cold and the new life that will be in the spring. Song birds are food. Also, song birds have to go where the food is for them. And they have to avoid the bitter weather. My feeders are basically empty this time of year. Spring they will be loaded. But right now, the best birding in Florida is water fowl and large specimens are every where. It can be 32 degrees and you'll see Egret and Heron hunting away in any ditch on the side of the road. And if you ride into any side roads with a lot of fields or over-watchable areas, you'll find hawks lining them just sitting there.

This is one of my favorites times of the year on the Gulf Coast of Florida for birding (I live here) because it's too cold for most folk to be out, so you have trails and habitats to yourself virtually. Way less boaters too. And the big birds are active, and a lot more tolerant of people. Way less spooky this time of year.

I can bird this time of year with a 300mm and get right on top of things.

Very best,

MalVeauX wrote in post #17873066
This is one of my favorites times of the year on the Gulf Coast of Florida for birding (I live here) because it's too cold for most folk to be out, so you have trails and habitats to yourself virtually. Way less boaters too. And the big birds are active, and a lot more tolerant of people. Way less spooky this time of year.

Fewer mosquitoes too.

Tim

With El Nino + the Arctic oscillation keeping this winter warmer I'm seeing a lot of birds sticking around the North. Last year was the coldest winter in 100 years and this year is the hottest winter in the last 100 years. These birds must be confused!