Summer, 2004

Ted's Observations...

Already back for the winter...

This photo shows three shorebird species, Willets (the five large ones), Ruddy Turnstones, and Sanderlings in mid summer.

The lighter colored Willet, right foreground, is one that has spent the summer in the area; the darker, speckled one, left foreground, is one that has migrated north, nested, and come back for the winter. Notice the difference in plumage.

Willets are the first shorebirds to arrive back in Southwest Florida from nesting, just before the beginning of July (yes, that is right; several species of shorebirds do return in July to spend the coming winter).

July sightings:

July 1: On a regular bi-weekly census of Sand Dollar sandbar we not only recorded an increase of Willets, but 2 of 63 observed were in breeding plumage (T Below)

July 5: Kingfishers are back, one at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary (R Wooster)

July 12: Another Kingfisher was observed south of Marco on the usual monthly census. On the same census, we got 119 Sandwich Terns, and although there are one or two in the area all summer, they usually don't start to build up until the end of the month. (T Below)

July 14: We recorded two Piping Plovers on Sand Dollar, the first of the season. Breeding-plumaged individuals of both Western Sandpipers and Short-billed Dowitchers were also observed, probably indicating that they are also back from the north. (T Below)

July 21: The Gray Kingbird is a more tropical species than most of the birds we see in Naples. They breed around the coast of Florida, Cuba and on some of the Caribbean Islands, and they winter as far south as northern South America. In Naples in the summer they can occasionally be seen just inland from the beach.

Today two were observed perched in a small tree (15' high) at the corner of 3rd. Ave S and 8th St. South. I suspect they are getting ready to leave for the winter because of the following record, which is the latest I have (does anyone have a later record?): 7/25/02: eight Gray Kingbirds flying south in a very loose group; 32and Ave S. and the beach.

July 28: Fall migration continues to pick up with the arrival of Sandwich Terns from the breeding grounds with their young (left: juvenile Sandwich Tern in the forefront with all black bill and several adults with light yellow bill tips).

Another arrival on 7/28/04 was a lone Long-billed Curlew. Ten years ago there used to be several individuals of this species wintering just south of Marco Island; then, they stopped showing up. Last December, a Long-bill showed up at Sand Dollar sandbar; for the winter season one was recorded south of Marco and one individual also appeared a few times a little later back at Sand Dollar; 3/29/04 was the last sighting. Now there is one using the same part of Sand Dollar as last winter. This is the probably the same bird, but without any individual identification marks we will never really know. Photo right: Long-bill Curlew, fledged Black Skimmer chick, and in forefront, a Wilson's plover. (T Below)