Central Florida - Bronzed Cowbird 12/1/2023

     My wife and I took advantage of an opportunity to get away for a few days and flew down to Orlando, FL.  With a pool, gym and shopping outlet within walking distance of our hotel room, she had no problem with me heading out yesterday for a birding jaunt.  So I headed over to Lake Apopka Wildlife Dive.  This is a nice, self-guided auto drive through Central Florida wetlands.  There is no fee to visit the refuge, but it is only open to vehicles from Fridays through Sundays.  The drive is a one-way route, but has pullouts along the rod to allow other vehicles to pass, or allow you to walk around for unrushed views or photographs, just beware of alligators lounging along the road. This is probably the best, most-bang-for-your-buck birding stop in the area.  While I only tallied 46 bird species yesterday, many others eBirded over 70.  The birds move around the refuge, so different times of day offer different sightings.
American alligator.  ⓒ S. Weiss
One of many large alligators along the drive.

I was specifically looking for sora and least bittern.  I have seen these birds before, but lack good photos of the bittern and none at all of the sora.  Unfortunately, despite ignoring other birds for these, I still came up empty on them, even though their habitat-sharing relatives the common gallinule and American coot were everywhere in the hundreds (or thousands).  I did get better photos of other species like fulvous and black-bellied whistling-ducks and saw Florida specialties like purple gallinule and gray-headed swamphen.
Left, gray-headed swamphen.  Right, purple gallinules.  ⓒ S. Weiss

Left, fulvous whistling-ducks.  Right, black-bellied whistling-duck.  ⓒ S. Weiss

I could have done another loop through the refuge (and I did want to), but I opted to make my way back to our hotel resort.  On the way, though, I made a stop at Newton Park in Winter Garden.  It is a small park along the shoreline of Lake Apopka where a bronzed cowbird had been seen the past few days.  This blackbird’s breeding range only extends into small parts of the southwest United States, so this would be a life bird for me.  Having never seen one before, I knew I would have to search the local flocks of grackles to find one very similar-looking bird, but with bright red eyes.  Lucky for me the park is small and it wasn’t very crowded.  Except for a few boat-tailed grackles in the marsh reeds, most of the blackbird activity was coming from a few bare trees across a lawn from the parking spots.  As I was walking towards the tree full of grackles, I saw a couple of blackbirds foraging on the grass not too far from me.  Almost immediately I caught the red eyes and iridescent wings of my target bird.  I fired off many photos, as this may be the only one I ever see, and within 15 minutes was back on the road towards the hotel.  
Bronzed cowbird.  ⓒ S. Weiss

Loggerhead shrike.  ⓒ S. Weiss

Now I need to find my red-eyed eastern towhee which has eluded me down here.

*****
Other Wildlife Drive sightings:

Left, gulf fritillary.  Right, Cassius blue.  ⓒ S. Weiss

Left, white peacock.  Right, ceraunus blue.  ⓒ. S. Weiss

Peninsular cooter.  ⓒ S. Weiss






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