Florida: Boyd Hill Nature Preserve and Lake Seminole Park

Last Florida post! In the final days of my trip, my dad and I visited a couple of local city parks, one in St. Petersburg called Boyd Hill Nature Preserve. This park reminded me of Texas parks; there’s an admission fee, set hours (nature is closed on Mondays), a gift shop, and even an optional tram service. Aside from all that there’s marsh, swamp, oaks, and scrubland goodness that winds 6 miles through trails and boardwalks.

There’s also an aviary with rehabbed birds where I saw my only Eastern Screech Owl of the trip. Nice squinty face.

My dad and I walked the trails dodging troops of singing children and searched for what birds we could find. There’d be long stretches of quiet, and then a bustle of birds would turn up.

The biggest showing was on one single bush. I would love to know what kind of plant this is (Sideroxylon salicifolium, willow-bustic, white bully?). It hosted Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Followed by:

Also a Northern Cardinal and Carolina Wren, followed by my only Carolina Chickadee of the trip.

And here I had my first sighting of a Tufted Titmouse.

10 species in one bush all at once! It was incredible.

Tufted Titmice show up, and all of a sudden they multiply and many more call a scratchy “tsee-tsee-tsee,” as they gather together in the treetops then all disappear again.

I think around this point I mentioned I hadn’t seen a Black-and-white Warbler yet on the trip, and voilà, one showed up!

If only it always worked like that.

We had a good Pileated-Red-bellied Woodpecker combo.

And the end of a boardwalk that led us to this perfect Anhinga statue.

I’m so happy this exists. Good job Boyd Hill Nature Preserve.

Moving on to my dad’s local patch in Seminole, FL, Lake Seminole Park, where first thing in the morning I had a blurry lifer Monk Parakeet flyover.

We then found a great pair of Purple Gallinule. A young brown one.

And a purple adult.

By then it was time to say goodbye to some of Florida’s best birds.

We had another warbler flurry that included Yellow-throated Warbler.

Prairie Warbler.

And Pine Warbler.

In the shrubs we coaxed out a Brown Thrasher.

And passed a “soon to be flying squirrel.” Good one, dad.

Mushrooms were clearly in bloom.

I noted a White Peacock butterfly.

And drug my feet leaving the park. We finally called it a day when we found a Wood Stork that hadn’t been there moments before.

Hanging with his friend, Great Egret. It was one of those classic Florida birding moments that I’ve grown to love (and miss!). Until next time, Florida!

See you later alligator.

Tweets and chirps,

Audrey