Beth Price includes Wildewood Springs in Audubon Birdathon

Osprey in WWS, April 12, 2022. Beth Price, photographer

Beth Price, Wildewood Springs neighbor and birder, participated in Audubon's Annual Bird Count on April 12, 2022. Beth stopped briefly at Wildewood and reported seeing 26 birds. (Her entire list of WWS bird sightings HERE.) 

She later posted a full report on April 13th on Facebook along with many photos:

"My Birdathon results are in! Yesterday we tallied a total of 83 species (full list at the end of post).

The deets:

18 locations

14 hours

4.8 miles walked

2,348 photos taken

The day began at 5:46 am, when I logged an Eastern Screech-Owl near our house. We then traveled east to Tom Bennett Park, where I added ~40 species, including two lifers: a Clapper Rail and Marsh Wrens.

After birding briefly at several more locations, we found the day's next highlights at some scenic wastewater holding ponds — at least they're scenic to birds and birders! Species added there included two Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, many late-season duck species, and American White Pelicans.

Then we were off to the beach and bay, and the birds did not disappoint! A mixed flock of nearly 1,000 Royal Terns, Sandwich Terns, Black Skimmers, gulls, and shorebirds occupied the beach, their raucous calls filling the air.

During visits to two bayside parks, migratory beauties put on quite a display as they foraged in the trees. Showstoppers included a Prothonotary Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Black-and-White Warblers, and a Yellow-throated Vireo.

We ended the day back home where I continued birding until 7:30, hoping to pick up some raptors that I'd missed.

All in all, it was a glorious gift of a day.

Thanks again to the folks whose donations helped me reach my fundraising goal benefiting Audubon Florida.

--SPECIES LIST--

6 Canada Goose

8 Muscovy Duck

8 Wood Duck

4 Blue-winged Teal

2 Mottled Duck

12 Mallard/Mottled Duck

20 Redhead

4 Lesser Scaup

2 Rock Pigeon

2 Eurasian Collared-Dove

10 Common Ground Dove

20 Mourning Dove

1 Clapper Rail

1 Common Gallinule

4 Limpkin

4 Sandhill Crane

2 Killdeer

1 Ruddy Turnstone

40 Sanderling

6 Least Sandpiper

1 Wilson's Snipe

1 Spotted Sandpiper

50 Willet

197 Laughing Gull

1 Ring-billed Gull

2 Herring Gull

1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

1 Forster's Tern

400 Royal Tern

42 Sandwich Tern

140 Black Skimmer

8 Wood Stork

12 Double-crested Cormorant

8 American White Pelican

11 Brown Pelican

5 Great Blue Heron

10 Great Egret

4 Snowy Egret

1 Tricolored Heron

13 Cattle Egret

2 Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

14 White Ibis

1 Glossy Ibis

1 Black Vulture

3 Turkey Vulture

4 Osprey

1 Swallow-tailed Kite

1 Eastern Screech-Owl

8 Red-bellied Woodpecker

2 Downy Woodpecker

6 Monk Parakeet

3 Nanday Parakeet

5 Great Crested Flycatcher

2 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

1 Yellow-throated Vireo

1 Loggerhead Shrike

11 Blue Jay

52 Fish Crow

6 Tufted Titmouse

1 Purple Martin

1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

3 Marsh Wren

2 Carolina Wren

10 European Starling

6 Gray Catbird

16 Northern Mockingbird

6 Cedar Waxwing

5 House Sparrow

2 House Finch

1 Swamp Sparrow

23 Red-winged Blackbird

1 Brown-headed Cowbird

27 Common Grackle

81 Boat-tailed Grackle

2 Black-and-white Warbler

1 Prothonotary Warbler

1 Tennessee Warbler

3 Northern Parula

2 Palm Warbler

1 Prairie Warbler

1 Black-throated Green Warbler

7 Northern Cardinal"