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[lyceel]

"It's just an Ovenbird"

"I'm tired of Tennessee Warblers"

"Yup, another Swainson's"

You know it's a good day when you hear things like that uttered, and that's what we had on Sunday at Ft. DeSoto park in St. Petersburg, FL. An honest-to-goodness fallout, the first one I've had the privilege of experiencing.

Our group easily cleared 100 species seen that day. I haven't had the chance to put my personal list together yet, but I got several new lifers out of the day, plus a few Florida ticks as well. There were dozens and dozens of some species that I'd never seen even one of before.

Anyway, I had my camera, so here are some pictures. The first shot of the day was a bird I've seen a lot of (though a first for this area), a nice pair of Yellow-Crowned Night Herons...

[lyceel]

The next bird was undoubtedly the bird of the day. It was the first time our trip leader was able to add a bird to one of his lists (his Florida list, specifically). A Black-billed Cuckoo, a definite rarity for these parts, and the first of many lifers for me that day. We also had a Yellow-billed Cuckoo in the same area.

[lyceel]

I'd already seen my first Solitary Sandpiper last weekend, but the fallout allowed me to get a greatly upgraded shot of one...

[lyceel]

My next lifer came fairly quickly. I'd never seen a Blue Grosbeak before, but there on the trail was at least a dozen of them. Here are a couple of them squabbling...

[lyceel]

A fallout tends to produce unique scenes like this...

[lyceel]

Here's a better look at one...

[lyceel]

And then the warblers came! Lots of Black-throated Greens showed up...

[lyceel]

And Tennessee Warblers showed up by the bucketful. We really were tired of seeing them by the end of the day!

[lyceel]

One warbler I could stand to see more of was this Magnolia Warbler. Beautiful bird!

[lyceel]

Another Tennessee...

[lyceel]

Not a rare bird, but Common Ground-Doves don't usually pose for me like this, so I had to take the shot!

[lyceel]

Got a nice close look at this Black-throated Green...

[lyceel]

Just one Yellow Warbler made an appearance for us. No complaints, though!

[lyceel]

Prairie Warbler...

[lyceel]

Another bird that was plentiful was the Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Not a new bird for me, but I'd never seen so many together before. Here was a good look at one...

[lyceel]

Orioles were everywhere as well. Both Baltimore and Orchard were present in high numbers, and Orchard was another lifer for me! Here's a Baltimore...

[lyceel]

And here's a female Orchard (didn't manage a decent shot of a male)...

[lyceel]

Don't adjust your monitor. You're not seeing double...

[lyceel]

Another "only in a fallout" picture. Here's a Lesser Yellowlegs hanging out with a Solitary Sandpiper. How often does this happen?

[lyceel]

Last time I saw one of these, I was in Costa Rica. We counted two Yellow-throated Vireos for the day. We also had many Red-eyed, but strangely, no White-eyed.