Hurricane Matthew, Bayport - October 7, 2016

We had the day off work today in case Hurricane Matthew impacts the area.  I went out to Bayport to see if there were any birds.  Not too much, the best finds were a small group of four blue-winged teal flying by and a bald eagle perched in a tree.  The fishing pier was completely destroyed by the storm, so I was the only person at the park.

Sunrise Storm, Fort DeSoto - October 1, 2016

Today was a great day for birding, but getting there early, I was also able to get some nice photos of storm clouds at sunrise over the Sunshine Skyway.
 

Birding Fort DeSoto - October 1, 2016

Today I felt like fall migration has officially begun!  There were 56 species today, probably my highest number for this park, listed on Ebird.  I could have even gotten more if I had gone out to the North Shore beach.

I went hoping to see at least one life bird, and I saw three (golden-winged warbler, yellow-bellied flycatcher, blackburnian warbler)!  Plus, saw one I species had only seen once, almost exactly five years ago: Black-billed cuckoo.

There were many other birders there, and I probably would not have found even one of them without their help.  I did find a male Baltimore oriole completely on my own though!  Narrowly missed a few others seen today: Philadelphia vireo, Swainson's warbler, lark sparrow.

Golden-winged Warbler!