Florida 2024. Part 4. Twin Oaks Conservation Area

Once again I consulted eBird for sites close to where we were staying and found a reference to the Twin Oaks Conservation Area. An area of scrub trails and a large lake. What caught my eye was the sheer number of wildfowl, 300 + American Coots for example, along with Snail Kites. One of the few areas this species is seen regularly.

Heading off on our penultimate day I arrived around 09.00 to disappointingly find the preserve allowed shooting and there was a fair bit of disturbance around the lake. There were still plenty of birds around but the ducks were very flighty and a long way out with only Ring-necked Duck & Mallard being close enough to identify without a 'scope. There were also several distant Belted Kingfishers - instantly recognisable by their call. The last time I'd heard one was the one I ticked as a lifer in the UK. See here.

For the 1st time during our stay I met another couple out birding. Not really birding as they didn't have binoculars but they had cameras with large telephoto's. Chatting to them they showed me photos of a Great -horned Owl they just photographed peering out of a hole in an old tree. Armed with directions I headed that way and after a search found the owl peering out of its roost. The 2nd of the trip following one heard only at the Disney Wilderness Preserve.

Whilst searching for the Horned Owl I saw good numbers of smaller passerines including Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. These small birds are extremely active and hard to photograph but I noticed one kept  sallying forth from the same tree so waited for an opportunity to get a photo.

The couple I'd met suggested I was a bit early in the day for Snail Kite as they normally saw them towards dusk but told me they frequent a swampy area on the approach road to the reserve. Sure enough my luck was in and I picked up a distant kite perched up. The distinctive bill is adapted to remove their favourite prey, Apple Snails, from their shells. As I watched another bird appeared and they both hunted slightly closer so I could get a couple of record shots.

As the sun got hotter more butterflies appeared including Zebra Longwing, the Florida State butterfly, and Queen butterfly.

Heading back before it got to hot I came across yet another pair of ridiculously tame Sandhill Cranes. Crouching down they approached me completely unperturbed by my presence.

A great couple of weeks. Although not a serious birding trip I managed some good trips out ended up with a list of 70 birds. Not a huge number but it included four lifers in Florida Scrub Jay, Pileated, Red-headed and Red-cockaded Woodpecker. I also saw my 1st ever Black Bear and a totally unexpected Nine-banded Armadillo feeding outside the back of our villa one morning. These were introduced into Florida in the early part of the 20th century and are now naturalised.

For once a trip to Disney was more relaxed. The next time we'll probably go will be for our 40th wedding anniversary in 2026 with all the grandkids so I can't see me getting much free time to go birding on that trip.