Townsend's Solitaire At Honeymoon Island State Park

It was with amazement to me that two great Florida wildlife rarities were occurring within days of one another in southwest Florida in the Fall of 2013.

The Northern Mockingbird above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

Monica Higgins made a report of her observation of a Sulpher-bellied Flycatcher at Sugden Regional Park in Naples, Florida, on 1 November 2013. The bird unfortunately was not re-sighted.

The Townsend's Solitaire above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Townsend's Solitaire with 1st winter Yellow-rumped Warbler above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Townsend's Solitaire with 1st winter Yellow-rumped Warbler above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Townsend's Solitaire with 1st winter Yellow-rumped Warbler above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Townsend's Solitaire above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Townsend's Solitaire above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Townsend's Solitaire above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

A Townsend's Solitaire was observed by Charlie Fisher, Dave Gagne, Tim Kalbach, and Ed Kwater at Honeymoon Island State Park on 3 November 2013 (Day One). With Ed's positive identification of the species, the bird became the second record of the species in the state of Florida. The solitaire would fortunately linger to the delight of many.

The Townsend's Solitaire above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Townsend's Solitaire above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Townsend's Solitaire above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Townsend's Solitaire above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Red-winged Blackbird above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Townsend's Solitaire above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Townsend's Solitaire above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

I was compelled to attempt to observe and photograph the species on Day Two when I had the chance. The wind was wicked from the ENE and got more intense later in the morning. The sky was briefly clear at the time the Townsend's Solitaire made its appearance shortly before 9:00am, and then remained mainly overcast. The solitaire was observed to feast on berries several times.

The Eastern Phoebe above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Northern Mockingbird above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Yellow-rumped Warbler above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Osprey above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Townsend's Solitaire above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Townsend's Solitaire above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Townsend's Solitaire above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

Andy Wraithmell would apparently be one of the last to observe the Townsend's Solitaire on 7 November 2013 (Day Five). Vince McGrath noted the Townsend's Solitaire as under pressure from predators and observers, with the bird appearing "lost and confused- on every predators' recipe."

The Townsend's Solitaire above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Townsend's Solitaire above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Townsend's Solitaire above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Townsend's Solitaire above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Townsend's Solitaire above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Townsend's Solitaire above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Townsend's Solitaire above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

Before I left the park I attempted to photograph dragonflies (manual focus) that hovered erratically over a small pool of water while they fought the wind.

The Townsend's Solitaire above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Townsend's Solitaire above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Townsend's Solitaire above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Townsend's Solitaire above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Townsend's Solitaire above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Eastern Phoebe above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Eastern Phoebe above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

Hemant Kishan and I made an unsuccessful trip to the Bunche Beach salt flats Thanksgiving morning with hopes of observing the Nelson's Sparrow and Saltmarsh Sparrow which Vince had reported a month ago.

The Eastern Phoebe above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Common Green Darner dragonfly above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

The Common Green Darner dragonfly above was photographed at Honeymoon Island State Park in November 2013.

Bunche Beach: Late October 2013

Wrapping up my last wildlife observations in the month of October, it was my good fortune to meet up again with Frank Constantin at Bunche Beach Preserve on the 20th.

The Royal Tern above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The tide was accommodatingly low as a flock of Black Skimmers were intent on remaining photogenically landlocked through most of the morning. The birds primarily loafed with an apparent need of rest from loafing.

The Bottlenose Dolphin above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Royal Tern above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Royal Tern above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Royal Tern above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Royal Tern above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Royal Tern above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

A particular highlight on this visit was the best observation I have had yet of Bottlenose Dolphin. With a few images captured of them at close range on this visit to the Preserve, a small pod would head toward the Sanibel Causeway tollbooth. From a distance of a mile the dolphins were seen to make stunning hunting maneuvers that produced waves that might mistakenly be thought produced by an ultra fast speedboat in a turn. A memory of them certainly not to be forgotten.

The scene above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Laughing Gull above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Laughing Gull above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Royal Tern above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Sandwich Tern above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Royal Tern above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Royal Tern above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Royal Tern above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

A few flybys of other species were observed as I made frequent adjustments to the camera's exposure bias to compensate for the light and dark subjects and backgrounds. I have yet to embrace Artie Morris's manual exposure technique which would potentially allow for more keepers.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

As I reviewed the images presented in this article, I noted how oversharpened some of the images appear (to my personal taste). I need to ween myself off the "sharpen" button which is lazily pressed in Phototshop, and use the "smart sharpen" button which often allows improved realism.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Royal Tern above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Black Skimmer above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Sandwich Tern above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

In keeping with my desire to give the wildlife a wide berth (sometimes spoiled by birds that will walk or fly within feet of me), I am compelled to crop an original image to one degree or another. If I like the pose of the creature, I will sometimes not hesitate to crop the image extensively. However, by doing this it will degrade the image quality.

The Royal Tern above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Laughing Gull above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Royal Tern above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Reddish Egret above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Brown Pelican above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Willet above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Marbled Godwit above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Tricolored Heron above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Willet above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Willet above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

The Marbled Godwit above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.

It was a very enjoyable time observing the wildlife at Bunche Beach Preserve as always.

The Willet above was photographed at Bunche Beach Preserve in October 2013.