A New Year of Florida Birding

Last year was an interesting birding year for me. I started the year with tons of excitement as I returned to Florida after working for a short time in Kentucky. That excitement was blunted by a lackluster spring migration. I was able to find and photograph some very interesting birds, but they didn’t come easy. There was lots of driving between destinations, hours of trail walking, a lot of sweating, and even some birding excursions where I struck out finding the birds. After a long spring, I found myself burned out and I needed a break. So I took one. I spent the hot Florida summer mostly indoors, and there were spans where I didn’t pick up the camera for weeks and months at a time.

That break was exactly what I needed. With renewed energy and passion, this Fall I have been hitting the trails and boardwalks of Florida’s parks looking for great bird photography opportunities. I live relatively close to Lettuce Lake Park in Tampa, so it’s my go-to spot where I don’t have alot of time or don’t want to drive an hour or more. One recent visit was particularly rewarding.

The Tampa Audubon Society (TAS) had recently paid for some bird strike window film and donated it Lettuce Lake Park. The park installed the film on all the windows of the nature center and the TAS newsletter writer wanted to write up a story about this. I volunteered to go out to the park and photograph the windows.

A window of the Joel Jackson Nature Center at Lettuce Lake Park covered by a bird strike-prevention film.

These windows look out on a small native plant garden. The usual suspects are always in this garden (Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Northern Cardinal, Carolina Wren, Mourning and Ground Doves), but on this particular day I spotted a flash of yellow low to the ground near a bush. I couldn’t immediately identify the bird and went through a mental list of all the yellow birds that it could be.

I was fortunate to get a couple of photos, and only by examining the photos (and double-checking with Merlin) did I identify the bird as a Yellow-breasted Chat. I used to see this bird in Kentucky, but have never seen one in Florida. E-Bird also told me that this is the first of this species ever recorded at this park. How about that!

Yellow-breasted Chat. First report at Lettuce Lake Park in Tampa (15 Nov 2025). Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 lens at 600mm, f/6.3, 1/800 sec, ISO 5600.

Yellow-breasted Chat. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 lens at 600mm, f/6.3, 1/800 sec, ISO 18000.

I have also been frequenting Myakka River State Park lately. The site of the old weir has been phenomenal, even with the park roping off the area nearest the area were the birds congregate. This summer was particularly dry in Florida, so water levels are very low. This is good news for wading birds as it gives them a broader feeding area. The area around the old weir has been shallow, so it’s been fun photographing Roseate Spoonbills, Glossy Ibis, Limpkins, and Black-necked Stilts. I have seen some wonderful photographs coming out of that park, so it has for the time being supplanted Fort De Soto Park has one of the best birding locations in this area of Florida.

Glossy Ibis. Myakka State Park, 16 Nov 2025. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR lens at 600mm, 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 1000.

Roseate Spoonbills. Myakka State Park, 16 Nov 2025. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR lens at 460mm, f/8, 1/2500 sec, ISO 900.

Limpkin. Myakka State Park, 22 Nov 2025. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f6.3 VR S lens at 1/1250 sec, f/6.3, ISO 320.

Limpkin. Myakka State Park, 22 Nov 2025. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f6.3 VR S lens at 1/2000 sec, f/6.3, ISO 720.

I also recently led a Photo Walk for the Tampa Audubon Society’s Photo Club. A small group of us made the 2.5 mile walk around Alligator Alley and had a great time. We saw lots of birds and took many photos. We then shared our best photos during the Photo Club meeting and it was interesting to see how each of us photographed the same birds.

Selfie photo with members of the TAS Photo Club at Circle B Bar Reserve in Polk County, 13 Dec 2025.

Gray Catbird. Taken at Circle B Bar Reserve during a TAS Photo Club Photo Walk, 13 Dec 2025. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 180-600mm f4.5-6.3 VR lens at 600mm, 1/800 sec, f/6.3, ISO 4500.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Taken at Circle B Bar Reserve during a TAS Photo Club Photo Walk, 13 Dec 2025. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 180-600mm f4.5-6.3 VR lens at 600mm, 1/800 sec, f/6.3, ISO 1000.

So that leads me to this weekend, the long New Year’s weekend. Some phenomenal photos are coming out of the Celery Fields in Sarasota, so that is definitely on the list. The Celery Fields isn’t too far from Myakka, so I will likely make a return trop there too. I am also tempted to head over to the Lake Apopka area. This area is a popular destination during the recent North Shore Birding Festival and the Space Coast Birding Festival, so I’ll be checking e-Bird reports to find specific locations.

I suppose if I am making a New Year’s resolution it will be to bird more, and make more posts here and on my Facebook page.

Hope to see you out there! Until then, happy birding!