A Survey of Birdlife at Project Greenshores 

Featured Bird - The Common Loon is a winter migrant at the Project Greenshores restoration site. Loons are the most primitive of our North American water birds and therefore are placed first on our check-list.  Although rarely heard in our area, loons are thought to have at least seventeen different calls for a variety of occasions. According to the National Wildlife Federation, factors that currently threaten the Common Loon population include bioaccumulation of pollutants and habitat loss in nesting areas. (See Project Greenshores Bird Monitoring Report)

 

Common Loons feeding at Project Greenshores
 

Project Greenshores Restoration Site Map (Monitoring areas)

Project Greenshores Bird Species Reported (Site 1):

Common Loon (Gavia immer)
Pied-bill Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)-SSC
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens)*
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodis)
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)-SSC
Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor)-SSC
Cattle Egret (Bulbulcus ibis)
Green Heron (Butorides virescens)
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (Nyctanassa violacea)
White Ibis (Eudocimus albus)-SSC
Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens)*
Canada Goose (Branta Canadensis)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Mottled Duck (Anas fulvigula)*
Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors)
Redhead Duck (Athya americana)
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)
Black Scoter (Melanetta niger)*
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)-SSC
Merlin (Falco columbarius)
Clapper Rail (Rallus longirostris)
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squataroia)
Semi-palmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
American Oystercatcher  (Haematopus palliatus)*-SSC
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringas flavipes)
Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus)
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitus macularia)
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)*
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)
Sanderling (Calidris alba)
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)
Laughing Gull (Larus atricilla)
Bonaparte's Gull (Larus philadelphia)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarenis)
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)
Caspian Tern (Sterna caspia)
Royal Tern (Sterna maxima)
Sandwich Tern (Sterna sandvicensis)
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)
Forster's Tern (Sterna forseri)
Least Tern (Sterna antillarum)-Threatened Status
Sooty Tern (Sterna fuscata)*
Black Tern (Chlidonias niger)
Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger)-SSC
Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon)  
Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus)
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)
Gray Kingbird (Tyrannus dominicensis)
Palm Warbler (Dendroica palmarum)
Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus)
Marsh Wren [H] (Cistothorus palustris)
Fish Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis)
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

 *Noteworthy Birds:

Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens)- Two observed on Feb 16, 2002. This species is considered rare for this area within the month of February.

Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens)
Reported on October 4, 2002 following Hurricane Isidore. 

Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)
Reported on June 5, 2003. Rarely observed in the month of June within the state of Florida and rare for the Pensacola area. This bird has been noted to be declining locally in recent years (The Birds of Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa Counties by Robert and Lucy Duncan).

Mottled Duck (Anas fulvigula)
Reported on April 8, 2005. Rarely observed in Northwest Florida.

Sooty Tern (Sterna fuscata)
Reported on July 6, 2005. Observed by Laura Catterton post-Tropical Storm Cindy.

American Oysercatcher  (Haematopus palliatus)
Reported on April 11, 2006. The bird is notable as a "casual" or rare occurrence in the Florida Panhandle.


 

Project Greenshores Bird Species Reported (Site 2):

Common Loon (Gavia immer)
Pied-bill Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)-SSC
Double-breasted Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Least Bittern (Ixobrychus exilis)
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodis)
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)-SSC
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Green Heron (Butorides virescens)
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (Nyctanassa violacea)
Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens)-Dark Morph
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)
Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus)
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitus macularia)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Redhead Duck (Athya americana)
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)
Northern Harrier (Circus Cyaneus)
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)-SSC
Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus)
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)
Sora (Porzana carolina)
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squataroia)
American Coot (Fulica Americana)
Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors)
Canvasback (Aythya valisineria)*
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)
Semi-palmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)
Sanderling (Calidris alba)
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)
Laughing Gull (Larus atricilla)
Bonaparte's Gull (Larus philadelphia)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarenis)
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)
Caspian Tern (Sterna caspia)
Gull-billed Tern (Sterna nilotica)
Royal Tern (Sterna maxima)
Forster's Tern (Sterna forseri)
Least Tern (Sterna antillarum)-Threatened
Black Tern (Chiladonias niger)
Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger)-SSC
Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon)
Northern Flicker (Colaptes aurates)
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)
Fish Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus)
Orange-crowned Warbler (Vermivora celata)
Yellow-Rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)
Palm Warbler (Dendroica palmarum)
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollus)
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis)
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

 

*Noteworthy Birds:

Canvasback (Aythya valisineria)
Reported on Feburary 4, 2008. The bird is notable as rare occurrence in the Florida Panhandle.

 

 

Checklist note: Common non-migratory passerines are not included in this checklist
                     SSC  = Species of Special Concern

For an official state list of Florida birds and documentation forms for reporting rare birds, see the Florida Ornithological Society web site.

 
Source References:

The Birds of Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa Counties Florida by Robert and Lucy Duncan

All the Birds of North America by Jack Griggs

The Sibley’s Guide to Birds by David Allen Sibley

Florida's Endangered Species, Threatened Species, and Species of Special Concern by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

 

Photographs presented are copyright by Cheryl A. Bunch and available for educational use.

Bird surveys monitor the restoration process and provide a current species list in accordance with the "Checklist of Birds of North America, 7th ed., American Ornithologists' Union, 1998.

Related Information:

North American Birds Taxonomic List

For more information or to report a bird in the Project Greenshores Area, contact:
cheryl.bunch@dep.state.fl.us