A Birder's Life for Me

Things were more subdued on the birding front this morning at Fort Zach.  But, the American Redstarts were still plentiful and active.

I also got my first opportunity to photograph an Ovenbird this year.  Their name is derived from the shape of its nest.

A quick visit to the Key West Botanical Garden yielded this Worm-eating Warbler.

And another Chuck-Wills-Widow.

I stopped by the house to pick up Henry and we headed for the beach near the Boca Chica Naval Air Station.  In addition to picking up a grocery bag full of trash while walking down the beach - Henry loves picking up trash on the beach - we managed to spot this Wilson's Plover...

... And some Short-billed Dowitchers roosting with some Ruddy Turnstones on the fresh piles of sargassum grasses that have washed ashore over the past couple of days.  That stuff will be stinking up the beach shortly unless the next storm pulls it back out to sea.

Sadly, the Navy is in the process of burying an area of fresh-water ponds and gravel beds near the beach where Antillean Nighthawks, Roseate Terns and other shorebirds nest during the summer.  Sometimes there just isn't enough tarmac.