Cedar Key, Fla

I was in Cedar Key, Florida last week, west of Gainesville about 45 minutes on the Gulf coast and had a fine time viewing birds there. Firsts were a pair of roseate spoonbills, a Black-bellied plover, Common ground  and Eurasian collared doves. The ubiquitous Ospreys were active and eating their still-flapping catch on dock frames on the bay side. Along the Gulf mudflats the biggest players were black skimmers by the hundreds which put on a great show at sunup in large flocks. My favorites are the American oystercatcher, White ibis, and the diminutive Least tern, and I could swear I heard a Common loon calling.