TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Birders winging to Fort DeSoto Park to witness spring migration

ADVERTISEMENT

By VALERIE KALFRIN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 11, 2009

It's not as famous as the San Juan Capistrano mission in California that welcomes swallows home every spring, but a mulberry tree in Fort DeSoto Park in Tierra Verde has its own frequent fliers.

Each year, songbirds that migrate to the Caribbean, Central and South America for the winter stop in Pinellas County during the spring.

They rest and refuel here before departing "for backyard bird feeders all over North America," said Bill AuCoin, a tourism spokesman who will join local Audubon Club members at the park on Saturday in hopes of spotting the returning travelers.

A favorite spot for these warblers, grosbeaks, orioles and tanagers is a mulberry tree about a quarter-mile from the park's headquarters at 3500 Pinellas Bayway South. The tree sits on the east side of the parking lot for the Bay Pier and satisfies fruit eaters and insect eaters drawn to its juicy berries and bugs.

The birds are expected to land at this and other favorite resting spots between now and mid-May.

"Summer's coming, and this is a good harbinger," AuCoin said. "The birders are glad to see them come back."

Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800 or vkalfrin@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT