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Posted by Rick Schofield on 10:13:40 11/06/14
I wasn't expecting a super birdie day on Wednesday's Loxahatchee walk due to the strong wind but I certainly didn't expect the colossal conspiracy that evolved over the course of the morning.
We started in the Marsh Trail parking lot with little activity. We then checked out the C-6 impoundment (closest to Lee Rd) where a flock of Blue-winged Teal were spooked, circled around, and then disappeared into the tall grasses that have taken over much of the impoundment. We dipped on Wood Ducks but it might still be a little early for them. There were some butterflies in the "Butterfly Triangle" but the wind didn't help.
We decided to check out the Visitor Center area but when we got to that parking lot, the leaf blowers were going full force. OK. We'll check out the area around the pavilion behind the building. Nope. The power washer was going full blast. So much for the Visitor Center area.
We took a detour to avoid the leaf blower and made our way slowly back to the Marsh Trail parking lot where we found a few more warblers but no Scissor-tailed Flycatchers. We considered sitting in the pavilion to wait for the STFL to, hopefully, appear but that's when another leaf blower descended on us.
OK. We'll check out portions of the east/west Marsh Trail. Nope. Work trucks blocked the trail. And the lawn mower made its appearance.
OK. We'll walk the north/south trail where we could get decent views of the bushes that the flycatchers were in last week. That's when the "cookie cutter" (a machine that cuts the weeds and grasses) came around -- not only cutting but spraying herbicide as well. (At least they didn't spray while passing us.) I'm sure the flycatchers wouldn't put up with that disturbance so we ended up dipping on them. The cookie cutter did, however, flush two nice birds for the day: an American Bittern and a Wilson's Snipe.
We decided to call it a day and go back to the pavilion (the leaf blower had left by then) where we could put together the day list while keeping an eye out for the flycatchers. That's when the motorcycle came rumbling through the parking lot capping off the colossal conspiracy.
Sorry...no photos today.
Loxahatchee NWR--Marsh Trail, Palm Beach, US-FL
Nov 5, 2014 7:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.5 mile(s)
Comments: Weekly Wednesday morning birdwalk, Marsh Trail, Loxahatchee NWR, Boynton Beach, Florida. 5 birders. Rick Schofield, leader.
42 species
Blue-winged Teal 20 (minimum)
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Anhinga 4
American Bittern 1
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
White Ibis
Glossy Ibis
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Red-shouldered Hawk
Common Gallinule
Limpkin
Wilson's Snipe 1
Mourning Dove
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Merlin 1
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
Fish Crow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Black-and-white Warbler 2
Common Yellowthroat
Palm Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle
View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S20450883
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
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