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Posted by Brian Rapoza on 18:17:41 11/22/14
Fifteen birders joined me for today s TAS carpool trip to Stormwater Treatment Area 5 in Hendry County. Thanks as always to Margaret England and Hendry-Glades Audubon Society for continuing to arrange driving tours in this remarkable birding hotspot. Contrary to all the weather reports I checked, blue skies were the order of the day, at least for much of the morning. It was windy, though, making scoping the waterfowl a challenge. Overcast conditions returned by noon, but a short sprinkle was the only precipitation we experienced during our visit.
Among the fourteen waterfowl species found during the tour were three Snow Geese; two white morph and one blue morph. The geese were initially found early in the tour by the team of Pickholtz, Kaplan and DeCesare, but were missed by the rest of the group. Later in the morning, as the group was driving west near the old Blumberg Road entrance, the three geese flew north directly in front of us, providing all with excellent views. Among the many heard-only species was a probable Smooth-billed Ani; unfortunately, the bird couldn t be coaxed out of the cattails. Calling nearby was what we think was a Purple Swamphen; we would eventually see many during the tour.
By my count, we tallied the following 97 species during the tour, including birds seen by participants en route: ( * - tallied en route only)
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Fulvous Whistling-Duck
Snow Goose
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mottled Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Ruddy Duck
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Anhinga
American White Pelican
American Bittern
Least Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
* Black-crowned Night-Heron
* Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
Glossy Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
Wood Stork
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Snail Kite
* Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
* Red-tailed Hawk
Crested Caracara
American Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
King Rail
Sora
Purple Swamphen
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Limpkin
* Sandhill Crane
Black-necked Stilt
Killdeer
Solitary Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Least Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson s Snipe
Caspian Tern
Forster s Tern
* Rock Pigeon
* Eurasian Collared-Dove
Common Ground-Dove
Mourning Dove
Smooth-billed Ani (probable)
Belted Kingfisher
* Red-bellied Woodpecker
* Pileated Woodpecker
* Eastern Phoebe
Western Kingbird
* Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (at least four seen along CR 835 between CR 833 and Deer Fence Road)
Loggerhead Shrike
* American Crow
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
* Barn Swallow
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Yellow-rumped Warbler
* Yellow-throated Warbler
Palm Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Savannah Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
* Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle
* Brown-headed Cowbird
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