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Posted by David S. on 15:39:37 11/30/14
Only two participants braved the cool,somewhat windy conditions at Flamingo to paddle kayaks with me from Flamingo to Snake Bight. The morning started in the upper 50's with winds from the NE 10-15 mph., under a clear, sunny sky. We opted to travel up Snake Bight Channel first, in order to take advantage of the light winds and the start of the outgoing tide. After a moderately strenuous paddle into the wind & current, we arrived at the south spoil bank of the upper channel. We paddled north along the west side of the bank and we're rewarded with views of about 40 Roseate Spoonbills in the trees. Mixed in the roost were several Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned Night Herons. We cut east through the spoil bank on the north side and paddled south along the east side of the island. There we picked up Black-necked Stilts and one of 2 Red-breasted Mergansers seen during the trip.
At the south end of the spoil bank, the tides were still rather high, despite the falling tide and strong ENE winds blowing 20-30 mph. We decided to go west to Gibby Point and check the shoreline to the west. About 350 of the 500 American White Pelicans seen were along the mud-banks. Mixed among the Pelicans were about 500 Black Skimmers. We saw another flock of about 700 skimmers fly past us. Further west along the shore most the shorebirds were seen, the majority, being Willets (approx. 1200). Mixed in were Gulls, Sandpipers, Plovers, Dunlin, and a lesser amount of Marbled Godwits, Greater & Lesser Yellowlegs, Ruddy Turnstones, and others.
By now, we were feeling the affects of the increased wind-speed and the swift outgoing tide, which limited our observation time to pick through the multitude of birds for rarities. However, 3 American Avocets stood out at the edge of one large group of birds.
We got out of the shallows just in time to avoid the falling tide and getting stuck. We picked up the natural tidal channel that runs along the western shore of Snake Bight. Assistance from the outgoing tide and strong winds behind us, made a fast, paddle-free exit out of Snake Bight and back to Flamingo. Along the way, we observed a Bald Eagle and a Peregrine Falcon harassing shorebirds on the exposed mudflats. Other birds observed as follows: 45 species seen or heard.
Red-breasted Merganser
Pied Billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
American White Pelican
Brown Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Wurdermann's Heron (1)
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Reddish Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Bald Eagle
Black-neck Stilt
American Avocet
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Spotted Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Willet
Marbled Godwit
Ruddy Turnstone
Dunlin
Least Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Laughing Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Royal Tern
Black Skimmer
Belted Kingfisher
Peregrine Falcon
Great Crested Flycatcher
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Palm Warbler
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