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Posted by Alex Harper on 21:22:00 04/18/06
Strong winds from the west last night forced hundreds of migrating warblers last night to take cover in this small but heavily vegetated park in North Miami. I convinced a friend (after paying him gas money) to drop me off at the park in the afternoon. I made my arrival just after 4:00. By 4:08, and I am not exaggerating, I had tallied seven species. The park was full of birds. It was impossible to not notice the birds at all. Even the other park visitors took notice. Here are my best but conservative estimates. Even though I lapped the park three times, I was not able to look at every bird.
Red-shouldered Hawk
Yellow-billed Cuckoo- watched one grab and eat a rather large dragonfly
Common Nighthawk
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher- my second today
Northern Parula- fifteen
Blue-winged Warbler- female in late afternoon sun near bridge
Magnolia Warbler- stunning male on west side of horse stables
Cape May Warbler- ten, mostly males
Black-throated Blue Warbler- thirty-five
Palm Warbler- fifteen
Prairie Warbler- sixty
Blackpoll Warbler- five
Black-and-white Warbler- forty
American Redstart- twenty
Worm-eating Warbler- sixty; I saw flocks of just this species
Common Yellowthroat- fifteen
Northern Waterthrush- four
Ovenbird- seventy
Swainson's Warbler- one, possibly two; northwestern most section of the park
(notice, that is about 350 warblers, and very conservative!)
Summer Tanager
Painted Bunting- male
Indigo Bunting
With that Yellow Warbler I had in Miami Shores earlier today, that makes sixteen warblers today. Any day you have a sixteen warbler day, that calls for a celebration. Now if I were to celebrate with the usual birder liberations, I could get into trouble. I settled with a big glass of orange juice. Sorry Paul, but maybe I'll take you out for a drink in four years.
So it looks like northeast Miami-Dade was the place to bird today. Hey "southerners", better luck next time ;)
Alex
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