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Posted by Susan Schneider on 14:14:06 05/14/06
For the third year, I ran the same route on the same territory, expecting fewer species than usual because of the drought and the lateness of the count this year. But you just never know: I wound up the day bettering my old record of 56 species. This NAMC held some big surprises at locations that I thought I knew well, one of the many pleasures of birding!
I started out at 6 at the northern Krome Av portion of Taylor WMA (just south of Okeechobee Rd), hoping for Least Bittern again. I never did get them this year, but Common Nighthawk and King Rail obliged. Water levels were far below normal at this time of year, and the wader diversity that I rely on at this spot was miniscule--I missed birds that are normally easy, like Little Blue Heron and Snowy Egret, also Mottled Duck and Osprey. But my female/immature Snail Kite was as reliable as ever, showing itself briefly three times during the early morning. And Green Herons were everywhere, including one making a soft, very low-pitched guttural sound I'd never heard, quite unlike their usual loud gulping squawk. On the lone road from the parking area was a lone Glossy Ibis; Common Yellowthroats sang, but no Moorhens or Purple Gallinules were there this year. As I drove back, I suddenly noted birds right near me on the gravel--the 5 Least Terns I'd observed were resting from their graceful foraging. I carefully drove around them. I found additional terns at Miami West Park and at FIU, for a high count of 7. On my last trail at the WMA was a new bird for the territory, an adult Yellow-crowned Night Heron. Last year I had 15 Black-crowneds, this year not a one. I also missed Common Ground-Dove here for the first time, which I had cause to regret later. But a flight of 20 Dunlin heading north overhead was a pick-me-up, also a lone Rough-winged Swallow likewise heading for the higher latitudes. The cool temperatures in the morning were a relief, but they didn't last.
Songbirds were few because the Australian invasives that border the marsh were dead, also the case across the street (but alive and well elsewhere--elevation differences causing more/less water access?). I did pick up my only Downy WP. The nearby ranch produced 30 Cattle Egrets, an Eastern Meadowlark, and a White-winged Dove, new for the count.
The birding "high points" of Doral produced the usual suburban birds. Miami West Park came through with its Loggerhead Shrike family and a Killdeer, also one of several Coots. A Mourning Dove there showed a feature I seldom notice, a marked light blue eye ring, very attractive. A small ranch held not only meadowlarks and cattle egrets, but a Common Myna on the border with a strip mall, a new territory species. I can never seem to find the Mynas at the strip malls near FIU on Count Day.
On to FIU, where I tracked down two Gray Kingbirds. At this point, I was joined by my mother, who promptly found a Northern Waterthrush hiding under one of FIU's gazebos! The usual FIU locations have been a bust this spring (to my knowledge), probably because of denuded edge cover. I later found another N. Waterthrush at the edge of fairly open marsh (!) at the WMA. Are they desperate or what? The rest of FIU's DM ponds area yielded a small group of American Redstarts, all females or juvenile males. The Ecosystem Preserve was also productive, with Blackpoll Warblers as well as f/jm Redstarts, and the expected flyover Monk Parakeets who nest nearby.
I save my second-best birding spot for last: the portion of Taylor WMA that's off Tamiami just west of Krome. At the little wetland in back of the water control structure a few fish were floundering dismally in the remaining puddle (a juvenile Great Blue Heron later picked out a large dead one and snarfed it down with difficulty). No waders at all on our first visit. *But*--what's that?? Shorebirds!!! Zowee, I never thought I'd get White-rumped Sandpipers on this territory, but there they were, with Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers and one lone Solitary. And a gurgling female Purple Martin overhead seemed to share the joy.
The trail produced a few more songbirds but no waders except for a few flyover Great Egrets. A trotting Gray Fox took advantage of the trail before noticing me and descending to the brush along the canal. A calling Yellow-billed Cuckoo was a first for the territory. Then, as dusk started to fall, I heard another King Rail, and a pair of Common Nighthawks gave me a close flyby, always a thrill. One that dipped down to the canal was a male in good enough light for me to see its breast streaks and white throat patch. I forget that this bird isn't just dark with a white wing mark. Then a large flock of Great Egrets made a majestic appearance. I was already well content as we headed back to the small wetland area, but three more surprises awaited me, all new for the territory. First, a Black-necked Stilt had taken the place of the shorebirds. It shared the space with a Coot and a Moorhen, who twice chased the Coot some distance away. The reason became clear as it got darker: She had three youngsters with her. As the chorus of frogs tuned up, I heard a Sora give the "sora" call twice. And, just as we were about to depart, a Chuck-will's-Widow called for several minutes! A very satisfying day, with 59 species and 716 individuals.
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Double-crested Cormorant 3
Anhinga 10
Great Blue Heron 4
Great Egret 37
Tricolored Heron 1
Cattle Egret 42
Green Heron 33
Yellow-crowned Night Heron 1
White Ibis 8
Glossy Ibis 1
Muscovy 1
Black Vulture 11
Turkey Vulture 9
Snail Kite 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
King Rail 2
Sora 1
Common Moorhen 10
American Coot 4
Killdeer 6
Black-necked Stilt 1
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Semipalmated Sandpiper 5
Least Sandpiper 7
White-rumped Sandpiper 3
Dunlin 20
Least Tern 7
Rock Pigeon 13
Eurasian Collared-Dove 56
White-winged Dove 1
Mourning Dove 19
Monk Parakeet 6
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1
Common Nighthawk 3
Chuck-will's-widow 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 7
Downy Woodpecker 1
Great-crested Flycatcher 2
Gray Kingbird 2
Purple Martin 1
N. Rough-winged Swallow 1
Blue Jay 4
Fish Crow 10
Carolina Wren 2
Northern Mockingbird 30
Loggerhead Shrike 6
European Starling 38
Common Myna 1
Blackpoll Warbler 3
American Redstart 9
Northern Waterthrush 2
Common Yellowthroat 6
Northern Cardinal 7
Red-winged Blackbird 62
Eastern Meadowlark 3
Boat-tailed Grackle 179
Common Grackle 18
House Sparrow 1
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