[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]
Posted by Bill Boeringer on 10:59:10 05/15/06
The NAMC was done along Tamiami Trail/Loop Road in both Dade and Monroe Counties on Saturday. It was an odd day overall. The beginning of the trip, along the Trail to Big Cypress, was simply Waderpalooza. I believe I had high counts for every wader except Little Blue, which included a first-ever (for my counts) Roseate Spoonbill and 7 Limpkins (none calling). Black Vultures were everywhere. A Mottled Duck was a slight surprise, and both Eastern and Gray Kingbirds were also tallied.
Into Big Cypress, the predominant note was quiet. Birds simply weren t very vocal. They were there, because I d see them, but they were not calling often, a trend which continued along Loop Road and kept some of the numbers down, especially White-eyed Vireos. There were also few if any migrants.
Sweetwater Slough was its usual sweet self- very dry, with one small water hole occupied by ibis, crows, otters, and raccoons. A pair of Prothonotary Warblers were around (again, some calling but not very much) as were the usual Parulas. 2 Blackpolls were the only true migrants. There was a Red-eyed Vireo (at least he was singing) well-seen (I d see a total of three between the Slough and the Nature Center Trail), and several Yellow-billed Cuckoos. A Barred Owl was low in a side ditch (silent).
About a mile or two up from there, I recorded a new count bird when a female Wild Turkey walked calmly across the road, about 100 feet from my car!
The campground area east/north of the Nature Center was quiet, except for 2 Redstarts.
The next big surprise was while still on Loop Road, but having just re-entered Dade County, when stopped by a small marsh to check out limpkin and some herons. I noticed 2 birds wheeling high overhead, looking unusually gangly for storks. Putting my binoculars on them, I saw they looked darker on inside wings than primaries, and looked gangly because of trailing legs not storks, but 2 Sandhill Cranes!
A note on Loop Road: they are redoing the culverts, and the road is closed in parts during the week during construction. Consult the NPS for road closure schedule. It was easy-to-drive on the Count, though.
DADE COUNTY
Double-crested Cormorant 16
Anhinga 22
Great Blue Heron 32
Great Egret 109
Snowy Egret 30
Little Blue Heron 7
Tricolored Heron 19
Cattle Egret 56
Green Heron 42
Blk-crowned Night Heron 6
White Ibis 459
Glossy Ibis 47
Roseate Spoonbill 1
Black Vulture 197
Turkey Vulture 15
Wood Stork 30
Mottled Duck 1
Osprey 2
Swallow-tailed Kite 1
Snail Kite 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 8
King Rail 1
Purple Gallinule 2
Common Moorhen 2
Limpkin 7
Sandhill Crane 2
Killdeer 1
Rock Dove 9
Eurasian Collared Dove 30
Mourning Dove 23
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 5
Eastern Kingbird 3
Gray Kingbird 1
White-eyed Vireo 13
American Crow 14
Purple Martin 11
Barn Swallow 2
Carolina Wren 4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Northern Mockingbird 5
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling 24
Common Yellowthroat 5
Northern Cardinal 12
Red-winged Blackbird 37
Common Grackle 10
Boat-tailed Grackle 221
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
MONROE COUNTY
Anhinga 5
Great Egret 1
Green Heron 2
White Ibis 34
Black Vulture 14
Turkey Vulture 9
Swallow-tailed Kite 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 9
Wild Turkey 1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 4
Barred Owl 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 18
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 3
Pileated Woodpecker 5
Great Crested Flycatcher 22
White-eyed Vireo 16
Red-eyed Vireo 3
American Crow 11
Tufted Titmouse 10
Carolina Wren 9
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 4
Northern Parula 6
Blackpoll Warbler 2
American Redstart 2
Prothonotary Warbler 2
Common Yellowthroat 3
Northern Cardinal 11
Indigo Bunting 1
Red-winged Blackbird 17
Common Grackle 174
[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]