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Posted by Alex Harper on 13:11:53 07/16/06
Yesterday a couple family members and friends decided to spend the day at the beautiful Bahia Honda State Park in the Florida Keys.
Waking up at 6:30 (which was not easy since I'm in the summer routine of waking up only past 12:00), I quickly saw a Black Skimmer fly over the Palmetto Expressway in Hialeah.
Cave Swallows seem to be doing very well this year. I saw plenty of them even in areas of the turnpike I had seen them previously.
Typical Florida Keys birds were easily seen: Magnificent Frigatebird, White-crowned Pigeon, Gray Kingbirds were all in good numbers.
We didn't stop along Marathon airport to check out the shorebirds hanging out in the wetter areas. There seemed to be plenty larger shorebirds by now.
A brief stop at the Marathon Government Center barely produced and Least Terns, let alone a Roseate. Looks like I was a little too late.
There was not too much happening at Bahia Honda, but I did see five species of shorebirds: Black-bellied Plover, Solitary Sandpiper (on a beach!), Willet, Ruddy Turnstone, and a couple groups of Least Sandpipers in breeding plumage.
Miami Blue Butterflies and many Six-lined Racerunners were seen thoughout the park.
Back in Miami, I saw two Black-necked Stilts resting in a puddle along the Turnpike.
Well, May and June can be dull, but July brings hope with the arrival of the first shorebirds. Later on in the month, we may see some swallows, gnatcatchers, and a warbler or three.
Alex
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