Posted by Bryant Roberts on September 26, 2002 at 23:55:52:
I spent a few days this early this week sailing with my brother on
the east side of south Biscayne Bay and going ashore on some of
the islands in Biscayne National Park, nothing unexpected on the
islands, lots of Ovenbirds and a scattering of the usual warblers, a few
White-Crowned Pigeons, and lots of Chuck-will's-widows. The main show was
in between the islands where on Wednesday 9/24 I must have seen at least a
dozen Merlins heading south or searching for prey. We were anchored in a
bay on the northwest corner of Sands Key late Wednesday afternoon where I
had observed at least six Merlins crossing the bay east of our location. I
heard a Bobolinks flight note behind me and turned around to look for it,
it was about a hundred and fifty feet above the water a couple of hundred
yard west of us headed towards the western part of Sands Key witch was
several hundred yards ahead of it, a Merlin was speeding toward it head
on. The Merlin struck the Bobolink knocking off a couple of feathers but
the it recovered and continued gamely towards the safety of the wooded
island. The Merlin circled back and made a couple of un-successful
passes at the Bobolink before striking it again, this time Bobolink fell
to within ten or fifteen feet above the water but recovered and continued
struggling towards land, now obviously injured and fluttering. It took
the Merlin about three more passes before striking the Bobolink for a
final time knocking it into the water, the Merlin circled around and
plucked the Bobolink off the water and carried it's prize back towards
Sands Key.
It's been about a month since my last posting about fall migration in Broward County
so I'll try to catch up on the high points and first sightings for this
Fall since late August.
8/27 - Kentucky Warbler (North Pine Island Ridge)
9/3 - Ovenbird (Secret Woods)
9/7 - Summer Tanager (Greenleaf Cemetery)
Veery (Greenleaf Cemetery)
9/9 - Yellow-throated Vireo (North Pine Island Ridge)
9/10 - Bobolink (Robbins Park)
9/11 - Cape May Warbler (Markham Park)
Empidonax sp. (Markham Park)
Eastern Wood-Pewee (Markham Park)
9/12 - Hooded Warbler (Markham Park)
Kentucky Warbler (Markham Park)
9/14 - Prothonotary Warbler (Birch State Park)
Blackburninan Warbler (Greenleaf Cemetery)
Chestnut-sided Warbler (Greenleaf Cemetery)
Baltimore Oriole (Greenleaf Cemetery)
9/15 - Merlin (Lucky Hammock)
9/17 - Cerulean Warbler (North Pine Island Ridge)
9/21 - Wilson's Warbler (Birch State Park)
Scarlet Tanager (Colohatchee Park)
9/26 - Tennessee Warbler (North Pine Island Ridge)
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird (North Pine Island Ridge)
There has also been an increase in the usual number of Snail
Kites in the water conservation area west of Markham Park to at
least a dozen, the center of activity is about a mile west along the south
levee. Worm-eating Warblers have been unusually regular this month, I saw
or heard (one day) this warbler every day for 14 days between 9/7 and 9/21
in most of the places I birded regularly.