[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]
Posted by Vince Lucas on 15:21:35 02/02/07
I've lived here in North Naples, Collier County for nearly 7 years and have spent quite a few winters and winter vacations here long before that, starting in the early 80's. However, I've NEVER seen so many American Robins in Collier County as have this winter. Their numbers are staggering. Today for example, it sounded much like springtime in the Northeast Ohio area from where I last lived for any length of time. AMROs were singing everywhere. My backyard, which abuts Greg "The Shark's" Tiburón Mega Golf Course was completely inundated with noisy flocks of AMROs in the thousands. They were after the Brazilian Pepper berries of course. I went outside and it was literally "raining" pepper berry seeds! You could actually hear them dropping on the ground and they would stick to my exposed arms, etc. I estimate 25,000 AMROs had to be coming through with probably 500 or so Cedar Waxwings. I was able to photograph many AMROs eating Brazilian Pepper berries. The last "invasion" of AMROs that came anywhere near these numbers in Collier County was in 2005, but even then, I don't think they were in the high numbers that I've witnessed recently in this county. Given these AMRO's propensity for Brazilian Peppers, I'm sure there will be many, many more of this nasty invasive exotic sprouting up in the 'hood in years to come, providing everything isn't paved-over or otherwise annihilated by then. . . . Have birders been seeing these huge numbers of AMROs and to a lesser extent, CEWAs in the Miami-Dade area?
[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]