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Posted by Vince Lucas on 20:14:50 02/06/07
All:
After the last few days of "frigid", rainy weather, I was itching to do some local birding, hoping to add to my Collier County Big Year. I got off to a late start (after 9:30AM) but it probably didn't matter since it really didn't begin to warm up until around 10:00AM anyway. I headed to the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk in the Fakahtachee Strand S.P. on US Rte. 41 south of Naples. Last Sunday my good buddy Alan Murray found a male Hooded Warbler, Northern Waterthrush and American Redstart there so I was hoping to duplicate those sightings. Despite the throngs of people, many of them loud, some with dogs, some with kids running around unsupervised, I managed to find a few good birds. I relocated Alan's Northern Waterthrush at the end of the boardwalk at the observation platform. The bird was calling loudly, totally unfazed by the raucous crowd. I managed to pish him in to the point where he almost jumped up on the boardwalk. However, the best bird seen at the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk was a beautiful male Magnolia Warbler in nonbreeding plumage. In addition to the expected species, other nice birds present at this site were Northern Parula, Yellow-throated Warbler, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Eastern Phoebe, both White-eyed and Blue-headed Vireo, a calling Barred Owl and of course, the nesting Bald Eagles. American Robins were very much in evidence too.
From the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk, I birded Oil Pad Rd. -- the only accessible road in the Ten Thousand islands N.W.R. of which I am aware. I hadn't been to this locale in well over a year so I was glad to see it again. I forgot just how peaceful and beautiful it is. In addition to the usual waders, including Roseate Spoonbills, I found a cooperative American Bittern. However, THE best bird I saw was a female Wilson's Warbler. The yellow eye-ring and dark olive crown really set off the yellow supercilium on this bird. The bird was seen approximately 1/8 mile after the Macadam road ends and the dirt road begins. It was associating with a Prairie and several Yellow-rumped Warblers near some white mangroves (I think). I haven't seen a Wilson's Warbler in Collier County for three years or so. Other great birds on Oil Pad Rd. were a Peregrine Falcon, Black-crowned Night-Heron, American White Pelican, "pure" Mottled Ducks, Greater Yellowlegs, Purple Martin, and a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks that were fighting over a fish that one of them had in its talons. I can't recall ever seeing a Red-shouldered Hawk with a fish in its talons. Is this common? Have I lead a sheltered life or something? Anyone? Lastly, American Robins were everywhere along Oil pad rd. as well. This is a phenomenal year for them in southwest Florida.
BTW, my Collier County Big year total now stands at 147.
A quick note. On Oil Pad Rd. I saw several great butterflies that are either locally uncommon or mostly missed in Collier County: Palataka Skipper, Obscure Skipper, many Mangrove Buckeyes and a good number of Salt Marsh Skippers. Odes included: Seaside Dragonlet, Eastern Pondhawk, Halloween Pennant, Needham's Skimmer & Scarlet Skimmer.
A final stop at the Greenway-Fritchey Rd. area in another futile attempt to find a Snail Kite and the Great Horned Owl known to frequent the area was just that. . . futile. I did see an American Goldfinch and a Sandhill Crane, however.
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