Posted by Paul Bithorn on January 12, 2003 at 21:21:21:
I was privileged to lead 12 members of the fledgling Naples Bird Club, including their leader, Don Fairbanks and Joe Cox of The Conservancy of Southwest Florida, on an "Exotics" fieldtrip. We met at 11:30 a.m. in the emergency parking lot of Baptist Hospital on Kendall Drive. We were greeted by a dark morph adult Short-tailed Hawk before leaving the parking lot.
We proceeded to walk to the neighborhood directly across the street from Baptist Hospital (Pranty-pgs. 222 and 228) on Kendall Drive (S.W. 88 St.) and S.W. 87 Ave. We walked around several blocks across Kendall and saw Monk Parakeets, Eurasian Collared Doves, Rock Doves and a fleeting glimpse of a Red-whiskered Bulbul perched in the top of a Sapodilla Tree.
We then proceeded west to the shopping center at S.W. 88 St and S.W. 157 Ave., parking behind the McDonald's, where a Common Myna posed for us on the Mcdonald's sign. European Starling and more Monk Parakeets were also in the area.
We then headed for the Miami Springs area, breaking for lunch in beatiful Virginia Gardens, where House Sparrows chirped loudly in the Podocarpus hedge in the parking lot of Subrageous on N.W. 36 St.
We stopped in front of the Curtiss Mansion on Deer Run and Fairway Drive and found a pair of Yellow-chevroned Parakeets feeding in a Floss-Silk Tree (Chorisia speciosa). We birded on foot around the Fair Havens Nursing Home (Pranty-pg. 221). Other than Monk Parakeets, the only birds of note were a juvenile Broad-winged Hawk and a Blue-headed Vireo in a Shaving Brush Tree (Pseudobombax ellipticum). It was very quiet, due to the time of day. We did enter the nusrsing home to admire the adobe style of architecture. I highly recommend this area at dusk when the psittacids come here to roost.
We birded the area around the old Apache & Wren parrot site and found three Dusky-headed Parakeets perched in the top of a Mango Tree on Apache St., between Swan Ave. and Falcon Ave.
Our next stop was the old Miller Drive Parrot Roost (Pranty-pg. 222 (map)and pg. 227). We parked at the tennis courts on Brewer Canal at Miller Drive (S.W. 56 St) and around S.W. 63 Ave and walked around the block, spotting a White-winged Dove, but no luck finding any exotics.
We then drove the neighborhood with the windows down and found several of the local colony of White-crowned Pigeons, along with Orange-winged and Mealy Parrots, when we were startled by a flock of about 50 parrots flying overhead.We jumped in the van and followed the flock to the 7000 block of S.W. 62 Ave.(2 blocks north of Sunset Dr., aka S.W. 72 St.) Paydirt.....the mother lode! About 75 parrots were seen on the power lines and on a Hong Kong Orchid Tree (Bauhinia blakeana) at about 5:00 p.m., including Blue-fronted,Red-crowned,White-fronted, Lilac-crowned, Orange-winged, Yellow-naped and Yellow-Faced Parrots. Our exotics total finished at 17 species. Our group found the experience quite fructifying. No brag, just fact.
Susan Epps; Parrots of South Florida was invaluable to us in identifying the many species of psittacids. We also used Sibley's; Guide to the Birds,National Geo and Forshaw's; Parrots of the World. I was promised a celebratory libation the next time I visit SW Florida.
Life is good............ sharing the spectacle of exotic birding with fellow birders.