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Posted by Susan Schneider on 15:48:10 05/13/07
In my fourth year on this territory, running the same route, I beat my old record of 59 species with 62! (And without the feral Mallards at FIU!) A big story, of course, was the late migration s gift of warblers. I normally struggle to find a dozen individuals of 4 species max; the marsh and suburban habitats that dominate the route aren t great for songbirds. This year, I doubled that warbler species count to 8, and American Redstarts were abundant at every birding site. (I m not surprised that one landed on Felipe s shoe.)
The late migration brought other gifts too, but let me begin at the beginning. I arrived at the NE Taylor WMA access at 6 AM (that s Krome just south of Okeechobee Rd.). Because of the haze, first light took longer than usual to arrive, and I was fortunate to catch the last call of a Chuck-Will s-Widow, a first for this location. Common Nighthawks sounded off, but not a lot else, and as the mosquito level died down, I could see the main basin was completely dry. Last year s NAMC took place during a drought as well, but nothing like this. For the first time, I was not to find Snail Kite, and no wonder. Wader numbers were way down as well--not a single Great Egret here, where normally I have 30, only one Black-crowned Night Heron, and low numbers of Green Herons.
Along the road to the fish camp, though, one calling Least Bittern came through, always a prize. I had a conversation with the owner of the fish camp when he drove through, and he informed me of birds I identified as Bobolinks in the vicinity for the past few days. Two promptly flew over, calling musically! While we had talked, I heard a Belted Kingfisher calling, only to realize how late this was for them . . . I see that John and Nancy also had one in the Keys, guess I wasn t hallucinating. It was also late for the three Semipalmated Plovers that then flew over, but again, I see several others also found these. Three new species for this territory.
As the sun sort-of rose through the mist, warblers started chipping, and I was gratified at the numbers. A male Cape May was the prize here. A close second was a singing Northern Waterthrush. I presume that the drought has moved the Purple Gallinules off territory. They re here but usually hard to see; this time, four were standing right along the road, looking forlorn if that s possible for so splendid a bird. The local pair of Least Terns put in a graceful appearance, and I headed back to the parking area to hike the levees.
What awaited me there was one of the day s surprises. A cowbird called, and it wasn t a Brown-headed. I located it easily: a male Bronzed Cowbird, ruff, red eye, and all! This is far northern Dade County at the Broward County line, a very rural area but with suburbia not far away. I note from the birdboard that they ve made it as far north as Green Cay. What portends?
The Australian pine die-off in this WMA vicinity has continued, and bird activity was low along the trails both on the canal/pine side and the dry marsh side. It s been several years since I had Flickers here. The usual vulture and Anhinga roosts on the north trail weren t active either, no Mottled Ducks or Ground-Doves . . . The numbers of White Ibis and Cattle Egrets were respectable, anyway, and were to rise to record levels for this territory, go figure. Maybe the drought has moved them around too?
Warblers were the story across the street along the canal, plus my only Downy WP for the day. There I found my second insect highlight of the day, a 2" brown caterpillar with a repeated yellowish owl s head design. Anyone know what this was? (The first literal highlight had been a glowing headlight beetle in my house, an auspicious start to the day.)
My first prairie site was disappointing, no meadowlarks, but the second in Doral provided three. And another surprise. I d had Common Myna there the year before, but this year I had two, taking turns sitting on a nest! The nest is on the crossbar of the A over the Baymont Hotel entry at 107th Av. just south of NW 41st St. It would be easy to document photographically, in case that would help show this is an established species. They sure are all over my local strip malls.
Mourning Doves are also common, but somehow they didn t show up along my driving routes for the count. And Spot-breasted Oriole is a regular, but for the second year in a row, I got skunked. More bad news, a warbler spot in northern Doral had been developed. At least it had featured mainly Australian pines, so not a grievous loss.
You lose some, you win some. I never expect much beyond Loggerhead Shrikes and a Coot or two at the old Miami West park on 87th Av., now re-named Bermudez Park. So the next surprise was a beaut: I noticed orange fencing shielding a small area in the back on a fill hill and, intriguingly, a notice that it was an Important Bird Site. Huh? It had to be for enterprising Burrowing Owls, and there were the burrows. This must be a recent development, although I could easily have missed the unmarked holes last year. But--were the owls still there? This is a high-use park in the middle of Doral. I watched the burrows skeptically for several minutes just outside the fence, and then essayed a pish. Immediately an owl popped out, only 15 feet away!! (Maybe the fenced-off area should be bigger?) Purple Martins and one Chimney Swift added to the list.
My first Black-throated Blue Warbler (female) showed up midday at Mercy Cemetery, along with the now-usual Redstarts, Blackpolls, and Yellowthroats, plus several Common Nighthawks. But FIU had the best warbler variety of all. At the DM ponds was my only Black-and-White Warbler of the day, along with the regulars. The ecosystem preserve was a highlight because the birds were so tame. A female/immature Redstart buzzed me, and a female Northern Parula foraged within touching distance for a minute, at eye level too. There s something very special about an experience like that. My only male Black-throated Blue Warbler also allowed excellent looks here, as did several females.
I readily picked up a Gray Kingbird at their usual location by FIU s Blue Garage near 107th Avenue. I worried when I didn t hear the vocalization, but one was perched on a stop sign. Tamiami Park had a few warblers by the swimming pool; then it was on to the southern portion of Taylor WMA, just west of the Miccosukee Casino.
Up to this point I d been low on wader numbers and variety. Things picked up, as the drought seemed to have less effect in this location. Little Blue Herons and a lone Snowy Egret and Wood Stork put in an appearance plus, finally, two of the Great Egrets I'd missed in the morning. I never did get King Rail or Sora or Yellow-billed Cuckoo, happy memories from last year, and I didn t stay long enough to check for last year s Chuck-Will s-Widow. But I did find Northern Flickers, and I enjoyed a male Red-winged Blackbird trying to catch a large dragonfly: It did a tight loop, then an all-out chase for fifty yards. The dragonfly won. As dusk approached, Common Nighthawks ended the day as they began it, and more flocks of Cattle Egrets and White Ibis appeared. One ibis flock flew in front of the pale red sun, a beautiful sight in the binoculars.
The 9 new species this year bring me to over 80 species on this territory over the past four counts.
Good birding,
Susan
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Anhinga 8
Least Bittern 1
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 2
Snowy Egret 1
Little Blue Heron 5
Tricolored Heron 3
Cattle Egret 130
Green Heron 8
Black-crowned Night Heron 1
White Ibis 123
Wood Stork 1
Muscovy 5
Black Vulture 4
Turkey Vulture 13
Osprey 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 2
Purple Gallinule 4
Common Moorhen 11
American Coot 1
Semipalmated Plover 3
Killdeer 9
Least Tern 4
Rock Pigeon 24
Eurasian Collared-Dove 46
White-winged Dove 1
Mourning Dove 3
Monk Parkeet 7
Burrowing Owl 1
Common Nighthawk 8
Chuck-Will's-Widow 1
Chimney Swift 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 5
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 2
Gray Kingbird 1
Purple Martin 3
Blue Jay 7
Fish Crow 5
Carolina Wren 6
Northern Mockingbird 27
Loggerhead Shrike 9
European Starling 24
Common Myna 2
Northern Parula 3
Cape May Warbler 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler 6
Blackpoll Warbler 23
Black-and-White Warbler 1
American Redstart 45
Northern Waterthrush 1
Common Yellowthroat 27
Northern Cardinal 10
Bobolink 2
Red-winged Blackbird 62
Eastern Meadowlark 3
Boat-tailed Grackle 208
Common Grackle 10
Bronzed Cowbird 1
House Sparrow 3
Total Individuals: 935
Total Species: 62
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