[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]
Posted by Bill B on 09:44:48 05/14/07
The Loop Road portion of the NAMC got started outside Shark Valley at 0600, along a dark and smoky US41. The predawn chorus netted 6 Chuck-will s-widows, plus many Cardinals and Mockingbirds. As an orange sun rose in the haze, I tallied a single Snail Kite, Eastern Kingbirds and a pair of Brown Thrashers. At about 0650 I reached the abandoned airboat area where I met up with Paul Bithorn, whose scheduled guests (to their soon-to-be chagrin) had not made the trip. There were no Snail Kites at the airboat area, but between there and the bend to Big Cypress we quickly tallied most waders, including several Limpkin and a handful of Roseate Spoonbills. A flock of 5 Black-necked Stilts flew by, as did some far off, unidentifiable peeps and a Spotted Sandpiper. A fly-by Common Ground-Dove was a nice find.
Once into Big Cypress, we stopped at the Dade turn-offs, picking up a few warblers (Blackpoll, Redstart, Parula, Yellowthroat) plus breeding Gnatcatchers. A real surprise was a well-seen Black-whiskered Vireo, inexplicably far inland. We also had a nice fly-by Swallow-tailed Kite, and a seen and heard Yellow-billed Cuckoo.
Passing into Collier County, still under a pastel orange sun, we hurried down to Loop Road and the Monroe County line, accompanied by the Stones on CD, where we would resume counting. Our biggest surprise of the day occurred as we reached the county line, and in fact while we were sitting right there, recording time and mileage. As Jack Bauer might say, The following takes place between 8:12 am and 8:17 am :
Paul: What s that on the road? Wow, a bobcat!
Bill: Oh, cool!
(Both look at the cat walking along the road, about 100 yards away. Paul hears a tanager-like call and begins scanning the cypress. A minute or two passes)
Bill: Uh, Paul.....
Paul: Yeah?
Bill: When that bobcat turned it had a long tail! Holy cow... Could that be a....
Paul: It s a...
Paul and Bill (in unison): PANTHER!!!!
Unbelievably, the cat stayed on the road, oblivious to us, as we jumped out of the car, set up a scope, and watched it at leisure for 5-10 minutes until it finally walked off into the brush. Based on the looks we got, it appeared to be a young cat that had no radio collar. This was Paul s 1st ever panther, and my 1st definitive panther!
Well, the count must go on....we reached Sweetwater Slough, still euphoric. There was actually water in the area low, not moving, but more than I ve seen the past 2 spring counts. 4 River Otters were playing on one side (wow, this was becoming a great mammal day!) And were easily observed. Several more warblers were tallied, including B&W, a heard Prothonotary, and 5 Northern Waterthrushes. A Barred Owl began hooting overhead; Paul found it and began hooting back, causing a second bird over me to join in, and for a while the slough echoed with booming calls between the two owls. We then found another inland Black-whiskered Vireo (what s that all about?) , among the plentiful Great Crested Flycatchers and White-eyed Vireos, and vociferous Carolina Wrens.
After about 2 hours at the slough we began driving the rest of the road, stopping occasionally to look around, although we turned up nothing unusual until we were getting near the Nature Center; a mile or so south of there I had a quick but good look at a Hairy Woodpecker on a cypress; unfortunately, it moved off before Paul could get on it. The nature Center itself was virtually birdless, and we netted only a Brown-headed Cowbird. The pond just beyond, though, had a Great White Heron.
Entering the pineland areas, we quickly got Pine Warbler and Eastern Towhee (Florida race), but were luckless on Bluebirds and nuthatch.
Arriving back in Dade County, we left Loop Road with a pair of Common Mynas which looked like they had a nest site set up. Back on 41, we returned to the airboat site to search for more Snail Kites but came up empty. We did have Least Tern, though, plus lesser Yellowlegs and more peeps. After dropping off Paul at his car, I picked up a pair of Purple Gallinules at another airboat area, plus more Least Terns.
I don't want to step on Paul's trademark, but since he was there I'm sure he wouldn't mind: Life is good....given a rare opportunity to observe one of of the touchstones of Florida wilderness, and to share it with a friend.
Double-crested Cormorant - 6
Anhinga - 11
Great Blue Heron - 9 (+ 1 Great White)
Great Egret - 23
Snowy Egret - 4
Little Blue Heron - 16
Tricolored Heron - 7
Cattle Egret - 20
Green Heron - 27
Black-crowned Night-Heron - 4
White Ibis - 45
Roseate Spoonbill - 6
Wood Stork - 13
Black Vulture - 84
Turkey Vulture - 18
Osprey - 2
Swallow-tailed Kite - 3
Snail Kite - 1
Red-shouldered Hawk - 11
Purple Gallinule - 2
Common Moorhen - 10
Limpkin - 4
Killdeer - 2
Black-necked Stilt - 5
Spotted Sandpiper - 1
Lesser Yellowlegs - 1
Least Tern - 6
Eurasian Collared-Dove - 10
Mourning Dove - 2
Common Ground-Dove - 1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 2
Barred Owl - 3
Chuck-will's-widow - 6
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 22
Downy Woodpecker - 6
Hairy Woodpecker - 1
Northern Flicker - 5
Pileated Woodpecker - 2
Great Crested Flycatcher - 44
Eastern Kingbird - 6
Gray Kingbird - 1
White-eyed Vireo - 34
Black-whiskered Vireo - 2
American Crow - 14
Tufted Titmouse - 3
Carolina Wren - 15
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 13
Northern Mockingbird - 9
Brown Thrasher - 2
European Starling - 14
Northern Parula - 7
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 2
Pine Warbler - 7
Blackpoll Warbler - 21
Black-and-white Warbler - 1
American Redstart - 10
Prothonotary Warbler - 1
Northern Waterthrush - 5
Common Yellowthroat - 5
Eastern Towhee - 1
Northern Cardinal - 31
Red-winged Blackbird - 27
Common Grackle - 37
Boat-tailed Grackle - 119
Brown-headed Cowbird - 2
Common Myna - 2
Number of Species: 65 + 1 exotic
[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]