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Posted by Toe on 20:24:19 09/30/07
That was our score today, due in no small part to the weather. Seven birders, either very brave or borderline insane, braved the storms, squalls, winds, and several menacing canines in search of birds in the Cutler Bay area. We started at Sadowski Park at 7:30 and waited for the rain to stop. And we waited, and waited. Finally we had a break and under light rain we found a few warblers, a couple of raptors, plenty of Hummers and little else. But, the highlight was a troop of Spot-breasted Orioles that gave us cripping walk-away looks. We also had an Orange-crowned Warbler, a Short-tailed Hawk that perched for a moment, a Merlin, and a perched Broad-winged Hawk that didn't seem to be in a hurry to go anywhere.
From there we went to 72nd Ave. along the edge of the Deering Estate and that's when our walk quickly turned into a Hawk Watch. We had great looks at several Sharp-shinned and one Red-Shoudered Hawk, a Peregrine, and Osprey. Not many warblers here but we had a cooperative Black-throated Green.
Cutler Wetlands had a lot more water than usual, and all we saw were 4 Northern Shovelers, some grebes and a few wadars. We added to our hawk watch with a Norhern Harrier. A brief check of the wetlands across from the wastewater treatment plant produced a couple dozen Blue-winged Teal.
Our last stop was Dump Marsh where the ducks haven't arrived yet, but we added Cooper's Hawk.
Our most productive stop was the grill at Black Point, where the last remaining four birdaholics had a very enjoyable lunch, and we added American Kestrel to our raptor list. Not the most productive of days, but we had a good time and still got to enjoy some birds. Besides, since when does a little monsoon stop real birders. Here are some of the birds:
Raptors:
Northern Harrier
Short-tailed Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Peregrinen Falcon
Merlin
American Kestrel
Osprey
Warblers:
Orange-crowned
Worm-eating
Black-throated Green
Black-throated Blue
Prairie
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Common Yellowthroat
Others:
Spot-breasted Oriole
Least Flycatcher
Red-eyed Vireo
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Eastern Kingbird
Gray Kingbird
Lesser Yellowlegs
Belted Kingfisher
Northern Shoveler
etc..
Cheers!
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