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Posted by Angel & Mariel on 23:47:09 09/30/07
Today we were planning to meet Toe & the rest of the Audubon members on the TAS walk but instead we got a bit of a late start with the heavy rain. We headed out towards Cutler Wetlands thinking we may find the TAS group there if the walk was still on thru the rain.
We got there birded for about 20 minutes, with no sign of the group and a light rain starting we decided to check out the jetty at Black Point in search of any pelagics that may have been blown inshore due to the storms.
On our way to the jetty we saw a beautiful male Redstart and saw another bird we could not identify with the back light. Heard some BG Gnatcatchers and other warblers along the jetty but they were very secretive and would not respond to phishing. At the end of the jetty we observed a group of Royal Terns mixed in with a group of Laughing Gulls along with a Ruddy Turnstone, a (possible)White-rumped Sandpiper and a Willet. We will post pictures later to help us id our sightings. We aren't experts on shorebirds but are working on learning key field markings and behavior to help us ID shorebirds more accurately. The tide was rolling in fast on the jetty in a matter of minutes it was starting to cover the rocks so we had to leave the shorebirds with a fond memory, pictures and some video.
Next we made a short stop at Castellow Hammock where we spotted a few birds with a glimpse of 2 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds chasing each other. We ended the day at Lucky Hammock where we enjoyed observing some Hawks... Beautiful Harriers, Cooper's Hawk, Merlin, Sharp-shinned Hawk and a perched Broad-winged Hawk. A colorful male Painted Bunting was the highlight in the hammock with a GC Flycatcher calling from a perch above. Overall we enjoyed our day ourdoors even with the rain falling on and off.
Too bad we never ended up running into the group we were really looking forward to meeting everyone at the walk.
Cutler Wetlands:
1 Northern Cardinal (on a tree by the edge)
1 Double-crested Cormorant
45 Cattle Egret
17 Great Egret
1 Snowy Egret
11 Boat-tailed Grackle
1 Red-shouldered Hawk
1 Green Heron
1 Little Blue Heron
3 Tricolored Heron
25 White Ibis
2 Belted Kingfisher
2 Northern Mockingbird
1 Common Moorhen
1 Osprey
1 Loggerhead Shrike
3 Royal Tern
Black Point Marina:
1 Brown Pelican
4 Double-crested Cormorant
1 Little Blue Heron
10 Turkey Vulture
1 Willet
1 Ruddy Turnstone
1 White-rumped Sandpiper
20 Laughing Gull
22 Royal Tern
3 Belted Kingfisher
1 Red-bellied Woodpecker
2 Loggerhead Shrike
2 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
1 Prairie Warbler
1 American Redstart
5 Boat-tailed Grackle
Castellow Hammock:
2 Mourning Dove
2 Ruby-throated Hummingbird
2 Blue Jay
2 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
1 Northern Cardinal
3 Common Grackle
5 House Sparrow
Lucky Hammock:
1 Painted Bunting
3 Northern Cardinal
5 American Crow
2 Great Egret
1 Northern Flicker
1 Great Crested Flycatcher
4 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
2 Northern Harrier
1 Broad-winged Hawk
1 Sharp-shinned Hawk
1 Cooper's Hawk
3 Merlin
2 Northern Mockingbird
2 Loggerhead Shrike
40 Barn Swallow
25 Turkey Vulture
1 Common Yellowthroat
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