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Posted by Susan Schneider on 21:18:17 11/11/07
A dozen birders enjoyed beautiful weather and about 70 species of birds on the TAS trip Saturday. We started at Lucky Hammock where, as Angel and Mariel noted, sparrows were few and far between. Nonetheless, the Sandhill Cranes put on quite a show, and a female Baltimore Oriole perched in plain view on a wire. Raptors were the other highlight here, with numerous American Kestrels, a distant Northern Harrier, a Cooper s Hawk, and--to loud cheers--an adult Bald Eagle. We also enjoyed several species of swallows including Cave, and a plowed field offered large numbers of Killdeer.
On to Royal Palm, where the Gumbo Limbo trail was not very birdy, but we found a Liguus tree snail. Our timing at Anhinga was perfect, as we happened on an American Bittern only a few feet off the trail, in vegetation just past the pond by the visitor center. It eventually became comfortable enough to come into clear view, start hunting, and catch and eat a minnow. At the same time, an Anhinga that had speared an oscar was trying to get it into position to swallow, and an Osprey came soaring overhead. Despite the high water levels and low wader numbers, there was a lot of action! Another highlight was a male Anhinga fishing in the clear water near the low bridge on the paved path. He poked his head up for air at predictable intervals, illustrating the species nickname of snakebird. (As one of our group commented, the other nickname of water turkey is also especially timely this month!) The number of gators was predictably small, but one large adult had hauled up on a bank near the trail, providing views almost too close. And we enjoyed a clump of small striped youngsters.
We took an early lunch break at Long Pine Key, where some of us enjoyed good views of a House Wren and a male Eastern Towhee. The loop trail around noon (not the best time) still offered highlights of a calling Brown-crested Flycatcher, two Pine Warblers, and another Liguus tree snail. Most of the group decided to continue on to Mahogany Hammock, where the small warbler flock included a very cooperative Worm-eating Warbler, and our second adult Bald Eagle flew overhead.
Four of us went on to Paurotis Pond, West Lake, Mrazek Pond, and Eco Pond. One highlight was a striking group of waders in trees about half a mile north of Mrazek: four or five Roseate Spoonbills in good coloration in the sun, two immature Wood Storks, and half a dozen other waders. Mrazek offered Black-crowned Night-Herons and two very active Belted Kingfishers. Eco Pond was not very birdy itself, but on the far side, several temporary shallow pools provided rather distant views of Black-necked Stilts, Greater Yellowlegs, several smaller species of shorebirds, and a few waterfowl. We also enjoyed the spectacle of the distant hundreds of White Ibis and other waders milling about over their new roosting site northwest of Eco Pond. At sunset, a female Northern Harrier hunted nearby along the margins of the pond. Throughout the day, several birders had good looks at life birds, always a great shared pleasure.
Notable was the absence of woodpeckers: We found only one Red-bellied and one Pileated all day. We also went the day without locating any Tricolored Herons or Yellow-throated Warblers, although we did get 8 warbler species.
At the end of the trip, I did something I ve long been wanting to: I drove along Research Road looking for nocturnal species. I found four frogs/toads with dark circles behind their eyes, 1 thin, dark snake that promptly slithered away, and 1 Whip-poor-will.
Good birding,
Susan
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