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Posted by Brian Rapoza on 15:26:52 11/17/07
Nearly 200 species of birds were seen by participants during the just-completed American Birding Association Regional Conference, held in Plantation, Broward County. Over 100 birders from across the U.S. and Canada came to sunny South Florida in search of our many avian specialties. Forty-nine birders joined us for a pre-conference trip to Stormwater Treatment Area 5 in Hendry County. Other locations we visited during the conference included Lucky Hammock, Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, Wakodahatchee and Green Cay Wetlands, Okeeheelee Nature Center, Hypoluxo Scrub Natural Area, Brian Piccolo Park, the Smooth-billed Ani spot on Old Griffin Road, Crandon Park, A.D. Barnes Park and the Baptist Hospital area.
Thanks go out to all the local leaders who worked so hard to find target birds, keep the groups together and do all the little things needed to make the conference field trips successful: Joe Barros, Paul Bithorn, John Boyd, Paddy Cunningham, Robin Diaz, John Hutchison, Larry Manfredi, Trey Mitchell, Steve Siegel, Arthur Sissman and Roberto Torres. Thanks also go out to Margaret England and Steve Buczynski from Hendry-Glades Audubon, Vince Lucas and Alan Murray from Caloosa Bird Club in Lee County and Ben Kolstad, from Audubon of the Everglades in Palm Beach County for their assistance during the STA-5 trip, and to Lisa Andrews from Big Cypress National Preserve, who assisted during our visit to Kirby Storter Boardwalk.
Special thanks go out to Bill Pranty, who joined me for a Miami exotics trip on Wednesday. Bill was like a kid in a candy store during our visit to Crandon Gardens, where we studied the garden's collection of exotic waterfowl and poultry, which included Plumed Whistling Duck, Coscoroba and Mute Swans, Egyptian, Swan, Canada, Cackling, Bar-headed, Barnacle, Greylag and Hawaiian Geese, Red-crested Pochard, Radjah Shelduck, Common Peafowl, Wild Turkey, Red Junglefowl and Helmeted Guineafowl. I must also thank Steve Carbol from the Conservancy of Southwest Florida in Collier County, who attended the conference as a paying participant, but in reality acted as another leader. Steve's expertise was especially helpful at Crandon Gardens; he had no problem identifying the aforementioned exotics.
I must also thank the conference speakers: Larry Manfredi, who introduced participants to the local specialties, Dr. Jerry Lorenz from Audubon of Florida, who enlightened participants on the current status of Roseate Spoonbills in Florida Bay, Dr. Jim Kushlan, who discussed the status of herons from around the world, Dr. Steve Siegel, who presented a workshop on avian videography techniques, and the irrepressible Ted Floyd, editor of Birding Magazine, who not only assisted with four conference field trips, but also tackled, during one of the conference's post-dinner presentations, the controversial topic of countability, inspiring a lively discussion with attendees.
Thanks to all conference participants for their patience and enthusiasm; it was a delight to introduce them to south Florida's avian wonders. I also have to thank the staff of the Sheraton Suites Plantation, conference headquarters, who made us feel at home throughout our stay. Finally, I must thank ABA staff for their tireless efforts, without which the conference would have never been a success: Tamie Bulow, Chip Clouse, Rich Downing and Brenda Gibb.
Now for the birds, with select notations:
Black-bellied Whistling Duck (Green Cay Wetlands)
Fulvous Whistling Duck (STA-5)
Greater White-fronted Goose (STA-5)
Muscovy Duck
Wood Duck (Okeeheelee Nature Center)
American Wigeon
Mallard
Mottled Duck
Northern Pintail
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Pied-billed Grebe
Northern Gannet
American White Pelican
Brown Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Anhinga
Magnificent Frigatebird
American Bittern
Least Bittern
Great Blue Heron
"Great White" Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Reddish Egret
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
Glossy Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
Wood Stork
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Snail Kite
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper s Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Short-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Crested Caracara (STA-5)
American Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
King Rail (Anhinga Trail)
Sora
Purple Gallinule
Common Moorhen
American Coot
Purple Swamphen (STA-5, Wakodhatchee Wetlands)
Limpkin (Green Cay Wetlands)
Sandhill Crane
Black-bellied Plover
Wilson s Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Piping Plover
Killdeer
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Willet
Spotted Sandpiper
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Western Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Dunlin
Short-billed Dowitcher
Long-billed Dowitcher
Red-necked Phalarope (Crandon Beach)
Wilson s Snipe
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Lesser-black-backed Gull
Caspian Tern
Royal Tern
Sandwich Tern
Forster s Tern
Black Skimmer
Rock Pigeon
White-crowned Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Common Ground-Dove
Monk Parakeet
Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
Mitred Parakeet
Chestnut-fronted Macaw
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Smooth-billed Ani
Eastern Screech-Owl
Burrowing Owl
Barred Owl
Short-eared Owl (Lucky Hammock)
Chuck-will s-widow (A.D. Barnes Park)
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Western Kingbird
Gray Kingbird (entrance to Everglades National Park)
Loggerhead Shrike
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow (Everglades National Park)
Cliff Swallow
Cave Swallow
Barn Swallow
Tufted Titmouse
Brown-headed Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Marsh Wren (STA-5)
Red-whiskered Bulbul
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Common Myna
American Pipit (Kirby Storter Boardwalk)
Orange-crowned Warbler
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Pine Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Palm Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler (Hypoluxo Scrub Natural Area)
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Blue Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Painted Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Boat-tailed Grackle
Common Grackle
Shiny Cowbird (Flamingo, Everglades National Park)
Brown-headed Cowbird
Spot-breasted Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
House Sparrow
We failed to find Florida Scrub-Jay at Hypoluxo Scrub Natural Area (I saw one there in September), but two conference participants found one on Thursday at Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County. Another participant spotted a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher near the conference hotel. Finally, two participants reported seeing a Townsend's Warbler while visiting Tree Tops Park prior to the conference; I'm not aware of any subsequent sightings of this bird.
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