[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]
Posted by Vince Lucas on 12:25:03 12/02/07
Some 39 individuals, consisting of mostly members from Highlands County Audubon Society plus the usual "regulars" saw some 70 species at STA-5 in Hendry County on Saturday, December 1st. The weather was more reminiscent of September than December 1st but who's complaining I guess? Highlights were well over 400 Fulvous Whistling Ducks and 100+ Black-bellied Whistling Ducks; 3 Northern Pintails and a banded Roseate Spoonbill with "E" above "U" (red tag) -- (not the same banded bird reported last week) and an American Bittern which posed for photos. Big misses were Snail Kite (again) and Purple Gallinule.
In addition to the many Crested Caracara, Sandhill Cranes, Limpkin, Roseate Spoonbills, numerous waders and shorebirds we usually see on our drive out to STA-5 from Naples via the CR846 - CR833 - CR835 - Blumberg Rd. Corridor, the highlight of the trip to STA-5 were 5 Snail Kites seen along the canal just to the east/northeast opposite the Ocean Boy Shrimp Farm on CR835. Alan Murray and I speculate that these birds are the missing birds from STA-5 since it is nearby. Perhaps the water levels or availability of food (Apple Snails) is better at this location as opposed to STA-5, we don't know. At any rate, the SFWMD is digging up this canal in front of the Ocean Boy Shrimp Farm so the birds may be gone by the time the first Clewiston/STA-5 (FLSO) CBC comes around on December 15th. That would be a shame. The same situation occurred when the SFWMD dug up all of the exotics and willows along the L-1 Canal further along Blumberg Rd. last year. The 20-25 Yellow-crowned Night-Herons that bred there and used these shrubs and bushes for cover all disappeared from that site after the undercover was denuded. I'll never understand why the SFWMD cares so little about the habitat they create for birds and other wildlife although, obviously this isn't their intention. The fact remains that they do create habitat and then with one stroke, destroy it. . . .
On the return trip back to Naples, we stopped at Canon Hammock Park where a Barn Owl was flying around the Live Oaks trying to avoid detection. A single Western Kingbird and 0 Scissor-tailed Flycatchers were present on the Collier-side of CR 858 on the Hendry/Collier County line. A quick stop at the new town of Ave Maria in Collier County produced the lone Black-bellied Whistling Duck that has been present there for a few weeks.
Here is the day list for STA-5:
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck >100
Fulvous Whistling-Duck >400
American Wigeon
Mottled Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail 3
Green-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck
Ruddy Duck 6
Pied-billed Grebe
American White Pelican 8
Double-crested Cormorant
Anhinga
American Bittern
Least Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
White Ibis
Glossy Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill (One banded bird with red tag "E" above "U" -- not the same banded bird reported last week)
Wood Stork
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Cooper's Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon 2
Purple Swamphen 6
Common Moorhen
American Coot
Limpkin 1
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer
Black-necked Stilt 3
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Least Sandpiper
Dunlin
Long-billed Dowitcher >800
Wilson's Snipe 1
Caspian Tern 2
Mourning Dove
Common Ground-Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Loggerhead Shrike
White-eyed Vireo
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow 1
Marsh Wren 3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Palm Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Savannah Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle
If anyone wants to help out on the first Clewiston/STA-5 Christmas Bird Count on Saturday, December 15th, please contact Margaret England at mlelighthouse@embarqmail.com .
[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]