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Posted by David S. on 12:00:23 02/06/08
In Reply to: Kayak-birding-adventuring Biscayne Bay posted by Susan Schneider
It's good to hear others go birding with kayaks/canoes. Sometimes we have the opportunity to see quite a few birds on the water-land borders that are hard to see from the shore. Last Sunday I put in at Flamingo and while bucking a good headwind, paddled into Snake Bight. Once there, I observed over 500 waders working the shallows and exposed mudflats. ~50 White Pelicans were observed in the distance and seemed to stick together with no mixing of other species. ~200 White Ibises also hung together, but they tolorated a mixture of Snowy and Great Egrets, and Great Blue and Tri-colored Herons. Maybe 50-75 Little Blue Herons were observed. A few Roseate Spoonbills were seen, but no Flamingos. I THOUGHT I saw one laying down on a far away mudflat, but closer inspection revealed it was an overboard lost orange life vest! Darn!
Close and up personal, was the observation of a Reddish Egret hunting down fish in the shallows. They run around while flairing their wings, trying to spook a potential meal. Another noteworthy sighting was a mature male Bald Eagle flying low from the shore, going straight to the channel markers, diving and catching a fish, then he headed back to land. No fuss, no muss! This bird must have been on auto-pilot, since it seemed so routine and it knew exactly what it was after, and did it with such precision.
Other sightings included Yellow-rumped warblers, Kingfishers, Spotted Sandpipers and a female Bald Eagle on Joe Kemp Island, Brown Pelicans, Royal Terns, Ring-billed and Laughing Gulls over the water.
Overall, the day was excellent (what do expect, when you can bird and boat at the same time) and I look forward to more of it in the future.
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