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Posted by Angel & Mariel on 23:49:27 02/27/08
Hey Everyone
Today we birded AD Barnes for a little and found some interesting birds. We started our adventure by the lake were we saw what looked like snow on the lakes edge as we drove into the park. There were as many as 175+ White Ibis foraging together along the edge of the lake, Moorhen and Coot trumpeted loudly as they were practicing for a marching band. The king of the lake or actually the Queen a beautiful Female Belted Kingfisher dove into the shore right in front of one Ibis face with no fear of the shallows plunging in with success a shake to dry a bit and up to the perch to enjoy it's catch.
The tropical hardwood hammock "homeless hammock" was full of life today with lots of Yellow-rumped warbler with some N. Parula, A. Redstart, Palm mixed in one RB Woodpecker and Catbird were also present. Next we went to the Nature Center Trail where the first bird we found on the trail was a Northern Waterthrush at the fountain after a couple of hard to get photos we moved on. Next was a first for us, looking for the Cooper's I was looking in all the pines when I saw a slender slightly larger than a hawk high in the pines but much slender. I look through my binos and tell Mariel wow 4 Yellow-crowned Night-Heron we have never seen them in the park and less four of them perched up high in a tree. Moving on we walked to the boardwalk were we saw about fifty Fish Crow chasing out what looked to be a female Cooper's Hawk. They disappeared over the tree tops and we walked our way back thru the nature trail towards the Nature Center after crossing paths with a few Raccoons.
Around the Nature Center area we encountered a beautiful Black-and-White Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Palm Warblers and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers as we watched them all foraging about. From there we walked into the pine area before the Nature Center we ran across two adult Cooper's Hawk feasting on what appeared to be one of the Roosters that hang around the cats. The hawks were just as surprised as we were to see each other in such close proximity, the two were tearing into the kill on the ground when we encountered them. Startled the one Cooper's flew into the tree above them as the other carried the meal up to a branch a little further up the tree and then both of them flew towards the boardwalk at the end of the trail with their meal. On our way out of the park we stopped in the area by the locked gate before the boardwalk area in hopes to pick up any new birds of the day. To our surprise we ran into the same Cooper's with its meal gripped tightly in between its claws. (We will post the photo for anyone who might want to identify the meal.)
We then were lucky enough to relocate the Orange-crowned Warbler that Bill reported recently. It was not only a lifer but definitely our bird of the day. We wish we would have been able to photograph it to confirm subspecies. It was a beautiful greenish cast above with yellowish undertail coverts & throat with a broken eye ring with a dusky crown.
We got to say today was filled with awesome experiences!
Let the Migration begin!!!
Orange-crowned Warbler
Northern Waterthrush
Northern Parula
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Palm Warbler
B&W Warbler
American Redstart
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Fish Crow 50+
Turkey Vulture
Cooper's Hawk
Osprey
Red-bellied Woodpecker (female)
Belted Kingfisher (female)
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Tricolored Heron
White Ibis 175+
Common Moorhen
American Coot
Muscovy Duck
Unidentified Parrots 4 (flew over the tree tops in the trail)
Nature is Awesome!
Angel & Mariel
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