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Posted by Susan Schneider on 16:42:21 05/11/08
No Snail Kite or Least Bittern (despite finding both on the scouting trip last weekend), and only *one* migrant warbler (a female/immature American Redstart). Nonetheless, Chris and Lili and I managed to rack up 60 species, my second-best total in the years since I began covering this territory. The addition of Greater Yellowlegs, Laughing Gull, Eastern Kingbird, and American Crow brings the five-year species total for this suburban/fringe NAMC territory to 90! I never would have guessed it when I started out with 56 species in 2004.
Dawn was foggy, and a Chuck-Will s-Widow was still calling at 6:15 when I arrived at my first (and best) site, NE Taylor WMA off Krome just south of Okeechobee Rd. After the big drought of last year and a near-absence of waders, it was a pleasure to see the Great Egrets flocking as usual. One Wood Stork presided nobly, and especially pleasant surprises were three Black-necked Stilts, one Greater Yellowlegs, one Semipalmated Plover, and three flyover Least Sandpipers. Water levels were still low, though, and we got skunked on moorhens and gallinules as well as the kite and the Least Bitterns. Lili spotted a Black-crowned Night Heron, our only one for the day, and a pale remnant of their large numbers of several years ago.
A pair of Least Terns was present as usual, though, and we were to locate a record-breaking 11 during the day, great news. One Forster s Tern cruised down the canal, only the second time I ve had one on the count. In addition, I often find singleton male cowbirds of one species or another at this location, and this year it was a singing Brown-headed.
Walking the dikes, we found two large turtles pulled up quite a way from the water. One had a lot of red on its dorsal carapace (?). I mention turtles because there sure weren t many birds! At this and several other sites, Melaleucas and, to a lesser extent, Australian Pines, continue to die off (drought? more active efforts?). This is good news, of course, although it will be better news when natives replace them. At the end of the day at the SE part of Taylor WMA, I was delighted to find that exotics had been cut down, and new trees planted in their stead! First I ve seen of this.
Meanwhile, at northern Taylor, despite an ample supply of dead wood, my woodpecker counts were still way lower than in the earlier years of the count. Consolations were an Eastern Kingbird, four Common Ground-Doves (missing for the past 2 years), and two Red-shouldered Hawks. Across Krome, in the similarly denuded forest, a few Cardinals and Carolina Wrens persisted, and Chris spotted an adult Red-tailed Hawk.
In Doral, we headed to the landfill and enjoyed the lizard activity: We must have seen at least a dozen Basilisks, some with frilled heads, and all running amusingly on their two hind legs as we approached. Laughing Gulls more than made up for their past absence from the list, although we had to wait until a kettle of about 100 appeared and drifted right over our heads!--and an Osprey with them. On one of the lawns near the building was a large flock of White Ibis with one Glossy thrown in.
The highlight of the day came at Bermudez (old Miami West) park at 31st St and NW 107th Av. I d found a newly-established fenced Burrowing Owl spot there last year, with one burrow. This year the fenced area was much larger and contained three burrows, and we enjoyed watching the three adults on sentinel duty. An unexpected pleasure was the appearance of an utterly adorable baby who popped out of a burrow to give us all nice views, then popped back in with a startled look at the signal of its parent. (If you visit, be sure to stay far enough back from the fence to avoid causing any signs of alarm in the parents; that s probably why the owlet ventured out.) A Common Moorhen parent trailed by three fuzzy black chicks was another highlight here, and Least Terns were again present. There were fewer Loggerhead Shrikes than usual at this park, but the day s total still exceeded the previous high for the count. Mercy Cemetery continued our strikeout with songbirds, but offered 7 Common Nighthawks filling the skies at once. Altogether, we totaled 11, the most ever for the count. If only they (like the shrikes) would start doing better up north. Common Mynas are doing well, as many have noted; without making any special effort, we found five, another count high.
At FIU, Lili spotted a Blue Jay fighting a Knight Anole in odd silence, considering jays usual in-your-faceness. (Was the anole after the jay s eggs or babies?) FIU had had plenty of warblers just a few days prior; as it was, we had to be content with Muscovy and feral Mallard and the reliable Monk Parakeets. I had tried three known FIU locations for Gray Kingbird with no luck, but the area between the ecosystem preserve and the parakeets ballfield gave us our first one for the day. Quite unexpectedly, I heard another calling later at the Walgreen s when I was waiting at the stoplight at 16th St and 107th Av. I thought it must be a mocker imitating one, but no, it was the genuine item--presumably one of the Blue Parking Garage birds from across the street at FIU. Good thing I had a red light!
I spent the last hours of the day at the SE portion of Taylor WMA, just west of the Miccosukee Casino off Tamiami Trail. This area was also dry, and I could have only happy memories of the flocks of waders I have sometimes enjoyed at sunset. I failed to hear any King Rails, and of course the shrubby areas were barren of warblers. The pool behind the water control structure, which has held Purple Gallinules, shorebirds, waders, and gators, hosted only a Cattle Egret. But I did pick up the two species that brought the day s total to 60: American Crow and a distant swallow that was either Tree or N. Rough-winged. I also enjoyed a Boat-tailed Grackle female with a long straw in her beak. She purposefully circled in to buzz a male, who immediately took wing and followed her, still cradling her signal-giving nesting material.
Since this is my last year doing the count (I m moving out of state when I sell my house), I looked back over my five-year record for trends. The striking one is obvious indeed: Water levels are the hinge of success for the water birds. 2004 and 2005, the wet years when I first ran this territory, produced high counts for most of the waders and for Anhinga and DC Cormorant. Green Herons have been relatively stable throughout, somehow. But oddly, despite rainy years and dry, the number of individual birds has stayed relatively constant at about 750. Indeed, despite the big drought last year, I happened upon a large flock of Cattle Egrets then that put me over 900.
Every count has its highlights, and it was great to share them this year with Chris and Lili. Thanks for your help!
Good birding,
Susan
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