Posted by David La Puma on April 15, 2001 at 22:27:59:
A morning trip to Matheson and Fairchild Tropical Garden with Michelle Davis turned up a few neat birds, but the most fun for me were there songs! Michelle can give a full day list (she had the survey sheet!) but I'll give the short and skinny:
Singing birds:
Gray Catbirds (one or two...hundred)-MH
Northern Parula-MH
Black and White Warbler-MH
Worm-eating Warbler-MH
American Redstart-FTG
Carolina Wren-MH
Black-whiskered Vireo-MH (this one was staking out
territory and had me chasing it
all over the hammock trying
to spot it...darn thing
nearly sang directly
overhead, but
I couldn't see it! Of course
an hour after I stopped
looking for it it decided to
fly right over Michelle and I
on the TRAIL and feed!)
Other avian treats...
-Yellow-billed Cuckoo (dining on a huge grub at Matheson...mmm mmm good)
-Least tern (feeding over one of the ponds at FTG)
Chimney swifts are now a regular at the Fairchild Research center, as well as several Great-crested flycatchers attempting to nest in the slash pine snags on the Montgomery property (private)
it's no Fall-out, but spring IS here
As Papa Paul would say, Life is good....
David