Posted by Bill Boeringer on May 13, 2003 at 10:31:21:
On Saturday 5/10 I birded Loop Rd as part of the annual Migration Count. This year I started earlier, arriving at Shark Valley before dawn. No rails or owls were calling, but there were 2 singing Chuck-will's-widows. At first light, no Snail Kites at the usual spots, but there were lots of Tricolored Herons and other waders. One apparent staging/roosting area had 34 Tricoloreds.
Continuing into Big Cypress along US41, I started picking up some of the regulars, including Pileated Woodpecker, Tufted Titmouse, and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Between the 1st and 2d turnoffs, a probable Hairy Woodpecker flew across road at canopy height. I could only get a glimpse because of oncoming traffic, but the bird was dark, larger than a Downy, and did not fly with same strong undulations as I expect in Red-bellied. This is area where John Boyd & I have seen and heard Hairy Woodpecker in the past.
As I drove into Collier County, a King Rail sat placidly on the shoulder, acting more like a chicken than a furtive marsh bird. There were also 1 or 2 Eastern Kingbirds, and a singing Pine Warbler. Another surprise was just west of the jetport, where a Great White Heron was feeding in a small slough. At one fig tree I stopped to investigate after a LBJ flew across the road (a gnatcatcher, as it happened), a Yellow-billed Cuckoo called from the tree, and another flew across the road and landed in the open on another branch.
Turning onto Loop Road, one could immediately hear Cardinals and Great Crested Flycatchers, which would be numerous all day. A Swallow-tailed Kite soared overhead, and while still in Collier County, I heard the first of many singing Northern Parulas and White-eyed Vireos. As I drove up on a parked van at an open cypress pond I heard the distinctive song of a Prothonotary Warbler, at least a mile west of anywhere I'd seen/heard them before. As I started to park, Steve S. came around from behind the van, equipment in hand as he tried to video the Prothonotary! We watched the bird for a while as it sang very close to the road, and then it was time to move on towards Sweetwater Slough. As I neared it, a pair of HY Barred Owls stared down at me from a cypress branch.
However, as I parked and birded, it was apparent this was going to be more like Sweet-Waterloo. Aside from a few singing Parulas, it was quiet. No warbler chips. 1 gnatcatcher. 3 Tufted Titmice. After spending at least an hour walking up and down the road, I came up with a several singing Red-eyed Vireos, a late Catbird, a Black & White Warbler, and some loud Pileated woodpeckers, plus a third Barred Owl and a couple of Limpkins. Although May 10 is on the late side for SoFla migration, I've always had at least a handful of warblers. Not even a Redstart? The lack of migrants was astounding...
As the day got hotter, the birds simply disappeared. Aside from a family of Otters crossing the road, and a Chuck's flushed up, the day became nothing more than tallying White-eyed Vireos, Great Crested Flycatchers, and Cardinals. The Nature Center trail was bereft of activity, except for another singing Red-eyed Vireo (the 6th of the day). The high pineland areas were bare--no bluebirds, no Pine Warblers, not even a Flicker.
Returning to 41, I picked up 3 Snail Kites, and stopped again at Shark Valley. OK, it was 2 pm, but the utter lack of birds was shocking. I had hoped to add Purple Gallinule, but I could not find even a Moorhen! The canals simply had no birds. If not for a Y-b Cuckoo at the Otter caves area, it would have been an utter waste of time.
All in all, the day was productive, but there was nothing seen or heard which can't be found all summer. I enjoyed seeing the King Rail, and am always pleased to locate the Prothnotary Warblers (and hope to again find a nest as I did several years ago). I was also happy with the number of Red-eyed Vireos, and hope breeding can be confirmed for that species. Obviously, the biggest surprise was the lack of warblers. Except for the Parulas (16) and Common Yellowthroats (7), the day's list consisted of 1 Prothonotary, 1 B&W, and 2 Pine. Finally, there were above-average numbers on some species including Tricolored Heron (60) and Red-shouldered Hawk (22).