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Posted by John Boyd on 04:49:50 11/28/08
Hoping to find some nightbirds, I arrived at Everglades National Park shortly after 5am. The first eyeshine I spotted was at Palma Vista Hammock, on the sideroad to Royal Palm. But it wasn't a nightbird. It was two panthers, mother and cub. The cub was about the size of a bobcat, but with a much longer tail. They were loafing by the side of the road, but got up and melted away into the woods.
I went out Research Road, eventually stopping the car, getting out and listening. King Rail and possibly a distant owl were heard. As I drove back toward the main road, a couple of nightjars lept off the road. I did not get ID on them. A car was headed the other way. Later I found out this was Bonnie Ponwith.
I then went for a short walk at Anhinga Trail. King Rail and Limpkin were calling. I was using a headlamp on to avoid running into an unexpected gator when I noticed some eyeshine next to the trail. It was a Whip-poor-will! A little later, as the sky was starting to lighten, I found another Whip at Palma Vista Hammock, very near where the panthers were.
I made a short stop at C-111 for sunrise. As there was little activity there, I then went to Lucky Hammock. Mark Berney was already there. There were lots of Savannah sparrows. A number of Swainson's Hawks were in the field. I counted about 10 then, but an hour later their numbers had grown to 20. Pretty soon, Bonnie showed up. Eventually I wandered south along the sparrow field, finding many more Grasshopper Sparrows in that direction. I ran into Bonnie again as I returned, and we birded a short segment of the field. An apparent Bell's Vireo made a brief appearance. It's wingbar seemed bright yellow. I don't know if that was a trick of the light, or it really was yellow. A Chat called several times from right in front of us, but we were never able to see it.
Eventually I headed back to C-111 to look for LeConte's. Mark joined me, but we didn't find it. When we returned to the parking lot, Paul Leader was photographing the Yellow-headed Blackbird. It was a county bird for me (#321).
Eventually, I headed into the park and down to Flamingo. Mrazek Pond continues to impress, Eco Pond not. The bar at Flamingo had plenty of Skimmers and other birds, but no shorebirds. There was a Scissortailed Flycatcher near the old lodge, and a Broad-winged Hawk west of the Buttonwood Canal. The road along the canal was open, and I drove in and walked a bit on the Bear Lake trail. Returning, I found a Scissortailed Flycatcher west of the canal. I don't know if it was the same bird.
I headed back north, stopping at Long Pine Key. A Brown-crested Flycatcher called from Mosier Hammock. I took the trail though the hammock, but didn't find much birdwise. However, a Florida Leafwing provided a consolation prize.
After leaving the park, I made my last stop of the day at Cutler Wetlands. There were many Laughing Gulls. Searching through them twice yielded no Franklin's. I was surprised that there were only a couple of Lesser Black-backed Gulls present. There had been more the last time I was there. Maybe they were with the Franklin's. I was also surprised to see a 1st winter Greater Black-backed Gull. It was sitting next to a couple of Ring-billeds, which looked diminutive by comparison. A couple of the 1st year Ring-billeds were really washed out, looking almost icelandic. Two Avocets were also present. I only saw 98 species, but it was a very good day.
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