Posted by Felipe on June 30, 2003 at 18:33:55:
Hey birders, today me and my dad went birdwatching to three places: my neighborhood, Homestead Speedway field, Royal Palm area and Long Pine Key area.
I'll start off by saying that today morning I found three Red-whisckered Bulbul in my backyard. Also chimney swifts and the usual. Hopefully the birds are going to change in fall.
On the way to Homestead Speedway fields I saw Common Mynas, Gray Kingbirds, grackles and doves. When I got to the fields north of Homestead Speedway I saw many nesting Black-necked stilts(lifer), Common Nighthawk, Cattle Egret, Great White Egret, Snowy Egret, Killdeer, Laughing Gull, Least Tern, Purple Martin, Tricolored Heron and an unknown shorebird. Hopefully Alex spotted it too, because he went there today.
After that I went to the Royal Palm area. On the way I saw a Swallow-tailed Kite, Red Shouldered Hawk and a Common Ground-Dove (lifer). When I got to the Anhinga Trail I saw a baby alligator and a White morph Great Blue Heron. On the way back to the main road I saw two deer.
After that I went to Long Pine Key. We didin't stay there a long time. About 20 minutes. I got AWESOME results. First of all go to see a 7 foot alligator. I saw an Osprey hunt around the lake. When I just started to bird the pine treessomething caught my eye instanty. It was an EASTERN BLUEBIRD. It was amazing. Then I spotted a Pine Warbler and I pished for 10 seconds. The bird came flying 6 feet from me. After that I heard and saw three EASTERN TOWHEE. I saw two adults and one juvenile. At that same moment I spotted a Northern Flicker. Then I had to go.
When I was coming back I spotted an Eastern Kingbird perched on a telephone wire. Also I spotted something that frustrated me. I saw a vehicle parked on the side of the road. The man looked like a POACHER. I'm not positive. I didin't see a gun. Is hunting permitted in the everglades?
Well at home I birded some more and saw a very different parakeet from the usual. The details: It was the size of a Monk parakeet. It had a peach colored breast. It had two THICK black strips on its head and also a peach color on it cheek. The rest of the bird was green and it had a long tail. I'll check if I see it again this afternoon.
I ended up today with six lifers. In total I saw 47. The birds I saw were:
Anhinga- 1
Great Blue Heron- 1
Great Egret- couple
Snowy Egret- many
Tricolored Heron- 1
Cattle Egret- couple
Green Heron- 1
White Ibis- 1
Black Vulture- many
Turkey Vulture- 1
Osprey- 2
Swallow-tailed Kite- 1
Red-shouldered Hawk- 1
Killdeer- many
Black-necked Stilt- many
Laughing Gull- couple
Least Tern- 2
Rock Dove- plenty
White-Crowned Pigeon- 6
Mourning Dove- plenty
Common Ground-dove - 1 possibly 3
Eurasian Collared Dove- plenty
Yellow-chevroned parakeet- 8
Monk Parakeet- 1
Common Nighthawk- 1
Red-bellied woodpecker- 8
Northern Flicker- 1
Great-Crested Flycatcher- 1
Eastern Kingbird- 1
Gray Kingbird- 6
Blue Jay- plenty
Fish Crow- 6
Purple Martin- 6
EASTERN BLUEBIRD- 3
Northern Mockingbird- plenty
Brown Thrasher- 2
European Starlings- numerous
Common Myna- plenty
Hill Myna- 4
Red-Whisckered bulbul- 3
Pine Warbler- 4
Northern Cardinal- 6
EASTERN TOWHEE- 3
Red-winged Blackbird- plenty
Common Grackle- numerous
Boat-tailed Grackle- plenty
House Sparrow- numerous
Great Birding!