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Posted by Vince Lucas on 13:11:41 03/01/09
¡Hola!
It's been a while since I last reported anything from STA-5 so here are the results from yesterday's tour. Some 95 folks came out to STA-5 on Saturday, February 28th, 2009. License plates on vehicles indicated they came from as far away as Ontario, Canada, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Ohio and various other states. The St. Petersburg Audubon chapter was also out in force but absent a few of its more "notable" members. With the recently published (April 2009) article in "Birder's World" entitled _Oasis for birds_ by Mark and Selena Kiser, STA-5 will only become more popular, but that's OK with me. . . .
Checklist includes all species seen from the intersection of CR835 & Blumberg Rd. plus STA-5 proper. Species in ALL CAPS are uncommon/rare for STA-5:
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck >30
Fulvous Whistling-Duck >15
GADWALL 2
American Wigeon
Mottled Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail >25
Green-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck
HOODED MERGANSER 6
Ruddy Duck
Pied-billed Grebe
American White Pelican >800 (conservative estimate! Methinks STA-5 harbors one of the largest populations of American White Pelicans anywhere in Florida, especially south of Lake Okeechobee).)
Double-crested Cormorant
Anhinga
American Bittern 7
Great Blue Heron
Great "White" Heron (GBH white morph) 1
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
Glossy Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill >12
Wood Stork
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Snail Kite 3
Northern Harrier
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk 5
Crested Caracara
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon 3
Sora 1
Purple Swamphen 12
Purple Gallinule >6
Common Moorhen
American Coot
Limpkin >6
Black-bellied Plover 1
Killdeer
Black-necked Stilt
AMERICAN AVOCET 3
Lesser Yellowlegs
Greater Yellowlegs
Least Sandpiper
Dunlin
Stilt Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Snipe >5
Ring-billed Gull
HERRING GULL 1
Caspian Tern >25
Black Skimmer
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Common Ground-Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Eastern Phoebe
Loggerhead Shrike
White-eyed Vireo
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Marsh Wren 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
BROWN THRASHER 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Palm Warbler (Western race)
Common Yellowthroat
Eastern Towhee
Savannah Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Boat-tailed Grackle
BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD 2
Also seen at STA-5 were some "cool" mammals: Bobcat seen where the dirt road splits from the paved road Blumberg Rd.) by Alan Murray & me. A River Otter was seen by a few folks and COYOTE (new mammal for STA-5) was seen by some other tour participants. (I saw the head of the animal as it ran through some high vegetation).
Pre-trip highlights from Naples via the CR846 ==> CR833 ==> CR835 ==> Blumberg Rd. corridor (sightings by Alan Murry & me):
Several Crested Caracaras along the above-mentioned corridor.
Swallow-tailed Kite (FOTS for Alan). I was dozing as the bird flew over the car somewhere on CR833 in Hendry County. Consequently, I still need to see my FOTS STKI!
Three Scissor-tailed Flycatchers and 3 Western Kingbirds at the Deer Fence Canal on CR835 (Hendry County). 2-3 Snail Kites at the Farm 8 Wetlands on CR835 near the Ocean Boy Shrimp Farm. 3-4 Limpkins were also at the same site.
Post-trip highlights:
Three Scissor-tailed Flycatchers and 8 Western Kingbirds at the Deer Fence Canal on CR835 (Hendry County).
Good birding!
Vince
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