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Posted by Bob Duchesne on 06:57:15 04/23/09
As Jeff Weber posted on April 20, cuckoos can be so cruel. In response to several suggestions, my wife and I returned to the Key Largo Botanical Park again yesterday to look for Mangrove Cuckoos, despite a lack of success on Monday. This time, we were thrilled to sight two cuckoos only a few hundred yards down the back country permit trail at PowerPole 94. After some celebratory high fives, we continued to watch the cuckoos with dismay as they slowly morphed into Yellow-billed. Later, at Long Key State Park, another cuckoo flashed out of sight right in the parking lot of the nature trail - too quick for an ID. So, my three day quest to knock my #1 grudge bird off my list yielded the same result as every other quest over the last 30 years. Zip.
Still, every unsuccessful day should be so good! The Botanical Park was alive with warblers and thrushes. Blackpolls, Black-throated Blues, and Cape Mays were abundant. We scored a few Magnolias, Black-and-Whites, Northern Parulas, and one Black-throated Green. Palm Warblers and Ovenbirds were everywhere. We continued to find Swainson's and Wood Thrushes, and added Veery and Gray-cheeked to the list. A Peregrine Falcon cruised in and sat briefly.
Long Key was similar, with many Blackpolls and Black-throated Blues and a few Cape Mays, Northern Parulas, and Worm-eating. Veery and Wood Thrush showed up here, too. A pair of Merlins posed for photos.
I must say, the experience gives me an deep appreciation for Florida birders. Birding back home in Maine is a piece of cake, because in three more weeks, all these same birds will be singing their lungs out up there.
Come on up and visit. www.mainebirdingtrail.com.
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