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Posted by Bryant Roberts on 07:55:30 11/30/09
With a week off from work I decided to stay close to home and spend six nights camping and birding in Everglades National Park beginning Sunday 11/22. I spent the first two nights at Long Pine Key and the last four at Flamingo returning home the following Saturday in time to watch the UF-FSU game. Among the many interesting birds seen were: American Flamingo, American Avocet, Red Knot, Gull-billed Tern, White-tailed Kite, Short-tailed Hawk, Crested Caracara, Peregrine Falcon, Barn Owl, Great Horned Owl, Whip-poor-will, Lesser Nighthawk, White-crowned Pigeon, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Least Flycatcher, Western Kingbird, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Hermit Thrush, Marsh Wren, Sedge Wren, Yellow-throated Vireo, Cape May Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Nelson s Sparrow, Blue Grosbeak, Painted Bunting, Indigo Bunting, and Baltimore Oriole.
Sunday 11/22 I didn t get started until late morning but as I passed west of Homestead on SW 217th Ave. at 312th St. shortly after noon I saw five Scissor-tailed Flycatchers and two Western Kingbirds. A brief stop at Lucky Hammock a little later turned up a few common warblers, a couple of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, five Sandhill Cranes, and a White-tailed Kite. After setting up camp I took a walk around the trails close to Long Pine Key Campground. There were few birds at first, but I spotted a Florida Leafwing Butterfly resting wings folded in the middle of the trail west of the hammock at the end of the picnic area. After allowing a nice long look it flew about forty feet off the trail where perched on a Palmetto leaf it slowly opened its wings a couple of times showing its deep orange upper wings. A couple of hundred yards west of the paved road on the hiking/biking trail I finally found a large feeding flock of mostly Yellow-rumped, Pine, and Palm Warblers with a few Prairie Warblers, Eastern Bluebirds, and a couple of Brown-headed Nuthatches. As I crossed over to the trail on the east side of the road I heard a couple of Great Horned Owls calling back and forth, one of which I was able to spot. At Anhinga Trail near sunset there was plenty of activity as flocks of wading birds flew over heading to their roosts and flocks of Black-crowned Night Herons flew out to begin their feeding while King Rails, Least Bitterns, and Limpkins called from the marsh.
Monday 11/23 My first stop that morning was at Lucky Hammock where the bird activity was low. I decided to take a walk around the large brushy field southwest of the hammock where I got great looks at two White-tailed Kites both perched and in flight. At the far southwest corner of the field I heard and finally got a look at a Brown-crested Flycatcher. Bird activity had picked up when I got back to the hammock and I found a female Cape May Warbler in the hammock and across the road I found three Least Flycatchers, two Yellow-breasted Chats, a Grasshopper Sparrow, and a Painted Bunting. I returned to camp and hiked the trails to the east of the road where I saw another Florida Leafwing in flight and a Hermit Thrush. A sunset visit to Anhinga Trail was mostly a replay of the previous evening but I was able to spot an American Bittern flying over the marsh. A dusk visit to Lucky Hammock didn t produce any Lesser Nighthawks but a Whip-poor-will perched for a few minutes on the powerline in front of the hammock.
Tuesday 11/24 I was up well before dawn and heard a Screech Owl and Great Horned Owls and spotted a Whip-poor-will flying around my camp. An early check of Research Road produced a Nighthawk species and a Whip-poor-will perched on a powerline. The activity at Anhinga Trail at sunrise were much like sunset, only more so. I was able to get better looks at American Bitterns but the only new species I added there for the trip was Purple Gallinule. A walk down the Old Ingraham Highway and Hidden Lake Road turned up only a few warblers including a nice Black-throated Green. I broke camp and spent a couple of hours hiking the pineland trails before continuing to Flamingo.
After setting up camp at Flamingo I did a little afternoon birding at Eco Pond where along with the usual late afternoon show of Roseate Spoonbills and other waders there were seventeen American Avocets near the back of the pond and a Peregrine Falcon made a low pass. At dusk at the west end of C-Loop at least four Lesser Nighthawks appeared, two of which I could positively identify. A few drops of rain began falling as I cleaned up after dinner and at around midnight it had turned into heavy rain and thunderstorms that continued until after sunrise.
Wednesday 11/25 As the morning rain eased turning into occasional showers I decided to do my birding around the immediate Flamingo area. This got off to a good start with a Baltimore Oriole in the campground and a Yellow Warbler, five American Avocets, and three Painted Buntings at Eco Pond. The Roseate Spoonbills and Snowy Egrets were especially beautiful as they preened on a dead tree in the morning light against a leaden sky. The rain had flooded large areas of the Walk In Camping Area and this had attracted hundreds of Dunlins along with about a hundred Short-billed Dowitchers, Least Sandpipers, and Willets, seven Red Knots, an American Avocet, a Marbled Godwit, both Yellowlegs, and Ruddy Turnstones. Close to the shoreline there were a few Western Sandpipers and Sanderlings. An afternoon walk down the Guy Bradley Trail turned up a Blue Grosbeak in the brush in the southwestern corner of the old lodge area. A late afternoon shower curtailed any sunset birding.
Thursday 11/26 A brief shower at sunrise prevented an early start but I was able to take a morning walk around Eco Pond where I found another Yellow Warbler in the Strangler Fig at the entrance and both Painted and Indigo Buntings along the road to the east. A check of the flooded Walk In Camping Area produced much the same mix as the day before plus a few Wilson s Snipes and minus the Marbled Godwit.
Clearing skies, light winds, and a late morning high tide made for perfect conditions to paddle Snake Bight so I unloaded the Kayak and left the marina at about ten in the morning. As I rounded the next small point north of Christian Point the western shoreline came into view and in the distance I spotted a couple of distinctive orange-pink birds in front of a very large group of American White Pelicans. As I got closer passing well over a hundred Roseate Spoonbills, thousands of Dunlins and Western Sandpipers, hundreds of Willets and Short-billed Dowitchers, and lesser numbers of Marbled Godwits, American Avocets, and other shorebirds and waders I was able to see that there were two adult American Flamingos and one sub-adult. I stayed over a hundred yards offshore so as not to disturb the White Pelicans too much but was still able to get within fifty yards of the Flamingos which were feeding well out into the water. The Black Skimmers, of which there were well over a thousand flushed easily and noisy flocks of a hundred and more frequently passed close by. There were hundreds of Laughing Gulls and lesser numbers of Caspian and Forster s Terns as well as a few Royal Terns. After getting my fill of this spectacle I continued around to the north and east past Gibby Point and the Boardwalk at the end of Snake Bight Road then east another mile or two where smaller, groups of White Pelicans rested on the bank. I estimated the total number of American White Pelicans along the shore at between two and three thousand. After satisfying myself that there were no more Flamingos in the area I retraced my path, adding about fifteen Red Knots, several Lesser Black-backed Gulls, and Gull-billed Terns along with a Ring-billed Gull to my tally. The only ducks I saw were about a dozen Red-breasted Mergansers scattered around in singles and pairs and a flock of about fifty Blue-winged Teal.
After getting back to Flamingo I took some time late in the afternoon to take another look at the cleared land where the lodge used to stand and was surprised to see two female Barn Owls hunting over the grassy areas about half an hour before sunset. A dusk visit to the west end of C-Loop to get a better count of the Lesser Nighthawks turned up six and on the way back to my campsite I heard Whip-poor-will calling from near the northeast corner of B-Loop
Friday 11/27- The winds had picked up the night before and at dawn they were out of the northwest; strong, gusty, and chilly, but at least it wasn t raining. In the marina area I saw my first Short-tailed Hawk of the trip as well as a high flying White-winged Dove. I decided to take the eight mile hike up Bear Lake Road and Trail and back where I d have some cover from the wind and possibly find some warblers. With nine species I didn t do as well on the warblers as I d hoped; the most interesting were a Worm-eating Warbler and five Northern Waterthrushes. With ten seen, American Redstart was the most common warbler and I also saw one Yellow-throated Vireo and about eight White-crowned Pigeons. Back at Flamingo the birding got more interesting when I spotted a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher and a Western Kingbird perched in a Gumbo Limbo tree across the road from the Visitor Center parking lot before sunset. A sunset stop at Eco Pond turned up a Grasshopper Sparrow and a little later two Lesser Nighthawks appeared over the pond allowing me my best views of that species of the trip. While I was watching the nighthawks a Barn Owl began hunting over the west side of perimeter trail finally perched on a snag silhouetted against the sunset. As darkness set in a Whip-poor-will began giving its whip call and as I was leaving it flew briefly over the trail entrance. Back at the campground another Whip-poor-will called for over an hour from high in one of the palm trees.
Saturday 11/28 The wind had dropped and I was up well before dawn and went to Eco Pond at first light. As I arrived I was able to make out the shape of a Whip-poor-will perched on a low horizontal branch of a Strangler Fig before it flew, but didn t see any nighthawks or owls. This was my last morning and I wanted to check the Coastal Prairie Trail and the Sparrow Fields north of the trail so donned my waterproof boots and set out westward. As I expected the trail and coastal prairie were mostly flooded but in all but a few places the water was barely ankle deep. Savannah Sparrows and Common Yellowthroats were plentiful and a Barn Owl hunted well after sunrise over the Buttonwoods south of the trail until an American Crow began harassing it. A Peregrine Falcon made a low pass over the fields and perched on a snag along the edge of the prairie. As I slogged westward I heard and finally saw both Sedge and Marsh Wrens. Finally in the westernmost section of the Sparrow Fields where they narrow before the trail goes into the Buttonwoods I spotted a Nelson s Sparrow and with a little more work found at least three more. I birded in the Buttonwoods for a little while with little success then turned back towards the campground. A couple of soaring Short-tailed Hawks and large flocks of White Pelicans flying west were the most interesting sightings during the return hike. It was amazing to see how soon the mosquito larvae had hatched after the rains as uncountable thousands filled the deeper puddles in the trail ruts.
I broke camp and made my last visit to the visitor center to update the wildlife sighting book. On my way out during my last minutes at Flamingo I spotted the most surprising bird of my visit there. After picking out an immature dark morph Short-tailed Hawk from a small kettle of Turkey Vultures I spotted and adult Crested Caracara high over the Visitor Center circling slowly westward. A brief stop at Mrazek Pond added American Widgeon and Common Moorhen to my trip list. I made it home with a few minutes to spare before kickoff and enjoyed the game very much.
There were a few Gray Catbirds around but not in the amazing numbers I m used to seeing during the winter while the Whip-poor-wills were more abundant than I ve ever seen and the number of Barn Owls was also impressive. I haven t seen a Cowbird at Flamingo in months. Mosquitoes were only a nuisance on the warmer days before sunrise and after sunset but after the heavy rains I m afraid December at Flamingo will be buggy.
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