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Posted by Carlos Sanchez on 19:34:00 02/21/10
The day started at 5:20AM. While waiting for Roxanne to pick me up in the parking lot, the resident Barn Owl came flying in high from the west, heralding its arrival with a screech before retreating to its roosting tree. I took this as a good omen. On Blumberg Road, we had a small flock of American Robins feeding on the Brazilian Pepper.
At around 7:40AM, Roxanne and I had arrived at STA-5. From the levee, we quickly noticed a couple hundred Fulvous Whistling-Ducks both in the water and flying over. The sound of so many whistling-ducks was almost deafening. While looking at one of the whistling-duck flocks, Roxanne noticed a bobcat slinking down into the vegetation. We were delighted with great looks as it suddenly flushed, running away for a few dozen yards before looking back at us. We also had most of our Purple Gallinules and Purple Swamphens in this area. A Sharp-shinned Hawk quickly dashed out from the swamp in front of us, perching on a wire well behind the car.
On the southern edge of the western impoundment, the car was literally surrounded by hundreds of birds -- Tree Swallows, Red-winged Blackbirds, Killdeer, and Common Ground-Doves were thick on the levee. We quickly noticed a couple hundred Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks. Many of them flew into the air along with about half a hundred American Wigeon. Scanning this flock, Roxanne was able to locate a single drake Eurasian Wigeon -- our first target bird. We also found a roosting flock of Caspian Terns and Black Skimmers, two American Bitterns, both Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, and many Limpkins (11 total for STA-5). Onwards to the kingbirds on the western edge of the west levee, we had the presumed Tropical Kingbird followed by the Western and Cassin's Kingbird -- target number two. There was also a flock of Northern Rough-winged Swallows on the wires with only a few Tree Swallows in the mix. Driving back across the levee, we flushed a Least Bittern and a Sora. Three Snail Kites were perched low in a tree in the southeastern corner of the western impoundment.
Around the eastern impoundment, we picked up Northern Shoveler and Northern Pintail in good number, plus a couple of Peregrine Falcons scanning the flocks from atop utility poles. We recorded a total of 70 species at STA-5 that morning.
Onwards to North Naples, I spotted an otter running in a brushy area right off I-75. At the North Naples Water Treatment Plant, we missed the White-winged Scoter by a day but did add Hooded Merganser and Lesser Scaup. An hour stop at Kirby Storter Boardwalk in Big Cypress Preserve was a good idea, netting us sightings of three woodpecker species (Red-bellied, Downy, Pileated), Wild Turkey, Tufted Titmouse, Northern Parula, and Black-and-white Warbler. A few White-tailed Deer were grazing right off the boardwalk.
Two out of three target species, nearly a 100 species of bird seen or heard (not to mention the shear number of individual birds at STA-5), and three great mammal species all made for a great day of birding in South Florida.
Carlos
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