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Posted by Donna Schulman on 23:24:09 03/17/10
I arrived at Matheson at 8am, beating the rain by a half-hour, but saw no sign of the Brown-crested Flycatcher by the restrooms or the other documented locations. I did see a small flock of Cedar Waxwings in the picnic area, and two Orange-winged Parrots squawked overhead, landing in neighboring Fairchild Gardens.
Other birds at Matheson included:
Pied-billed Grebe
Tricolored Heron
Sharp-shinned Hawk (in the restroom/picnic area)
American Coot
Eastern Phoebe
Catbird
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Fish Crow
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-and-White Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Taking the appearance of the waxwings as a sign, I decided to drive over to the Kendall area to search for Red-whiskered Bulbul (get it? crested birds?). I look for the bulbuls every time I visit south Florida, and though I always find interesting birds in the area (Monday I had Spot-breasted Oriole), I have, up to today, not seen any bulbuls.
My big mistake, I see now, was not to bird Kendall in the rain! At 10:30am it was very lively, birds calling and flying up and down the wires, and at the western end of the neighborhood there were my bulbuls, two of them, on a wire! (Specifically, it was near the corner of SW 89th Ave. and SW 87th St.) I also saw a small mixed flock in the area, including Northern Parula, Prairie and Palm Warblers, and Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher.
I am back in NYC now, sad to leave Florida, but happy I got to see the La Sagra's on Sunday(after hearing but not seeing it in January) and the Bulbuls. Thanks to Robin Diaz and all the Florida birders I met for your help.
Donna Schulman
Forest Hills, NY
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