Posted by Bill Boeringer on August 07, 2001 at 09:26:29:
Following several discussions about the feasibility of a Shorebird Big Day, on August 4th Brian Rapoza, Paul Bithorn and I left Miami at 0500 to set a standard for South Florida shorebirding. The ultimate goal was for 30 species- perhaps pie-in-the-sky- but a more practical goal was to beat Brian's total of 21 the week before.
Our first stop was Everglades City, where the low tide-exposed flats revealed.....nothing. We did spook a Spotted Sandpiper along the shore when we drove up, so it was on to Tigertail Beach with 1 specie under our belts.
We arrived at Tigertail at 0815, just after low tide. We walked south around the lagoon and up the beach, then circling back. On our way around, we found Black-bellied Plover, Wilson's Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Piping Plover, Willet, Marbled Godwit, Ruddy Turnstone, Red Knot, Sanderling, Western Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs, Spotted Sandpiper, and Short-billed Dowitcher. Many individuals were still in alternate plumage, including one spectacular Semipalmated Plover and the still-spotted Spotty. There were also quite a few Piping Plovers, a good sign.
However, we had missed a number of target birds: American Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Snowy Plover, and Whimbrel, and began a hunt in earnest. As we headed back along the lagoon side, we spotted one Whimbrel walking into a flock of Knots, and then came upon a single Dunlin, still in breeding plumage!
Flush with success, we headed north to Ft. Myers/Estero Beach Lagoon to find Oystercatcher and Snowy Plover. Along the way we found another Whimbrel. We arrived at the beach about 1130; the water was as high as any of us had ever seen. We hiked south to the end of the beach, and at times there was virtually no beach to walk on. Along the way we saw Black-bellied Plover, Wilson's Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Piping Plover, Willet, Ruddy Turnstone, Red Knot, Sanderling, Western Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, and Short-billed Dowitcher. After a long walk, and scanning every Piping Plover that was hunkered down in the sand, back to us, we finally located a Snowy Plover. Needless to say, once we located the first one, we began to see Snowy Plovers everywhere we looked.
Marching south under Paul’s observation that time was wasting, we set up our scopes at the south end of the beach to scan for an Oystercatcher. We found a good flock of Marbled Godwits and then–was that a patch of red in the high grass on that islet? Yes- a flock of American Oystercatchers!
There was a long trek back to the car, but we were elated with having found all of our Gulf shorebirds. We didn’t find any rarities (could there be a Long-billed Curlew?), but we left Ft. Myers with 19 shorebird species for the day. And we still didn’t have a Killdeer!!!
From Ft. Myers, we headed across the state to Clewiston and down to Belle Glade. We quickly found #20 (Killdeer), #21 (Black-necked Stilt), and #22 (Lesser Yellowlegs). At the radio tower on SR27 we found #23 (Pectoral Sandpiper), but we missed the bird we’d planned on/hoped for-Upland Sandpiper! We then spent precious time searching as many sod fields as we could, but came up empty, a bitter disappointment. Stilt Sandpipers (#24) were of some solace.
We hightailed it down SR27 and down the Turnpike to Homestead to see if we could find the American Golden-Plover that had been there. In the fading light, we scoped all the fields around the racetrack, but could not find our target. Paul discovered a Solitary sandpiper in a roadside puddle to bring our day’s shorebird total to 25.
We think 30 species is very possible for the day, but probably later in August. We found everything we had to have, but could not turn up the more irregular species- Upland Sandpiper, American Avocet, Wilson’s Phalarope. We were also too early for Buff-breasted Sandpiper, and got no help from rarities. Still, we had luck in getting the core species, including 1 each of Dunlin and Solitary Sandpiper, and 2 each of Whimbrel and Spotted Sandpiper. We were also pinched for time in Belle Glade because of the necessity of traveling to Ft. Myers to get birds missed at Tigertail.
We look forward to reports of those who top 25 species in a day.
Part II The other birds!
We had approximately 83 species for the day, not bad considering we never looked in a tree! Non-shorebirds of note included:
Everglades City - Gray Kingbird, Reddish Egret
Tigertail Beach - Magnificent Frigatebird, Sandwich, Common, Forster’s, Least & Royal Terns, Reddish Egret, Roseate Spoonbill
Ft. Myers/Estero - Yellow Warbler in beach shrubs, Sandwich, Common, Forster’s, Least, Royal and Black Terns
SR80 in Hendry County - Sandhill Crane
Homestead - Least Bittern, Great White Heron