Posted by Stefan on November 08, 2003 at 21:08:48:
To start things off, on CR 827, 2.1mi west of the intersection of US 27 and CR 827, I saw a family of 5 SMOOTH-BILLED ANI on CR 827 work the edge of the canal. This is just about the location where they have been seen earlier this summer by the Vinces earlier.
A quick stop at the Barn Owl spot at the intersection of CR 827 and Miami Canal Rd produced NO barn owl. I walked along the back side of the red cedars to make sure. I hope those guys have not cleared out for good!
About 2mi south of the Barn Owl spot, along Miami Canal Rd., there are several good flooded fields on the right hand side. There is a fair amount of bird activity. Flocks of Ring-necked ducks, Coots and Teals can be found amongst Glossy and White Ibis and both Yellowlegs. A Northern Harrier made scoping difficult.
I then headed back towards West Palm Beach along CR 880. There are several large South Florida Water Management District retention ponds on the south side of CR 880 about 1mi before CR 880 intersects with US 80. The number of birds in this area is mind-boggling! Literally clusters of ducks and coots as far as the eye can see. To get to this area, turn right, off CR 880, about 0.5mi before this intersection. The turnoff is in a left curve. There is a sign saying "G-327c" (or similar) that seems to mark the canal running parallel to CR 880. Also, unfortunately, there is a "No Trespassing" sign which may refer to motorized vehicles only (see David LaPuma's post for the Groove-billed Ani). Walk up to the levy. I just had a quick look, but there were at least 25 FULVOUS WHISTLING DUCKS, a PURPLE GALINULE and thousands of Teals, Coots, Moorhens, ... Take your bike if you can!