Posted by Alex on November 09, 2003 at 18:31:35:
Felipe and I made a little half day trip for ourselves today, and came up with many good birds. I had 3 lifers, and Felipe had 12, as well as one exotic.
We started out at his house with Yellow-chevroned Parakeet and others to start the day.
After that we got to Dump Marsh to get Felipe his life Pied-billed Grebe, Wilson's (Common) Snipe, Mottled Duck, Northern Harrier, Eastern Phoebe and Brown Cowbird. We also found a flock of yellowlegs far away, many FOS American Coots, all of the herons and egrets (besides both night herons, bitterns and Reddish Egret), Loggerhead Shrike, Red-shouldered Hawk, Palm Warbler, American Redstart, Common Yellowthroat, my state Chipping Sparrow, hundreds of Laughing Gulls, both vultures, American Kestrel, Northern Flicker, and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. On the way to Florida City we found Felipe's lifer Domestic Goose for his exotics list.
Florida City- good looks and photos of Common Myna and Boat-tailed Grackle
Flynn's- there we found a Northern Flicker, and 2 close up Western Kingbird. I got great photos but Felipe was at a bad angle to the sun for great pictures. Oh well. At least he got a good lifer.
Lucky Hammock- this is where the fun begins! The second we turn down the road to Lucky Hammock, we saw Paul Bithorn's van. We were not certain where he was but we could hear his screech owl imitations not that far away. Before we left to find him we found a Savannah Sparrow perched on a wire. After good looks of the bird, we raced off only to find Paul Bithorn staring to the sky. He was watching a Swainson's Hawk! Lifers for Felipe and I, as well as my 10 year old brother. We the dark morph of this bird for a few minutes, and Paul pointed out it looks very much like a Turkey Vulture. For those who are wondering: Didn't Alex get a Swainson's Hawk in Bill Baggs last spring? Well I decided not to count that bird because I grew uncertain about my identification of it. Paul was looking for his FOS Clay-colored Sparrow and Lark Sparrows in the area, but instead he decided to give us a tour of where to find our birds we wanted. We went looking for any Yellow-breasted Chats that may be around, but came up empty.
We went to the Vermilion Flycatcher spot next. There at first we only found another Northern Harrier, American Crow, and an Eastern Phoebe. Then Paul pointed out the Vermilion that had just flown across the canal and landed on a gate surrounding a small water pump. In my excitement I tried to get good photos of the little bird, and got too close, about 40 feet away. In my experience of flycatchers, they would let me get close to them, sometimes within a few feet, but this time it was not the case. The bird flew back across the canal, and we left to find Felipe his life Eastern Meadowlark. But first we left to Coe's visitor center. I wanted to get Rufous Hummingbird, but he none were present.
Paul found a House Wren, and that was after he found out that Felipe needed one for his lifelist. After a few minutes of searching, they came up with one doing it's harsh chattering call. Meanwhile, my brother and I were entertained with an Everglades Racer that came very close for great photos. Also seen there was a Yellow-throated Warbler and a female Painted Bunting. On the way to Anhinga Trail we found Felipe's Eastern Meadowlark, and got photo opportunities.
Anhinga Trail- this was a waste of time. We decided to try to get my American Bittern, but had no luck with it at all. We also looked for Felipe's life Purple Gallinule and Wood Stork, but the water levels were still too high to attract them. All we got there a few heron species and Palm Warblers. An accipter hawk species stayed too high up for the binoculars to reach.
Research Road- the grand finally! We took this road to find some of the shorebirds that have shown up there recently. We heard a singing Eastern Towhee, and soon found MANY, MANY, MANY more Eastern Meadowlarks, as well as a White-tailed Deer with some small antlers. The Hole-in-the-donut fields yielded great birds. There we found tons of White Ibis and other heron and egrets, a few Red-shouldered Hawks, House Wren, Common Yellowthroat, more Loggerhead Shrikes, an Indigo Bunting, Common Ground Dove, Savannah Sparrow, and many more Long-billed Dowitcher, Wilson's Snipe, and Greater Yellowlegs. The yellowlegs and dowitcher were life birds for Felipe, and the dowitcher was a life bird for me. Constantly they would be flying over the road, giving many looks. A killdeer was also added to our small but good shorebird list. On the way back to the exit to the park, a Great Crested Flycatcher and many Gray Catbirds added themselves to the list. Just past the park entrance "tolls," a 3ish foot Eastern Diamond Rattlesnake graced Felipe, my brother, Paul and I to a few minutes of A+ looks of the serpent crossing the road. Of course me and Felipe got great photos, but my mother did not let us get too close.
Back in Florida City we saw Merlin and a flock of 13 Common Myna! I have never seen an actual flock of Common Mynas before. Then back in Miami we spotted 2 Hill Mynas. Once we dropped of Felipe we stopped for some food and gained 4 more Hill Mynas. I don't think I will ever again get 19 mynas in one day. Even though most birders would have a few beers over the birds we saw today, since I can't, I decided to buy some expensive oranges and make a nice glass of cold fresh squeezed Florida Orange juice. Though not a traditional beer, it made up for the day. I here by declare for us young bucks "Fresh squeezed Orange Juice Bird!", I had to make 3 glasses of the juice for all 3 lifers-the dowitcher, Swainson's Hawk, and the Vermilion Flycatcher. Thanks Paul for all the help and the Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice Birds. We ended the day with 75 species, with 14 lifers for Felipe! We could have gotten more if it was not for the high water levels. We also need a good cold front to push the ducks down into Dump Marsh, Paul said. Life is good... Especially on days like these!