[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]
Posted by Eva Matthews + Andy Lantz on 15:20:14 08/09/10
We had nice day of birding yesterday in the PBC sod fields. We started the day at STA 1-E where we added our only Prairie Warbler of the day plus we had great looks at a couple of Eastern Meadowlarks and a Tree Swallow.
Then we went to STA 1-W were we added many Pied-billed Grebe, a couple of Purple Swamphen, and the usual waders.
At Sam Senter Road we added both dowitchers, both yellowlegs, Pectoral Sandpiper, Killdeer, and the first of many Common Nighthawks for the day.
Next we checked out the Belle Glade marina where we were disappointed to find the vegetation stripped from around the boat access launch. I saw my lifer Smooth-billed Anis here a couple of years ago so this was a little disappointing to find the suitable habitat destroyed. We did add Northern Rough-wing Swallows and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher here.
At the King Ranch we found what most of you have been posting about, mostly sugarcane. But the field northwest of the radio tower did have some shorebird habitat with Black-necked Stilts and a couple of Black Terns flying over.
On Brown Farms Road we found a canal and flooded field adjacent to each other. The canal was lined with hundreds of Wood Stork. Some Gull-billed Terns were around and the field had a few Black-bellied Plovers mixed in with the gulls and Killdeer.
Our last stop of the day was a flooded filed right before 20-mile Bend on 880 where we added a Ruddy Turnstone to our shorebird list.
We ended the day with 73 species if you include the non-ABA birds. Not bad for a birding trip from 9AM until 3PM.
Birds of interest:
Black Tern
Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Royal Tern
Short-billed Dowitcher
Long-billed Dowitcher
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer
Ruddy Turnstone
Pectoral Sandpiper
Black-necked Stilt
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Barn Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Northern Rough-wing Swallow
Purple Martin
Belted Kingfisher
Purple Swamphen
Black-bellied Whistling Ducks
[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]