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Posted by Toe on 12:36:27 09/25/10
I was asked to lead a short bird walk for an EEL volunteer work day this morning at Matheson Hammock. After the bird walk, the volunteers and county staff would do a planting at the far west side of the park. I arrived at 7:00, and hour before the scheduled start to the walk, in hopes of birding the service road. Twice the rains chased me away between 7:00 and 7:30, and I thought the day was shot. On the second try I spotted a female Hooded Warbler in the area where the service road drops and the canopy opens up, but the rain was coming and I had to get back to the car. Just as the walk was about to begin at 8:00, the rain started letting up. There were about 40 volunteers, and we had a fairly uneventful walk for an hour along the oak grove and along the pond. After the walk, I again went down the service road and birded the west side more thoroughly. My best bird was a Florida first for me - a male Cerulean Warbler near the intersection of SW 92 St. and Schoolhouse Rd (52 Ave). Take the service road to the open area then go north to where the park ends on 92 st. I was chasing a calling Yellow-throated Vireo and a pair of Baltimore Orioles when I pished and the Cerulean came down from a huge fig tree on a private property. It perched briefly on a small Gumbo Limbo before flying back up to the fig tree. I never did see the Vireo, but relocated the two Orioles a little farther south. I also had a Carolina Wren which I think may be the first one I see at Matheson.
Not an epic morning, and the numbers are still very low, but the variety was just enough to keep things interesting, and the male Cerulean deserves a REALLY good beer!
Here's the morning's list:
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Cerulean Warbler (first male I see in Florida!)
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Worm-eating Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Carolina Wren
Yellow-throated Vireo
Summer Tanager
Baltimore Oriole
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