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Posted by John Boyd on 05:28:59 10/17/10
As usual for the South Dade trip, we met in the Burger King parking lot. Many had not gotten the message that I was substituting for Toe as leader. There are new tow-away zone signs there, and those who were carpooling decided to leave their vehicles elsewhere. Those not involved in the carpooling headed directly to Lucky Hammock. I had an out-of-state birder in my car, and we made a short stop to give her a good look at some Common Mynas.
When we made the turnoff to Lucky Hammock, we found part of our group stopped near the corner looking at a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. The Crested Caracara that has been hanging out here for the last couple of years made a flyby. Some Wilson's Snipes were present in the wet areas of the field a little closer to Lucky Hammock. A flock of Pectoral Sandpipers flew in while we were trying to get a decent look at the snipes.
A Blue Grosbeak had been seen earlier at the NE corner of the hammock itself. Both Painted and Indigo Buntings were present in numbers, but warblers (other than Palms and Common Yellowthroats) were fairly scarce. Common Ground-Doves were present, including a couple on the wire. A Yellow-billed Cuckoo was easily visible atop the hammock. Harriers and kestrels were working the fields. We also found more shorebirds just south of the hammock, including a Solitary Sandpiper, a flyover Lesser Yellowlegs. A flock of Least Sandpipers flew in a bit later. A couple of Brown Thrashers showed up after we circled the hammock. Shortly afterward, a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (the same one?) flew over the group. We also got to see it perched. Our first Broad-winged Hawk of the morning put in an appearance about then, as did a rather controversial accipiter which seemed to me to be a largish Sharp-shinned.
As we continued down the road to the "Annex", some Eastern Meadowlarks were seen in the fields. The area is changing due to the replumbing of the Everglades. A couple of Blue Grosbeaks were in a clump of vegetation adjacent to a newly created pond near the first gate. We walked down the road hoping for warblers and flycatchers. A late Gray Kingbird was on the wire. We found a few warblers, but not many. A Magnolia Warbler was the highlight of those. Further down the road we found a Blue-winged Teal in a pond, and my FOS House Wren was nearby. The real show was overhead. Short-tailed and Broad-winged Hawks continued to appear above us. It is difficult to tell how many Short-tailed Hawks there were as some were circling about and reappearing. Some were not in full adult plumage yet, so we did get some clue. I'm guessing there were about a dozen of them, with approximately half light morph and half dark morph. We also added a number of big waders to our list, including a small group of Glossy Ibis. As we neared the cars, we found an Eastern Kingbird perched to the west.
We then drove over to the Coe Visitors Center. There were a couple of Pied-billed Grebes in the lake, but it was otherwise quiet. The group shrank some when we left Coe for Castellow Hammock, with some people heading into the park. By the time we got to Castellow, it was almost noon, so we put the picnic tables to use.
After lunch, we birded the area. Besides the expected hummers (Ruby-throats only) and White-winged Doves, we found a number of warblers in the area, eventually pushing the day's total to 14. Some of the group found a Scarlet Tanager in an oak. By now the group was small enough that it was reasonable to walk the hammock trail. It seemed pretty quiet as we went in, but we ran into birds almost immediately after we started back. A thrush had to remain unidentified, but we had better luck with some warblers and two Summer Tanagers. A calling bird seemed to be a Blue-headed Vireo, but I would have liked to see it to make sure. We returned to the building where we heard that some Tennessee Warblers had been seen. After a search, we were able to find one. Eventually, we called it a day. The warbler list was: Ovenbird, Worm-eating Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Northern Waterthrush, American Redstart, Northern Parula, Magnolia, Black-throated Blue, Palm, Yellow-throated, Prairie, and Black-throated Green Warblers. I don't have an accurate group total, but it's probably 85-90.
I ended the birding day with a Yellow-throated Vireo very near my house.
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