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Posted by Angel & Mariel on 13:11:18 11/05/10
Just came in from an after lunch stroll around campus. We headed out to explore some areas of campus we had yet to check out. While heading for the bay we heard a House Wren which we could not find. While looking for the wren we noticed that a constant stream of Turkey Vulture was flying overhead. Mixed in with the vultures we picked out 3 Short-tailed Hawks, 1 Broad-winged Hawk, 1 Bald Eagle, 2 Osprey, 1 Merlin, 1 American Kestrel, 3 Cooper's and one Sharp-shinned Hawk! All three Short-tails were light morph birds.
Next we headed for an open grassy field by the bay, where we flushed up a Savannah Sparrow. The spot looks great for sparrows, we will continue to check it out. Looks awesome for Bobolink in the spring; note to self. We did not check the tree island that is lined with shrubs and dead vegetation to the north of the field. Sparrows may have been hiding from the winds on the southern side of the island.
While looking out over the bay for any sea ducks or gulls etc... we picked out Tree Swallows flying over the bay at breakneck speeds. While scanning I got on a dark tern which turned out to be a Brown Noddy! The bird was diving for food and eventually crashed the gulls party in anticipation of an easy meal. Most of the birds we observed were flying in a general SE direction. The high winds kept the birds flying overhead at a high rate of speed, they should be in S. Dade in no time.
Other than birds we also came across a Ring-necked Snake, several Common Buckeye Butterfly, many other butterfly and skipper species. Cannot wait to get out there again, we have only scratched the surface.
Nature is Awesome
Angel & Mariel
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