Posted by Walter Lamb on March 08, 2004 at 13:49:02:
These notes will be of more interest to visitors like me with an eight year old Pranty guide than to local birders, although I am interested in local feedback:
Barred Owl - There are several at Mahogony Hammock and they are very vocal at dusk. I got great views just before 7 AM in some bare trees to the left of the trail from the parking lot to the hammock. Also good views at Corkscrew near the Stork nesting site.
Limpkin - Great views at Corkscrew from several locations, including the Stork nesting site.
Spot-breasted Oriole and Monk Parakeet - They were both at Fairhaven Nursing Home in Miami Springs. The parakeets are impossible to miss. I was lucky to spot the Oriole in an alley way off Navarre across from the home just before Morningside. He was on the telephone wires very near a pole about 1/2 down the alley, a small orange dot against the trees. He sat patiently for several minutes and then flew into some palms to the left.
Snail Kite - I was not patient enough for this one and was never in the right place at the right time.
Smooth-billed Ani - I was disappointed to learn these birds have dramatically declined in FL. I was told at Ding Darling and Loxahatchee that Ani sightings are very rare now. Following tips, I tried the Ft Lauderdale airport and Bowles Canal at the intersection of 27 and 827 south of Belle Glade but missed on both counts.
Scrub Jay - Easy and in abundance south of the Archbold research station just where the guide says.
Red-cockaded Woodpecker - No luck at Venus, where the sanctuary is now apparently off limits to foot traffic. A group of us did get Red-headed Woodpecker, however. Second hand reports of RCW at Webb Park north of Ft Myers.
American Oystercatcher, Piping and Wilson's Plovers, Sandwich Tern, Black Skimmer, etc. - All in the mud flats behind Fort Myers Beach according to the guide instructions.
I hope this helps someone's trip planning.