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Posted by Brian Rapoza on 18:10:45 01/30/11
This morning, I biked the impoundments to the west of Homestead General Airport. Ten years ago, when birders were allowed to drive this area, the impoundments attracted a wide variety of wintering waterfowl. Today, the eastern edge of this area is part of Rocky Glades Public Small Game Hunting Area, while the rest is within Everglades National Park. A paved road bisects this area, running north to a gate at SW 216 Street. Access from the south is via a pedestrian bridge behind the airport; the bridge is itself accessed from SW 280 Street, a dirt (and very potholed) road that runs along the northern fence line of the airport.
I stopped first in the airport itself, where I saw two Burrowing Owls near the t-bar adjacent to the runway. Along SW 280 Street, I saw only American Kestrel, Loggerhead Shrike, Tree Swallow, Palm Warbler, Savannah Sparrow and Eastern Meadowlark. Once over the bridge, I biked north along the paved road to a point where I could see the gate at SW 216 Street, back south via the western berm to SW 304 Street, then back to the bridge. Except for a few scattered pools, the impoundments were devoid of water. No waterfowl were seen and bird diversity was disappointingly low. Species present included all of the species seen along SW 280 Street, plus Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga, Great Blue and Little Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, White Ibis, Osprey, Northern Harrier, Cooper's and Red-shouldered Hawk, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Eastern Phoebe, Northern Mockingbird, Common Yellowthroat, Eastern Towhee (heard), Savannah and Swamp Sparrow, Northern Cardinal and Red-winged Blackbird.
I also stopped by Castellow Hammock Park, where I easily found the female Selasphorus (presumed Rufous) hummingbird, once again seen working the orchid tree near the picnic shelter or perched in small trees across from the orchid tree. Becky Smith briefly spotted the male Selasphorus before I arrived, but we could not relocate it.
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