Posted by Paul-the-other, not L not B on April 09, 2004 at 21:00:54:
A roseate spoonbill landed at Wakodahatchee today and was the "darling" of the morning from 9:45 on. Primping, preening, chasing black-necked stilts, feeding, fluffing its wings...what a show! The cameras were smoking. A otherwise beautiful event was tarnished a bit by scores of loud mouthed children who shrieked and screamed at the bird causing it to fly twice to new positions. I often wonder why parents take their children to Wakodahatchee and then let them act as if they are in a soccer game.
Bitterns are about but remaining partially concealed.
But the big news is...THE WARBLERS ARE THERE IN NUMBERS. We saw pine, prairie, palm warblers ad nauseum, and many black throated blue warblers. But, strangely, they were all silent. Not the usual chipping, chirping going on. You have to watch the oaks trees along the cement walk and when you see movement take a close look and there are the warblers.
Another oddity; the baby Great Blue herons, flew back in and out of the nest several times. So the fact you see them in the nest really doesn't mean they haven't left it. It simply means that they are in it now. Watch closely and you will see that the babies are not very good yet at judging angles. Two of them had to circle twice as they misjudged the wind and couldn't get aligned to land on the nest. If you haven't been there yet...go to Wakodahatchee, but before 9:30. They open at sunrise....exactly at sunrise which moves back each morning. So go early.