Posted by Susan Schneider on April 23, 2004 at 10:23:11:
Past the original sparrow spot by another quarter mile or less was suitable habitat with pines interspersed. And singing!! *But*, having heard the southern version of the Eastern Towhee song at the original spot, I was concerned that these new songs were not Bachman's--the two songs are distinctly similar, although the Bachman's is more musical. The variability in the new songs convinced me they were indeed Bachman's, but I couldn't see the birds, and bushwhacked it into the field for visual confirmation. Finally, I saw a sparrow singing from a low pine branch--a bird with an especially thrush-like and varied song. A second even-more-spectacular musician moved in from further away, and I was treated to a sparrow symphony, with the two richly-voiced soloists alternating as the lesser vocalists accompanied them. This was worth coming a long way to hear. The two alpha males took it under the tussocks, and I headed back, overjoyed.
Flatwoods was excellent also for warblers, vireos, and tanagers, all *singing* like proper birds do in the spring (e.g., my FOT Pine Warbler and Ovenbird). Pileateds were all over, and gave good looks. And my only N. Bobwhite on the trip called. It was a pleasure to hear Carolina Chickadees and Tufted Titmice again!--and to hear and see Eastern Bluebirds. A site I would love to spend more time at, but onward, as the trip now became a voyage of exploration. I'd never visited SW Florida before, and had trips down birding's memory lane on behalf of friends, and other birding sites of interest to cover that I'd only read about.
Myakaa River, one of my friends' recommendations, turned out to be a special experience indeed. More alligators crowded into the ponds there than I had ever seen before, even along Anhinga Trail in late winter. More on this later. I found many FOTs here, including Sora, Black-necked Stilts, Glossy Ibis, Swallow-tailed Kite, Kestrel, Limpkin (calling, no less!), Lesser Yellowlegs, and Caspian Tern. The Canopy Walk alone was worth the trip--like being in Central America. But two highlights stand out: At the
end of the boardwalk at the main wetland, I was doing my Birding Ambassador bit, showing birds in my scope to succeeding groups of visitors. Greater Yellowlegs were the most common species, and I happened to be looking in the right direction when, of all things, an alligator caught and ate one, flapping wings and all! Gee whiz. The Sandhill Crane family (4 adults, 2 juveniles) were the biggest hit with the visitors, and I enjoyed the dancing (the cranes', that is). I happened to be quite close by and on my own when the pair mated, quite a thing to see with such large and majestic birds. The female remained standing, bearing the weight of the larger male and balancing him by stretching out her wings.
Ding Darling of great fame was next, and I was up early this time, driving without breakfast to arrive shortly after dawn. A nice warbler wave awaited me along the Indigo Trail, including Black-and-White, Palm, Prairie, Blackpoll, Northern Waterthrush, and Parula. The N. Waterthrush chip exploded in my ear, and was not at all tinny! But the song clinched the ID. Alligator tails had left long marks across the trail.
The main refuge was a shorebird paradise, and I put my newly-enhanced peep skills to the test: A flock of over a hundred immediately presented itself for my attention, and I turned grimly to the task. All Least except for one Western (but I won't swear that I didn't miss something). Plenty of other shorebirds and waders were about, and I was treated to the unusual sight of White Ibis, Tricolored Heron, Little Blue Heron, and Great Egret flying in to mob a 3-foot gator (apparently uncommon in this pond). They danced about perilously close to the reptile's snout (I had the unfortunate yellowlegs in mind), but succeeded in driving it out. Among the Semipalm Plovers here was one Piping. I spent a long time on the thousands of shorebirds, especially drilling Dunlin-Short-billed Dowitcher differences into my head, since at a distance I find these can be confusing. The proportions are rather similar, it seems to me, except for the longer Dowitcher beak. Amazing how Dunlin can
imitate that sewing-machine motion, but then in both cases the bill is about as long as the legs. Spotted the only Spotted of the trip here; also heard FOT Clapper Rail. More Roseate Spoonbills than I've seen since Snake Bight, but they all disappeared by 10, disappointing many visitors who asked me about them. More Pileateds here, one extremely close that stayed to be seen by other visitors. Also picked up a FOT calling Chuck-Will's-Widow and several Yellow-crowned Night Herons--one practically within touching distance. The tameness of the birds here reminded me of the Anhinga Trail.
The hiking and shorebirding had aggravated an old knee injury, however, and that restricted me for the rest of the day (though I did pick up a few more species). I had to sacrifice my plans to bird Fort Myers Beach at the Holiday Inn, and reluctantly drove on past. The tide would have been perfect, too. A FOT Common Nighthawk in Naples that night helped to compensate.
And the last day of the trip was as memorable as the others. I started at Eagle Lakes, acting on a suggestion from Brian. The Bronzed Cowbirds, a lifer, greeted me right near the parking lot. What a handsome bird, with its ruff making this a cowbird with
dignity. And my goodness, all the shorebirds at the wetland! With Least Terns and Black Skimmers and Black-necked Stilts and yes--an Eagle at Eagle Lakes! I did my best with the scope, but was unable to relocate the Baird's SP or the Stilt SP. Everything else was there in this miniature Ding Darling. Based
on habitat, I added Long-billed Dowitcher, plus my first Wood Storks and Killdeer of the trip. The solitary Solitary SP was another FOT.