Posted by Alex on April 25, 2004 at 12:21:35:
Nineteen birders joined Nancy Freedman and I on the TAS walk to Elaine Gordon/Enchanted Forest. We started out with waterthrush species, Northern Parula, Prairie Warbler, a male Blackpoll, and two Black-throated Blues. Purple Martin, Chimney Swift, and Red-shouldered Hawk were also seen. On the larger trail, we found a Gray Catbird, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and a small mixed warbler flock. The warbler flock consisted of 2 or 3 American Redstart females, 2 Black-and-whites (including a beautiful male), and a Northern Parula. The highlight in the park was a Solitary Sandpiper which flew over the group calling.
After the walk, Nancy and I decided to extend the trip to the Burrowing Owl spot in Miami Shores. Most of the group left, but a few people followed us to Barry University. We were not disappointed. All three Burrowing Owls were out in the open. After about 5 minutes looking at the owls, the group's attention was turned to a few White-winged Parakeets calling a few hundred feet away. After good looks at the bird (life bird for Susan Schneider and year bird for Paul Bithorn). A Loggerhead Shrike family and Spot-breasted Oriole were nice to see. However, a pair of Bobolinks gave me the most butterflies in my stomach. The flew over where the Upland Sandpiper was over a week ago. The Bobolink female looked very red, almost like a male House Finch, which I called it at first. All in all, we had a good amount of birds.