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Posted by Vincent Lucas on 12:40:08 04/13/11
This morning I thought I'd once again head on down to the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk in the Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve to see if any migrants had come in. It's been a pretty pitiful spring migration so far here in Collier County. For my Collier County Big Year (CCBY), I still don't have either Red-eyed, Yellow-throated or Black-whiskered Vireo plus I'm missing many warblers as well as most thrushes, etc. Anyway, the only warblers I could find on the boardwalk were Northern Parula and Black-and-white Warbler. All of the resident birds were there including scads of Great Crested Flycatchers and Gray Catbirds, but nothing else out of the ordinary. A close encounter with a Barred Owl was nice plus there is one juvie Bald Eagle still hanging around the nest. The deer flies were really bad BTW. From there, I decided to drive to Rookery Bay down Shell Island Rd. to its end, past the former Brigg's Nature Center, now an office for the enforcement branch of the FWC. Along Shell Island Rd. I saw and heard Eastern Towhee as well as Common Ground Dove (highlights). When I got to the boat ramp at Henderson Creek/Rookery Bay, I decided to walk the Catclaw Trail through a mixed mangrove habitat. About 200 yards down the trail, I played my iPod for Mangrove Cuckoo on a whim. Within a minute, I had a distant response from a Mangrove Cuckoo and within 30 seconds, it was perched 20 feet in front of me, singing away. Unfortunately, I had the wrong lens on my camera so no pictures. Mangrove Cuckoo is #187 for my CCBY. Other birds seen in the area of the boat ramp included Northern Waterthrush and Spotted Sandpiper (in full breeding plumage). Next, I ventured down Collier Blvd. to Marco Island to see if I could find a Gray Kingbird for my CCBY. I did find one perched in a heavily fruited Ficus in a small shopping mall at 651 Collier Blvd. CCBY #188. My last stop was near the Judge Jolly Bridge where I spent a minute or two glassing the ABC Islands. There were two Magnificent Frigatebirds flying around as well as the usual nesting Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Ospreys, etc. Even though there were only a few returning migrants about, it was a good morning birding here in Collier County!
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