Posted by Bob Kelley on May 15, 2004 at 10:19:10:
In Reply to: Fledgling Smooth-billed Anis posted by Bryant Roberts on May 08, 2004 at 17:17:15:
It is good to hear that a few Anis are holding on. They were so common 30 years ago in the urban neighborhoods around the University of Miami campus, but there is nary a vacant lot to be found in Coral Gables these days and they did seem to like to have cover around.
There is an unpublished(I believe) Ph.D. thesis
by Rob Loftin that is available at the University of Miami Richter Library. He studied the old colony at the Virginia Key Sewerage Plant about 20 years ago. Alas, it seems to be gone also due to alteration of vegetation around the plant. We saw them several times on Fisher Island just north of there on the Dade County Christmas Bird Counts 10 years ago.
My last sighting was at Fairchild Tropical
Botanic Garden(I believe that is their new name)
a couple of years ago. They were running between the legs of some of the kids in an environmental
education program catching insects that had been stirred up by their planting efforts. They are certainly not a shy bird.
Bob Kelley
: This Friday Russell MacGregor got a call from visiting Virginia birders Larry Lynch and Lauren
: Scott who reported seeing fledgling Smooth-billed Anis at the Airport Greenbelt Park. After
: visiting the park and confirming that there were five recently fledged Anis at the park being cared
: for by at least four adults Russell sent out some emails.
: At around noon today (5/8) Mark Berney and I met Russell to locate the Fledgling
: Anis he had seen yesterday. We found all five alive and well being
: tended by about four adults on the north side of the Perimeter
: Road just north of the park. The young Anis were great fun to watch as they clambered
: up the chain-link fence begging food from the adults then flying
: back down to the Coco Plum hedge or the ground, then climbing
: back up the fence to repeat the process. It's a little scary to see such
: young birds within a few feet of a busy road, hope they all make it and are not endangered in any
: way by the actions of birders. The repeated and unnecessary use of tapes on this Ani flock at
: about this time last year was an important factor in my decision to cut back on routine local
: birding reports to this and other internet groups.
: The Airport Greenbelt Park is located on the north side of Griffin Road between I-95 and US 1 on
: the south side of Ft. Lauderdale International Airport.