Posted by Bryant Roberts on October 28, 2001 at 20:37:36:
The "cold" front came through friday, dropping temperatures into
the upper sixties at night and bringing strong northeast winds. I
only got out birding for an hour or two on saturday afternoon and
the most obvious change was a few more raptors; 3 Short-tailed
Hawks, 5 Broad-winged Hawks, and 1 Peregrine Falcon. I also
saw a Gray Kingbird, my last one here was on 10/5. A visiting
birder mentioned seeing 3 Scissor-tailed Flycatchers along the
main road between the entrance to Mahogany Hammock and
Sweet Bay Pond on saturday morning. I was able to get out for a
little longer this morning (10/28) and the raptors were more in
evidence; 40 Broad-winged Hawks, 5 Red-shouldered Hawks, 2
Peregrine Falcons, 1 Merlin, 1 Coopers Hawk, at least 15 Sharp-
shinned Hawks, and at least 2 Short-tailed Hawks. A kettle of
about 100 Turkey Vultures formed over Flamingo at about noon.
The swallows continue to move through sporadically, this morning I
saw about 10 Barn Swallows and 5 Rough-winged Swallows, but
so far no Tree Swallows. The only new bird here this fall was a
Savannah Sparrow at Eco Pond.