Posted by Bryant Roberts on October 29, 2001 at 21:55:47:
I got back out to Eco Pond this morning and found two new fall
arrivals , Swainson's Hawk and Pied-billed Grebe. Three
Swainson's Hawks soared in from the west and appeared to catch
a thermal over the campgrounds, they then circled back westward
towards Cape Sable. The grebes swam and dove in Eco Pond
acting like Pied-billed Grebes. Here are the birds I observed at Eco Pond
this morning.
Pied-billed Grebe - 2
Great Blue Heron - 2
Great Egret - 17
Snowy Egret - 40
Little Blue Heron - 7
Tricolored Heron - 3
Cattle Egret - 25
Green Heron - 6
White Ibis - 120
Glossy Ibis - 2
Roseate Spoonbill - 1
Black Vulture - 9
Turkey Vulture - 35
Osprey - 3
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
Cooper’s Hawk - 1
Red-shouldered Hawk - 3
Broad-winged Hawk - 1 (immature)
Swainson’s Hawk - 3
American Kestrel - 2
King Rail - 2 (heard only)
Common Moorhen - 14
American Coot - 6
Killdeer - 2
Laughing Gull - 3
Belted Kingfisher - 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Eastern Phoebe - 2
White-eyed Vireo - 2
Northern Rough-winged Swallow - 13
Barn Swallow - 25
House Wren - 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 8
Gray Catbird - 4
Northern Mockingbird - 1
European Starling - 40
Palm Warbler - 9
Common Yellowthroat - 13
Northern Cardinal - 1
Indigo Bunting - 9
Painted Bunting - 5
Red-winged Blackbird - 1
Common Grackel - 1
After visiting Eco Pond I made a loop around the campgrounds and the
Visitors Center, the more interesting birds seen were: American Redstart
1, Merlin 1, and American White Pelican 9. At about 2:30 in the afternoon
a Dark Phase Short-tailed Hawk circled over the marina. This is the
fourth day in a row that I've seen them, it looks like they are here for
the season.