[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]
Posted by Toe on 12:48:06 08/04/11
In Reply to: Sod Farms - Aug 3 posted by Trey Mitchell
The most important number is that we were done and on our way back before 10:00 am. Both me and Carlos had appoitments to get to, so our time was very short, albeit very productive. Tons of birds right now and some very good looking fields. We must have seen 1,000's of individuals. Numbers of Stilt Sandpipers and Lesser Yellowlegs were impressive. The field 1.5 miles east of Duda Road on 880 had 7 Wilson's Phalaropes and 2 Avocets, along with hordes of Stilt Pipers and B-N Stilts. There is another field just east of this one with a little less water that was crawling with Lesser Yellowlegs. Every square yard of the field had shorebirds on it.
We only checked the first two fields along Gladeview Rd. but both were very productive. At Sam Senter Rd we found our only Fulvous Whistling Ducks of the morning, including a pair with ducklings. The only field that looked OK on Brown's Farm Rd. was at the first bridge, but bird numbers were low here.
Shorebirds are definitely here in big numbers.
Now, why don't we have them in our county? Could it be a lack of habitat. Let's see. The fields near the racetrack that were once so productive are now either tree nurseries, or just overgrown with tall grass. Unusable. The fields around Lucky Hammock are "managed" by the Water Management District now and so are toast. The fields around 217 Ave. are good for grasspipers like Uppies and Buff-breasted, and a few Pectorals, but too dry for most others. Cutler Wetlands has two kinds of cover - deep water and tall grass, both unusable for shorebirds.
The only shorebird habitat at the moment is a 100-acre wet field on the west side of the South Dade Landfill that looked really good the last time I checked. But, we can't go into our landfill to bird like birders in other counties are allowed to do. I guess the bureaucrats in Dade County consider our landfill to be a matter of national security. God help us if a birder posts the wrong photo, and as a consequence the Russians find out the location of our garbage!
[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]