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Posted by Brian Rapoza on 15:58:23 08/12/11
I spent the last couple of days in the Everglades Agricultural Area in western Palm Beach County, where migrant shorebird numbers remain high. Some examples from this morning: At the flooded fields on CR 880, 1.5 miles east of Duda Road, I counted a dizzying 22 Wilson's Phalaropes! At 6 Mile Bend Sod, on CR 880 just east of Brown's Farm Road, I counted 30 Upland Sandpipers! The flooded fields on Brown's Farm Road (accessed from the first bridge) have far fewer shorebirds than last week, though there are still high numbers of Wood Storks and Roseate Spoonbills. The flooded field on Gator Road, just west of the intersection with Sam Senter Road, had large concentrations of shorebirds, though I saw nothing out of the ordinary there. The flooded field just east of this intersection had few shorebirds, as did fields on US 27 and Gladeview Road.
Other species seen in EAA flooded fields included Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Spotted, Semipalmated, Western, Least, Pectoral and Stilt Sandpiper, Short-billed (many) and Long-billed (at least one) Dowitcher and Gull-billed, Black and Least Tern. I also had a Purple Swamphen at STA 1W (seen from the observation deck), four Barn Owls at the Miami Canal cypress roost and Bank Swallows on wires at several locations. Common Nighthawks continue to be abundant on wires throughout the area.
First thing this morning, I visited Dupuis Management Area, where I found five Red-cockaded Woodpeckers at nest clusters along the auto drive, in both the Martin and Palm Beach County sections of the management area (according to my iPhone Google Earth app, one of the clusters is directly on the county line). Other species seen here included Wild Turkey, Northern Bobwhite and Yellow-billed Cuckoo. White-tailed Deer were abundant.
On my way home, I stopped on Old Griffin Road in Broward County, where I spotted the Smooth-billed Ani, perched on a bush in the field where Larry Manfredi reported it yesterday. It was visible from a vantage point along the north side of Old Griffin Road, just a few yards west of the railroad tracks.
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