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Posted by Bryant Roberts on 22:01:17 07/18/04
My first migrants this fall were two Barn Swallows heading south over Hollywood North Beach on Wednesday (7/14). On Saturday (7/17) we heard several Blue-gray Gnatcatchers calling at Birch State Park while doing a butterfly count. Statira Sulphurs were abundant in the park especially around Coin Vine.
Today (7/18) while on a day trip to Everglades National Park and upper Key Largo with a couple of friends we saw a two small flocks of Barn Swallows just north of the park. A stop at Long Pine Key produced a Yellow-throated Warbler and several Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. At Paurotis Pond there was only one juvenile Wood Stork visible in the nesting area. The water level was very low at Eco Pond exposing a mud flat near the middle that held a nice flock of shorebirds consisting of: 1 Stilt Sandpiper, 1 Lesser Yellowlegs, 1 Spotted Sandpiper, 1 Short-billed Dowitcher, 25 Least Sandpipers, 10 Western Sandpipers, 5 Semipalmated Sandpipers, and 2 Semipalmated Plovers. The most surprising sighting of the day was a first summer Lesser Black-backed Gull swimming close to shore behind the Flamingo Lodge. On the way out of the park we checked Research Road and found two White-tailed Kites sitting at the usual place in the brushy area near the south end of the road.
A late afternoon stop at the Key Largo Hammock State Botanical Site didn't turn up much until a Mangrove Cuckoo called from about fifteen feet above us then stayed around long enough for us all to get a look.
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