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Posted by Jim King, Miami-Dade County Parks on 21:23:52 01/14/12
The weather for the Crandon Beach Bird Walk this morning felt more like a chilly morning in New Jersey but 10 enthusiastic birders enjoyed a great day that generated 44 species of birds. The walk started at the first flats east of the Crandon Visitors & Nature Center at a good low tide that produced a nice assortment of coastal birds including Semi-palmated plovers, Piping plovers, Black-bellied Plovers, Sanderlings, Short-billed Dowitchers,Royal Terns, Lesser Black-backed Gulls, and Dlb.-crested cormorants. A frigate-bird was seen off-shore.At the tidal flats between towers 9-13, produced larger numbers of the same species plus Dunlins and Least Sandpipers. Wilson's plovers were reported earlier in the week but not seen today. 38 Piping plovers were counted in the week including two banded plovers that have been traced back to their summer grounds in Minnesota. A common loon was seen off of tower 9, but no Horned Grebes could be located. A dark-phased and light-phased Short-tailed Hawks were observed soaring over Crandon Gardens. Thanks to Rangel Diaz, Crandon Park Naturalist for his assistance and the birders that came out. Several in the group headed for Bill Baggs State Park to look for the Grt. cormorant. Here is a list of birds observed:
Common loon - 1
Pied-billed Grebe - Garden
Brown Pelican
Double-crest. cormorant
Anhinga - Garden
Frigate-bird
Common egret
Tr-colored heron
Blk.-crowned night heron
Yel.-crowned night heron
White ibis
Blue-winged teal - garden
Turkey vulture
Black vulture
Short-tailed hawk - 2 (dark and light phase)
Osprey
Common Gallinule - garden
Am. coot - garden
Semi-palmated plover
Black-bellied plover
Piping plover - (current count - 38 includes 3 banded birds)
Least sandpiper
Dunlin
Sht.-billed dowitcher
Sanderling
Lesser Black-backed gull
Herring gull
Ring-billed gull
Laughing gull
Royal tern
Collared dove
Belted kingfisher
Red-bellied woodpecker
Eastern phoebe
Blue jay
N. mockingbird
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Loggerhead shrike - 2
Starling
Black & White warbler
Parula warbler
Yellow-rumped warbler
Yellow-throated warbler
Prairie warbler
Palm warbler
Boat-tailed grackle
Grt.-Black-backed gull-1 (observed perched on light pole at high point of causeway bridge after walk)
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