TAS Matheson/Fairchild Walk, Sunday 9/12

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Posted by John Boyd on 21:18:23 09/12/04

Things did not seem very promising at the start. It was fairly quiet (except for Cardinals). We did run across a few warblers (Prairies and Ovenbirds) near the bathrooms, but didn't get much else until we started down the service road. Things started to pick up with some White-crowned Pigeons. Pretty soon we had warblers all around us, including Redstart, Black-and-white, and Parula. As as proceeded, we added Yellow-throated Vireo and Black-throated Blue.

At the end of the service road we found the expected Hill Mynas. A Great Crested Flycatcher was briefly seen near the start of the return trail. The area around the Royal Palms was hopping with Cardinals, with a few Prairies, Gnatcatchers, and Ovenbirds thrown in for good measure. A hummer flew by as the path closed in. Further down, in another Ovenbird area (I think near marker 8), someone spotted a Swainson's Warbler in the woods. Brian Rapoza went in after it, and managed to find a good vantage point. Many of us followed him and were rewarded with 2 Swainson's Warblers in the same binocular field. After that, it was time to head to Fairchild.

Admission was free for our group. We found a good sized flock of warblers on the edge of the rainforest, including all of the Matheson warblers except Swainson's, plus Tennessee, Cape May, and Yellow-throated. A Nashville Warbler was seen by a few in the Keys habitat area (where we also had a nice flock). We closed out the trip with a Brown Thrasher before returning to our drinks and snacks at the visitor's center. I'm sure FTG was happy with this arrangement as they signed up several new members.

Birds seen:
Anhinga
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
White Ibis
Red-shouldered Hawk
Common Moorhen
White-crowned Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Monk Parakeet
Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Great Crested Flycatcher
Yellow-throated Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
Barn Swallow
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Hill Myna
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Swainson's Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle

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Comments:	: Things did not seem very promising at the start. It was fairly quiet (except for Cardinals). We did run across a few warblers (Prairies and Ovenbirds) near the bathrooms, but didn't get much else until we started down the service road. Things started to pick up with some White-crowned Pigeons. Pretty soon we had warblers all around us, including Redstart, Black-and-white, and Parula. As as proceeded, we added Yellow-throated Vireo and Black-throated Blue. : : At the end of the service road we found the expected Hill Mynas. A Great Crested Flycatcher was briefly seen near the start of the return trail. The area around the Royal Palms was hopping with Cardinals, with a few Prairies, Gnatcatchers, and Ovenbirds thrown in for good measure. A hummer flew by as the path closed in. Further down, in another Ovenbird area (I think near marker 8), someone spotted a Swainson's Warbler in the woods. Brian Rapoza went in after it, and managed to find a good vantage point. Many of us followed him and were rewarded with 2 Swainson's Warblers in the same binocular field. After that, it was time to head to Fairchild. : : Admission was free for our group. We found a good sized flock of warblers on the edge of the rainforest, including all of the Matheson warblers except Swainson's, plus Tennessee, Cape May, and Yellow-throated. A Nashville Warbler was seen by a few in the Keys habitat area (where we also had a nice flock). We closed out the trip with a Brown Thrasher before returning to our drinks and snacks at the visitor's center. I'm sure FTG was happy with this arrangement as they signed up several new members. : : Birds seen: : Anhinga : Little Blue Heron : Tricolored Heron : White Ibis : Red-shouldered Hawk : Common Moorhen : White-crowned Pigeon : Eurasian Collared-Dove : Mourning Dove : Monk Parakeet : Yellow-chevroned Parakeet : Ruby-throated Hummingbird : Belted Kingfisher : Red-bellied Woodpecker : Great Crested Flycatcher : Yellow-throated Vireo : Red-eyed Vireo : Blue Jay : Barn Swallow : Blue-gray Gnatcatcher : Northern Mockingbird : Brown Thrasher : European Starling : Hill Myna : Tennessee Warbler : Nashville Warbler : Northern Parula : Cape May Warbler : Black-throated Blue Warbler : Yellow-throated Warbler : Prairie Warbler : Black-and-white Warbler : American Redstart : Swainson's Warbler : Ovenbird : Northern Cardinal : Red-winged Blackbird : Common Grackle : Boat-tailed Grackle
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