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Posted by Vincent Lucas on 16:52:32 02/05/12
Today, Jose Padilla-Lopez and I did some Collier County birding. We first stopped at the USFWS on Sabal Palm Rd. in Naples to try for the recently reported Rufous Hummingbird coming to a feeder there. No luck with the Rufous but two Ruby-throateds were nice to see as well as a pair of Painted Buntings. Other birds there in the half-hour were Blue-headed Vireo, flyover American Robins, Cattle Egrets and Gray Catbird. From there we went down to the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk in the Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve Park. Our best birds there were at least two, possibly three, Black-throated Blue Warblers, a Summer Tanager, Black-and-white Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler & singing Northern Parula. The light was terrible throughout the overcast day so we could not confirm an Orange-crowned Warbler at this locale. Other birds included the usual Tufted Titmouse, Great Crested Flycatcher, Yellow-rumped & Palm Warblers, Blue-head & White-eyed Vireos, Carolina Wren, Downy, Red-bellied & Pileated Woodpeckers plus other common birds. We could not locate the Northern Waterthrush at the end of the boardwalk but Jose though he heard it. Along the stretch of US41 from the Big Cypress bend Boardwalk, we saw several American White Pelicans, one Roseate Spoonbill, several Wood Storks, Blue-winged Teal, Mottled Duck, Common Gallinule, American Coots, all of the other usual waders as well as the expected raptors. At the Everglades City Welcome Center in Carnestown, we readily located the two Common Mynas is a Bald Cypress tree in front of the center. A stop at the Big Cypress national Preserve volunteer campground yielded about 15 Purple Martins in the gourd houses there. We picked up Margie Pitcher and then headed for the Kirby Storter Boardwalk in the Big Cypress. Our target bird was the Louisiana Waterthrush that has been returning there for at least three winters. We dipped on it but found all of the other expected warblers, etc. From Kirby Storter, we went to Bear Lake Campground where we ran into a huge mixed flock of passerines composed mostly of Yellow-rumped Warblers. In this group were more of the previously expected warblers including Pine Warbler, Tufted Titmice, American Robins, woodpeckers, etc. On the way back to return Margie to her winter home at the campground, I spotted a light morph Short-tailed Hawk. We had excellent views of it. Finally, another amazing sight was a huge congregation, dare I say "murmuration" or "tornado" of Tree Swallows flying over US41. I estimate there were 25,000 Tree Swallows in all but Margie thinks the number was much lower. All in all, a nice day to be birding in Collier County!
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