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Posted by John Boyd on 15:29:09 09/19/04
It was fairly buggy in the keys, this was especially noticeable near Alabama Jacks and on Key Largo. On the way to Key Largo Hammocks, I visited several of the little neighborhoods on the way. The best birds of the day came at one of these stops as 6 American Avocets flew overhead. A Broad-winged Hawk was also present in one of the neighborhoods. Key Largo Hammocks had a late Black-whiskered Vireo along with some warblers and plenty of White-eyed Vireos and Cardinals.
The Wild Bird Center in Tavernier had a typical selection of birds, but with 2 Reddish Egrets as a bonus. I found some shorebirds at the usual place on Lower Matecumbe. There was little bird activity at Anne's Beach. Even the blackbirds were absent.
The Golden Orb Trail at Long Key SP provided a couple of Chuck-will's-widows and a selection of warblers. Two Black-crowned Night-Herons were noticed in some trees by the water's edge. As usual, it was getting toward mid-afternoon before I continued down US 1.
The Lake Edna area on Grassy Key had a "Whitish" Egret, but not much else. I decided to save Marathon for later and continued across the 7-mile bridge. The shorebirds at Ohio Key were mostly hidden in vegetation, making counting difficult.
I ended up covering a couple of areas on Big Pine before starting my journey back. I drove down Long Beach Road. It's been some time since I had been to the end and I did not recall the chain across the path or the "No Trespassing" signs. Too bad, as that area was sometimes good for Chuck's and warblers. Another "Whitish" Egret was spotted in the water along the road. I also walked out to the shore at the spot noted in the Pranty guide. Two Blue-winged Teal on the landward side of the berm hammock were a surprise. A couple of Wilson's Plovers were among a handful of shorebirds present. My other stop on Big Pine was the Strumpfia marsh at the end of Tampa Road. 3 Eastern Kingbirds (a change from the ubiquitous Gray) were the highlight there. Some of the Strumpfia maritima (aka Pride of Big Pine) was in fruit.
On the way back, a visit to Boot Key produced a Northern Harrier. I had no luck with Burrowing Owls at the Sombrero golf course (but there was another Harrier). Although I've heard it said that the Key Colony Beach golf course no longer has owls, I tried it anyway. The cones at the end showed no sign of owls. I had basically given up as I headed back to the main road when I spotted an owl shape. It was my 10th Burrowing Owl of the day and the only one in the keys.
I then started home, thinking I was done. Somewhere near Duck Key, I noticed a bunch of birds way out in the water. The scope resolved them into Cormorants and Royal Terns (with a couple of Sandwich Terns flying about). A check of the wires told me they were not the Cormorants I counted earlier (unless I missed a lot) and I'd seen no Royal Terns there, so I added them in.
Here's the list and totals:
2 Blue-winged Teal
11 Brown Pelican
242 Double-crested Cormorant
9 Magnificent Frigatebird
1 Great Blue Heron
5 Great White Heron
12 Great Egret
3 Snowy Egret
2 Little Blue Heron
1 Tricolored Heron
6 Reddish Egret (4 red morph and 2 white morph)
2 Cattle Egret
2 Black-crowned Night-Heron
3 Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
33 White Ibis
15 Turkey Vulture
13 Osprey
2 Northern Harrier
1 Broad-winged Hawk
7 Black-bellied Plover
4 Wilson's Plover
9 Semipalmated Plover
6 American Avocet
16 Willet
10 Ruddy Turnstone
22 Sanderling
19 Least Sandpiper
44 Short-billed Dowitcher
157 Laughing Gull
112 Royal Tern
4 Sandwich Tern
255 Rock Pigeon
51 White-crowned Pigeon
43 Eurasian Collared-Dove
89 Mourning Dove
12 Common Ground-Dove
1 Burrowing Owl
2 Chuck-will's-widow
3 Belted Kingfisher
10 Red-bellied Woodpecker
3 Eastern Kingbird
20 Gray Kingbird
22 White-eyed Vireo
1 Black-whiskered Vireo
3 Blue Jay
58 Barn Swallow
19 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
15 Northern Mockingbird
1 European Starling
3 Common Myna
2 Northern Parula
1 Black-throated Blue Warbler
1 Yellow-throated Warbler
5 Prairie Warbler
1 Black-and-white Warbler
6 Ovenbird
5 Northern Waterthrush
2 Common Yellowthroat
41 Northern Cardinal
25 Red-winged Blackbird
3 Common Grackle
60 species, 1468 individuals.
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