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Posted by Rick Schofield on 15:19:38 02/23/12
We did pretty well this Wednesday. 32 birders split up into 3 manageable groups and between us were able to come up with 69 species of birds.
Today's photo is not a bird (duh!). But, if you are not familiar with this, you'd probably think, as I did the first time I saw it, that it is merely a thorn-covered bush. Well those thorns are not thorns -- they are Thorn Bugs. If you click on the link at the end of this posting, you'll have a close-up of the Thorns. You can pretty easily see their beady little eyes and their itty-bitty legs grasping the stem. These are pests and can kill the host plant by sucking the juices from the stem. But they are interesting, nonetheless.
Between the three groups we had many fewer ducks this week but were happily able to add Wood Ducks to Blue-winged Teals and Mottled Ducks. Of some interest was the Double-crested Cormorant because normally we see them outside the refuge but not inside (usually only Anhingas). For raptors we had both Vultures; Red-shouldered, Cooper's, and Broad-winged Hawk; Northern Harrier; and American Kestrel.
The water levels are still very high in C-6 but that didn't stop a few die-hard Wilson's Snipe from hanging around. Some moved south to C-7 where it has become slightly wetter. (Unfortunately for one, he met his demise when one of the resident Red-Shouldered Hawks ate him for breakfast.)
On Lee Road we had both Monk and Nanday (Black-hooded) Parakeets. And, as I mention in an earlier post this season, it looks as if a pair of Nandays has, in fact, moved into a nest cavity on the power pole next to the bus parking lot. There has been a bit of fighting between the Pileateds, the Nandays, and the Starlings over whose property this really is. We'll see.
We had a good variety of woodpeckers: Red-bellied, Downy, Hairy, and Pileated plus Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. All we were missing were a few Imperial and Ivory-billed to fill out the card.
We stopped where Beth had seen a male Painted Bunting but did not find it. Instead we had a White-eye Vireo and, Rodney is certain, a Warbling Vireo. (I'm letting him deal with the eBird reviewers over that one!) We later added a Blue-headed Vireo to that list. We eventually got the male Painted Bunting in the same area along the Marsh Trail that a different group had a female Indigo Bunting.
Warblers remain pretty much the same that we've seen over the last couple of weeks: Black-and-white, Magnolia, Palm, Pine, Yellow-rumped, Prairie, Black-throated Green Warbler (continuing 1st winter female); plus Common Yellowthroat and Northern Parula. We have not (yet) been overrun with Parulas as other areas are reporting.
Great day, great people, great birds. What more can you ask for?
Rick
Loxahatchee NWR--Marsh Trail, Palm Beach, US-FL
Feb 22, 2012 7:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.5 mile(s)
Comments: Weekly Wednesday morning birdwalk, Marsh Trail, Loxahatchee NWR, Boynton Beach, Florida. 32 birders. Fred Test, Becky Garcia, Bob & Janet Phillips, Jan & Dave Conley leaders.
69 species
Wood Duck
Mottled Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Pied-billed Grebe
Wood Stork
Double-crested Cormorant
Anhinga
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
Glossy Ibis
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier
Cooper's Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
American Kestrel
Purple Gallinule
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Limpkin
Wilson's Snipe
Mourning Dove
Nanday Parakeet
Monk Parakeet
Great Horned Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Eastern Phoebe
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Blue Jay
Fish Crow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Carolina Wren (heard)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)
Prairie Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler (continuing 1st winter female)
Northern Cardinal
Indigo Bunting (female)
Painted Bunting (male and female)
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
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