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Posted by Alex Harper on 22:34:59 12/07/04
I have not had that much time to bird this last weekend, and will have none next weekend (darn those mid-terms), but was able to visit Dump Marsh and Black Point briefly on Sunday. I arrived at the worst time of day, about 1:15, and the light was too bright to see any color on the ducks. By silhouette, I located a few wigeons, and Mottled Ducks and BW Teals flew by on several occasions. Coots are in fairly good numbers now, and I was able to witness a Peregrine stoop on to a loose group of ~10. The falcon missed though, since they ducked under water just in time. I have seen a yellowlegs use this technique before to get away from a Merlin. A few Pine Warblers were chipping from the pines along the western-most pond, and both Short-tailed Hawk color morphs showed up in a kettle of TVs. American Goldfinches were in good numbers. Three Speckled Caimans were basking in the sun, along with their native cousins, the American Alligators. I was surprised to find a Striped Mud Turtle crossing the gravel path, since it is usually a species of cypress swamps and densly sdaded ponds. At Black Point, Red-breasted Mergansers were around the harbor, and I managed to pish a Northern Waterthrsuh and Yellow Warbler out from the mangroves. Attemps to call a cuckoo out failed. I still need to improve on the imitation anyway. Back in Miami, I finally found a pair of orioles. I failed on many attempts to find them the last month or so.
Six species of warblers seem to be wintering in my area, including a few Black-and-whites, two parulas, and a Yellow-throated. American Robins flew over the yard a few mornings ago, and goldfinches continue to "cheer, cheer, cheer" around Mahoganies and Australian Pines. No waxwings yet.
Later,
Alex
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