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Posted by Vincent Lucas on 15:42:16 05/03/12
Seeing that the migration sensation that had hit the Gulf Coast over the last 10 days or so is finally winding down, I decided to head east from Naples to add to my Bird-A-Day. Heading to Eastern Collier County on Oil Well Rd/ aka CR858 east of SR29 about a mile west of the two bridges, I found a lingering female Painted Bunting on a telephone line. Nearby, a flock of 25 or so Cedar Waxwings flew by. At the two bridges, the remaining water pools held some nice waders including a dozen or so Wood Storks, many Snowy & Great Egrets, one Roseate Spoonbill and four American White Pelicans. In Hendry County, along CR833 & CR835, I saw several Crested Caracaras as well as a lone Limpkin. I decided to take the L1 Canal Rd. off of CR835 to its terminus at STA-5. Along that road, I found several Burrowing Owls. At the gate at STA-5/L1 Canal, a kettle of between 50-75 Swallow-tailed Kites in the air grabbed my attention! This is the most Swallow-tailed Kites I have ever seen at STA-5. Normally, if we see one or two, it's a good day. I have no explanation as to why these birds were present all at once this morning. Another kettle of American White Pelicans glistened in the morning sun. From the dike at the gate, I scoped out the shorebirds in the nearly desiccated wetland on the STA-5 side of the dike. There were still a few Long-billed Dowitchers present plus many Black-necked Stilts, several Stilt Sandpipers, a dozen or so Semipalmated Plovers, some Least Sandpipers, both yellowlegs plus the usual waders including some Limpkin as well as Black Skimmers and a few Caspian Terns. I then ventured over to Blumberg Rd. Not much happening there until I turned onto the dirt road leading to the main gate at STA-5. About a mile from the gate, on the east side of the road, there is a flooded rice field. It housed several hundred Mottled Ducks plus a dozen or so lingering Blue-winged Teal. Black-necked Stilts were nesting and they were plentiful. The coolest sight I saw were several dozen Stilt Sandpipers in high breeding plumage. We rarely get to see them in this plumage in South Florida. Nice! Also present were many Lesser Yellowlegs and a few Greaters plus some Least Sandpipers. I looked for any "oddball" sandpipers like Buff-breasted, Bairds, Pectoral or Upland but had no luck. The area is huge, however, and anything could be hiding in that rice field. On the way back to Naples, on CR846, east of the Immokalee Regional Airport, I saw a pair of Florida Sandhill Cranes on a ranch.
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