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Posted by KATHY WALTERS on 19:30:44 01/26/05
I was out weeding the Butterfly Garden at Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, but I had to look at the birds while I was there.
At about 2pm I saw the Black-throated Green Warbler. This little male has been around for much of the winter.
Between 4:30 and 5:00 I had American Redstart, Yellow-rump, Black and White, and Palm warblers, along with their Blue-gray Gnatcatcher friends. I also had two Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers land at in front of me intent on a fight. All but the Palm warbler were seen in the trees around the butterfly garden and the visitors center parking lot.
The Palm Warbler was at the boat ramp at the end of Lee Rd. There, between 530 and 6pm there are also 7 Snail Kites floating in to roost. They land just off the canoe trail entrance. They can be seen easily from the observation deck at the boat ramp as they fly in to the roost. The flyover of Herons, Egrets, and Ibis continues to be impressive as was the sunset.
At 6pm I drove to the Marsh trail Parking lot and walked south down the Eastern edge of the marsh. Just after I got to the second impoundment (0.2 miles) I could hear two Great Horned Owls calling. As I walked just a little further I was treated to see both of them land in a tree just east of the canal. They continued to call to one another. One, the female I think, had a definite chortle to her hoots. Is this normal?
Remember if you come to visit, this is a fee area. It is $5.00 to enter unless you have a pass. The current hours are 6AM to 6:30PM. I easily had a long look at the owls, and made it back to may car before the automatic gate closed.
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