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Posted by Paul Bithorn on 20:12:52 03/21/05
Steve Gross of Spring, Texas and I spent four hours, on a picture perfect Sunday afternoon, looking for South Florida specialties. We easily exceeded our expectations, starting off with a trip to Ft. Lauderdale International Airport, where we found the two Smooth-billed and one Groove-billed Ani feeding at the base of the Cocoplum hedge along Perimeter Rd.
We headed for Miami Shores, where White-winged, Yellow-chevroned and Monk Parakeets were located in a residential neighborhood perched in a Royal Poinciana tree.
A quick pass through South Miami paid off as we spotted a White-crowned Pigeon perched on a power-line and seven Chestnut-fronted Macaws feeding in an Australian Pine adjacent to the tennis court at the old Miller Drive Parrot Roost (Pranty-pg. 222 (map) and pg. 227).
We proceeded to the neighborhood directly across the street from Baptist Hospital (Pranty-pgs. 222 and 228) on Kendall Drive (S.W. 88 St.) and S.W. 87 Ave. We drove around the residential neighborhood and located three Red-whiskered Bulbuls and two Spot-breasted Orioles.
We headed to the access road just west of SR 826 and south of Kendall Drive, where we located two Mitred Parakeets perched on the balcony of an apartment building just north of the Snapper Creek Canal.
A trip back to South Miami paid off as we located four Hill Mynas perched in a fruiting Bischofia Tree.
A single Dusky-headed Parakeet, on a power-line in the alley on the south side of Wren Ave. and east of Apache St., was the highlight of our trip to Miami Springs.
Our final destination was Westland Mall in Hialeah on the N.W. corner of N.W. 103rd St. (W. 49th St.) and N.W. 57th Avenue (Red Rd.), where several Common Mynas fed in the parking lot.
To celebrate our good fortune, delicious Cuban sandwiches were washed down with Heinekens and Coca-cola at a Cuban Café across from historic Hialeah Racetrack.
Life is good.......... . sharing our bounty of birds with my Texan pal with the same name as my longtime Valrico birding buddy.
P.S. Almost all of the above species were located by driving with the windows down and listening for their calls, songs or screeches. Please drive carefully and make sure your car is locked at all times, when left unattended.
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