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Posted by Rick Schofield on 10:04:47 11/08/12
Wednesday started out crisp and windy. But that didn't keep three hardy souls from joining me for the first of the season weekly Wednesday birdwalk at Loxahatchee. Our leader for years and years, Fred Test, has retired and I have agreed to lead when no other leader is available. (And you know pretty much what that means!) Pat Canning, who led the Saturday walks, has also retired and there are only going to be occasional Saturday walks for the foreseeable future. See the following link for the schedule of Saturday walks:
http://www.loxahatcheefriends.com/Events_files/Events.shtml
The organized walks will happen every Wednesday and some Saturday mornings from November through April, are free, and open to the public. We meet in the Marsh Trail parking lot at 7:30 am. Everyone is more than welcome to join us. If you need directions please let me know. And please, if you would, introduce yourself so we have an idea of those people joining us as a result of the TASboard and AudubonEverglades Yahoo Group postings. Thanks.
But let's get back to this weeks walk. We started out by going over to the Visitors' Center to check for warblers and such and were approached by a person cradling an Ovenbird in his hand. The poor thing had crashed head-on into a window and was quite out of it. A volunteer found a cardboard box, placed the bird in the box and left it under some bushes in the butterfly garden. When we finished up the walk, the bird had recovered and (presumably) flown. Otherwise, there weren't a lot of birds -- just some Palm Warblers, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Carolina Wrens calling back-and-forth to one another, a silent Great-crested Flycatcher, and a Ruby-throated Hummingbird.
We worked our way back to, and then around, the Marsh Trail picking up the usual waders (except for Green Heron) but in small numbers. We had no ducks or shorebirds. The water levels at Loxahatchee are very high (all the way up to the Cypress Boardwalk) so the conditions are not going to be attracting many shorebirds until they fall. An American Bittern flew over the C6 impoundment giving us great views (but no photos).
We were followed all around the impoundments by (at least) two very vocal Red-shouldered Hawks. When we'd see them in one area it was difficult to determine if they were the same ones we had seen elsewhere. We were also buzzed by a Merlin on a mission and a female American Kestrel who later perched on the observation tower for her photo session.
Rick
Loxahatchee NWR--Marsh Trail, Palm Beach, US-FL
Nov 7, 2012 7:30 AM - 10:45 AM
Protocol: Traveling
2.3 mile(s)
Comments: Weekly Wednesday morning birdwalk, Marsh Trail, Loxahatchee NWR, Boynton Beach, Florida. 4 birders. Rick Schofield, leader.
42 species
Pied-billed Grebe 5
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Anhinga 6
American Bittern 1
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
White Ibis
Glossy Ibis
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Red-shouldered Hawk 2 (maybe more but hard to tell if they were the same pair)
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Mourning Dove
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Belted Kingfisher 4
Red-bellied Woodpecker 4
Pileated Woodpecker 1
American Kestrel 1
Merlin 1
Eastern Phoebe 4
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Blue Jay
Tree Swallow
House Wren 1
Carolina Wren 4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Ovenbird 1 (Flew into window at the Visitors' Center. Rescued, recovered, and flew away on its own.)
Common Yellowthroat
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler 1
Savannah Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle
View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S11982272
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
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