Posted by John Boyd on April 21, 2002 at 12:56:53:
In preparation for next week's Tropical Audubon Birdathon, Nancy Freedman and I spent Saturday birding the Everglades.
Nancy picked me up shortly after 6am. A little listening as we drove by the fields of W. Kendall brought the first of many Common Nighthawks. They are back--in force!
Various ordinary birds were seen and heard on the way down. We did the SW 209th Ave-384th St-212th Ave loop ("Flynn's") where we found 6 lingering Western Kingbirds, Flicker, and an assortment of Doves, including Ground and White-winged.
Our first real stop was Lucky Hammock (Frog Pond WMA). Right after we turned down the road toward Lucky Hammock, we stopped to look and some birds on the wire, and heard a strange buzzy call that I couldn't quite place. Pretty soon, two breeding-plumage Clay-colored Sparrows popped into view.
At Lucky Hammock, we found Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Dickcissel (singing in the field), Bell's Vireo, Cape May and Blackpoll Warblers, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Painted and Indigo Buntings, Blue Grosbeak, Barn Swallow, Bobolinks, and a late Northern Harrier. A Limpkin was heard but not seen.
Anhinga Trail was very quiet, with only the growling Alligators and a couple of Swallow-tailed Kites providing any excitement. We didn't even get all of the expected herons and egrets.
When we finally got to the sparrow area just past still-closed Mahogany Hammock, it was evidently too late in the day for the sparrow to be singing. We looked for a bit anyway. The sparrow did not cooperate, and we took an immature Red-tailed Hawk as a consolation prize. At this point we had only 52 species.
A stop at Paurotis Pond added 9 species, including the breeding Wood Storks, some of our missing herons, Roseate Spoonbill, Prairie Warbler, and Eastern Kingbird.
White-crowned Pigeon was found at Nine-mile Pond, but our next real stop was West Lake. Three Mottled Ducks were visible from the picnic area, and we added Black-and-white Warbler and Carolina Wren to our list. It was alreay 11am, and we had 63 species.
We paid a visit to Eco Pond, finally getting Little Blue Heron. Overall, it was not very active. We ate at one of the picnic tables at the visitor's center. I spotted a duck out in the water, and a scope revealed it as a Lesser Scaup. Kevin Sarsfield told us there were Shiny and Brown-headed Cowbirds at the lodge, so we walked over there after lunch. We also saw Gray Kingbird on the way. The sandbar was starting to uncover after we saw the cowbirds, but at this point Leo Miller and Linda McCandless told us they had seen warblers in the campground on C loop. We decided the sandbar could wait, and headed to C loop.
The warblers weren't at the advertised location, but it occurred to me that the hammock at the start of the Coastal Prairie Trail might have birds, so we checked it out. Here were found our first nice warbler flock of the day, including Parula, BT Blue, B&W and at least 2 Redstarts. We also found a Painted Bunting. We then returned to the visitor's center, and added a few species from the sandbar. Total: 86 species.
Snake Bight was next, but first, we had a delay due to zipping through the 35-mph zone somewhat too quickly. Fortunately, it was only a warning. Since this was a scouting day, and appoaching low tide, we planned to only bird the first portion of the trail. The scope was left in the car. We found a number of warblers on the trail, but succumbed to the temptation of a century day, and soon found ourselves at the platform. We walked out on the mud flats for a better view. Another birder, who did have a scope, had located 2 Flamingos far to the east. There were plenty of Marbled Godwits, some Gull-billed Terns, and the usual host of waders and shorebirds. On the way back, we added Ovenbird and Worm-eating Warbler. We also saw the most colorful Painted Bunting I've ever seen. When we got back to the car, we had 95 species, and it was clear a century day was on the way.
The obvious next stop had to be in the pinelands. We selected gate 2 on Research Rd. Although it was surprising quiet, Towhee, Pine Warbler, Eastern Bluebird, and a late House Wren brought us to 99. Somehow, we missed Downy Woodpecker.
We headed back home. A brief stop at Roberts brought Purple Martin. We saw Common Myna on the wires as we passed through Florida City. A brief exit at 216 Avenue yielded a big flock of Cave Swallows We stopped in at the Kendall-Tamiami airport on the way back to my house, were we got very close views of 2 Burrowing Owls (of 10 seen). We figured that was a good way to end the day.
Final total: 103 species (+GW Heron, which should be 104, but isn't)