[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]
Posted by Rick Schofield on 15:33:06 04/11/13
FREE ALL YOU CAN EAT BUFFET @ LOXAHATCHEE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE!
Wednesday morning's walk at Loxahatchee NWR started out with a huge bang!
We started from the C-6 Pavilion parking lot because the Marsh Trail parking lot was supposed to be repaved -- story for another time. Our female Snail Kite was surveying the C-6 impoundment as she (and her husband?) have been doing for many weeks. Mottled and Black-bellied Whistling-ducks as well as Blue-winged Teal were well represented (in addition to the ever-present American Coot and Common Gallinule).
We went to check the Visitors' Center for little birds and the reported influx of waders in the ponds behind it. Little did we know what we were about to witness!
The two ponds, the cypress swamp, and the trees surrounding them were full of HUNDREDS of White Ibis, Great and Snowy Egrets, Wood Storks, a smattering of Little Blue and Great Blue Herons and a lone Roseate Spoonbill. It was like a scene out of Jurassic Park -- a Spanish Moss draped swamp dripping with hundreds of pterodactyls -- a bit eerie but totally amazing as well.
The dropping water levels combined with the recent hatching of minnow eggs provided huge amounts of captive food for all these birds. Please check out the photo link to witness this amazing sight. Unfortunately, I had a telephoto zoom lens on my camera and could not take wide angle still photos to give the full experience but the video (to be added shortly) will do a much better job.
We spent a very long time taking in this once-in-a-lifetime experience before moving on to check out the Great Horned Owls. The young are long-since out of the nest and we weren't sure if they would still be in the area. But guess what, we found both owlets and both parents right where they've been seen for the past many weeks. I don't think that they'll be hanging around for much longer, though.
Moving along after the owls, we had a single Swallow-tailed Kite fly overhead -- truly a magnificent bird.
In addition to all the waders and the two kites, we had a decent number of warblers -- though not in vast numbers or variety (Palm, singing Parula, Prairie, Yellow-rumped, Black-and-White, and Common Yellowthroat) as well as single Red-eyed and Blue-headed Vireos. Maybe next week. We couldn't relocate the recently seen Blue Grosbeak or even a male Painted Bunting but we did get one lone female.
Monk Parakeets are building a nest structure on one of the high tension lines but FPL is in the area installing concrete poles and could very well get rid of it soon.
I'm editing the video of the wader irruption right now and will post it as soon as possible.
Rick
[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]