[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]
Posted by Brian Rapoza on 20:26:03 04/14/13
This weekend, I accompanied Rick Taylor (of Borderland Tours) and Paul Bithorn as we scouted southwest Florida locations for their upcoming Tropical Florida tour. We began on Friday in the Virginia Gardens/Miami Springs area, where we saw five species of Aratinga parakeets: Mitred, Green, White-eyed, Scarlet-fronted and Crimson-fronted. We also saw the first Indian Peafowl Paul has ever seen in Virginia Gardens. Among the birds seen along Alligator Alley on our way to Ft Myers were Wood Stork, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Glossy Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill and Snail Kite.
We began Saturday at Babcock-Webb Wildlife Management Area in Charlotte County, where we found Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Brown-headed Nuthatch and Bachman's Sparrow, plus Common Ground-Dove, Downy Woodpecker, Great Crested Flycatcher, House Wren, Eastern Bluebird, Pine Warbler, Eastern Towhee and Eastern Meadowlark. At Oscar Scherer State Park in Sarasota County, we found an extremely cooperative Florida Scrub-Jay that posed in turn on each of our heads (no bribing with food required). Northern Bobwhite, Northern Flicker and Carolina Wren were also seen. Sandhill Cranes were seen along the road back to I-75 and Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks were seen along I-75. At the Celery Fields, also in Sarasota, we added Least Bittern, Bald Eagle, Limpkin and Least and Forster's Terns to our day list.
We ended our day at Ft DeSoto Park in Pinellas County. On the way in, we stopped at the Tierra Verde duck ponds, where we were surprised to find a Surf Scoter! Other birds present included Lesser Scaup, Red-breasted Merganser and Eastern Kingbird. A Magnificent Frigatebird was soaring to the east of one of the causeway bridges. At North Beach in the park, we saw a Long-billed Curlew, plus Reddish Egret, four plovers (Black-bellied, Wilson's, Semipalmated and Piping), American Oystercatcher, Willet, Marbled Godwit, Ruddy Turnstone, Red Knot, Sanderling, Least Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Herring Gull, Common, Sandwich and Royal Terns and Black Skimmer. At the Mulberry Tree area, we found Chimney Swift, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, White-eyed and Yellow-throated Vireo, Hooded, Prothonotary, Northern Parula, Prairie and Black-and-white Warblers, Scarlet Tanager, Indigo Bunting and Orchard and Baltimore Orioles.
At the park's visitor center, we saw another Scarlet Tanager. At the East Beach turnaround, we added Semipalmated Sandpiper and Dunlin to our shorebird list. Along the Privet Trail in East Beach Woods, we only saw a Merlin. In the East Beach picnic area, we found Eastern Wood-Pewee, Red-eyed Vireo, several Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, both Summer and Scarlet Tanagers, several more Hooded Warblers, American Redstart and best of all, a stunning male Cerulean Warbler! Upon leaving the park, we found a Common Loon along SR 679 and a small flock of Nanday Parakeets at the intersection of SR 679 and SR 682. Common Nighthawks were seen along I-75 at dusk. We ended this most productive day with 116 species.
Today, we traveled first to Cape Coral, where we easily found the Eurasian Wigeon in the small pond on Del Prado Boulevard (see the TAS rare bird update for directions). We also saw several Burrowing Owls along Pine Island Road. We then headed back to Miami via Tamiami Trail, making several stops along the way. At Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk in Fakahatchee Strand State Park, we added Barred Owl (heard), Pileated Woodpecker, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Tufted Titmouse and Northern Waterthrush to our trip list. A Northern Harrier was soaring over a marsh between Big Cypress Bend and SR 29. During a delicious lunch in Everglades City, a Swallow-tailed Kite and a flock of American White Pelicans were seen overhead. A Spotted Sandpiper was at the Everglades National Park visitor center in Everglades City. No new birds were added during stops at Kirby Storter Boardwalk and Sweetwater Slough on Loop Road, though both of these locations were beautiful as always. Common Mynas were at the airboat concession near Shark Valley and a couple of Northern Rough-winged Swallows were perched on wires nearby. Our last stop of the day was the S-334 water control structure just east of Krome Avenue, where we found a large group of Black-necked Stilts, plus Green Heron, both Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs and Long-billed Dowitcher. We ended this most enjoyable weekend with a trip list of 146 species.
[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]