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Posted by Jocelyn on 14:22:55 04/20/13
Gary and I had a Mangrove Cuckoo by the canoe launch parking lot at Black Point Marina this morning. We were half way between the entrance to the parking lot and the bridge. We first heard the bird calling, then it flew up and perched on a bare branch right next to the parking lot. It continued to call and sit there in plain sight! At the turn around at the end of the parking lot there was an immature Yellow-Crowned Night Heron.
Last Saturday Gary and I finally had a century day - after numerous attempts! We had 103 species for the day. We started out in the Everglades, then a variety of locations around Florida City, Kendall, and ending at Matheson Hammock.
Some of the highlights were a FOS Common Nighthawk at the Annex and a Magnolia Warbler. Royal Palm had Eastern Kingbirds, Black-Crowned Night Heron, Cape May Warbler (male), and a group of Barred Owls right next to the turn into the parking lot. There were three adults spread out in the trees and a young owl (still fuzzy!) sitting out on a branch hissing. Long Pine Key had a flock of Brown-headed Nuthatches.
By Paurotis Pond we had our one Swallow-tailed Kite for the day flying low over the area and an adult Bald Eagle perched off the main road, then flying off. Flamingo had a feeding flock of Brown-headed Cowbirds which included a Shiny Cowbird, and the shore by the campground had a good number of shorebirds with a few Marbled Godwits mixed in with Willets by one of the islands off-shore.
We stopped by Steve Tennis' house to get Indigo and Painted Buntings but did not hang around for the Lazuli Bunting. Hopefully a couple of birders we met there were able to see it.
We ended the day at Matheson Hammock and were able to add Yellow-Chevroned Parakeets, Hill Mynas, and Red-Masked Parakeets. We were hoping for the Red-headed Woodpeckers and the Horned Owl that had been reported previously but they were a no show. We added two more warblers along the main trail, No.Parula and Black-throated Blue, for 9 warblers for the day.
What a beautiful birding day, missing any heavy rains that may have been around, and celebrated with good pizza and raspberry iced tea!
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