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Posted by Justin Miller on 10:01:51 05/13/13
I hit Spanish River on Saturday, and it was pretty much dead - compared to the previous week it was quite a change. Migration appears to be over at the beach - only things I saw were blue jays, cardinals, catbirds, and doves.
I went to Green Cay afterwards, and though I was cut short due to the afternoon rains, I did manage to find several blackpolls by the east-end feeder...maybe the last pair on their way out as there weren't signs of any other migrators. A nice sighting at Green Cay were a beautiful pair of yellow-crowned night herons who look to be mating, and possibly nesting, at the alligator pond. They were sitting just a few feet above the boardwalk as soon as you approach the pond, with the male going through the mating ritual puffing out the feathers and bowing the head...they were actually so close that 400mm lenses were too much - I tried backing up to get a full body shot, but branches were in the way - I finally switched to a 35mm lens from a few feet away on my mirrorless body.
Least bitterns are still all around the park - half a dozen or so, with the young appearing to be getting close to flight. Roseate spoonbills continue to be coming in for the summer. Shorebirds are thinning out a little - a few sandpipers, and the stilts, are still around but I didn't see any yellowlegs or snipes. Stilts at Green Cay are still sitting on their nests.
I stopped by Wakodahatchee on Sunday - great blue chicks are getting big - they likely won't be around too much longer. Stilt babies are out and wandering around - red-winged blackbird chicks are out of their eggs at most of the nests, and a few of them are very close to the boardwalk so watch your head as the males are swooping down and grabbing hair. Wood stork chicks look healthy and successful this year, with many growing quite large and probably leaving soon. Least bitterns appear to have either flown off or walked far from their nests - they're pretty well ready last I saw them. Great egrets are still sitting on eggs - one of them at the end of the breeding island to the north is regularly standing and showing her 3 light blue eggs. Last week at Wako I had quite a few American redstarts in the tree canopy - yesterday I found none.
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