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Posted by Alex Harper on 20:29:59 08/27/05
Since my birding mentor and trip leader Paul Bithorn is busy cleaning up his household in Virginia Gardens, I will do the honor of making the post for TAS's annual Palm Beach Sod Farms trip. Eight tired birders showed up at 6:00 in front of the Doc Thomas House in South Miami, stoked for a full days birding. After surveying the damage to the Doc Thomas property, we headed out towards the Holeyland/Rotenberger Tract on the Broward/Palm Beach County line. King Rail, White-eyed Vireo, Yellow Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush (at least ten, most of them in flight), and Eastern Towhees being the highlights. Unfortunately, Toe had car trouble, so he had to be towed back to Miami from the middle of nowhere.
The sod farms along US 27 had Black-crowned Night-Heron, Glossy Ibis, Mottled Ducks, Black-bellied Plovers in alternate plumage, both yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpipers, Upland Sandpiper (at least a dozen or so), Marbled Godwit, Black-necked Stilts along with Bank and Barn Swallows. Brian Rapoza met up with us along here.
From US 27, we headed onto Brown's Farm Road. For most of us the highlight was a family of Fulvous Whistling-duck, two parents and six chicks, walking down Brown's Farm Road along side us. A year bird for most of us. A flooded rice field yielded Cooper's Hawk, Killdeer, Both yellowlegs, Spotted Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers, and a good amount of Glossy Ibis.
After a much needed stop at Sonny's BBQ in Clewiston, we made a short detour along the rim of Lake Okeechobee. Here we found and photographed a partially Boat-tailed Grackle and an almost totally unidentified swallow. The best we could so was eliminate Barn Swallow. It was all white except for a trace of brownish on the nape and chest. It's flight also seemed a lot weaker compared to the Barn Swallows flying along side of it.
We headed south to the Cypress stand along the Miami Canal in search of Barn Owls. We managed to get looks at atleast three Barn Owls. Brown-headed Cowbirds and two Red-tailed Hawks were seen in the vicinity, too. From there we headed back east of US 27 on CR 827 and picked up a couple Least Bitterns and Common Yellowthroat. A couple more Black Terns came by, and a Caspian made an appearance for a minute or so. We had seventy-four species total.
Life is good... (I have no idea what Paul would say after that)
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