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Posted by Bryant Roberts on 21:10:20 07/14/13
A male Shiny Cowbird in the company of five female and juvenile Brown-headed Cowbirds north of the Flamingo Visitor Center was probably the most interesting bird seen today during a visit to Everglades National Park with most of my time spent in the Flamingo area. There were small flocks of White-crowned Pigeons in the Lucky Hammock area and from Paurotis Pond south that were probably feeding on Poisonwood and other fruit. The Walk-In Camping area at Flamingo was mostly flooded but nearly all of the shorebirds were along the shoreline. There were several Willets and more than a dozen Least Sandpipers, a few Western Sandpipers one of which was in alternate plumage, a few Short-billed Dowitchers mostly in alternate plumage, a Ruddy Turnstone, and a Black-bellied Plover in basic plumage.
On the way out of the park I checked the new scrapes north of Research Road where there were a few Least Sandpipers and Black-bellied Plovers along with a Greater Yellowlegs. There was also a Caspian Tern hunting over the area and an immature Reddish Egret near the road. This area is mostly flooded now and should be interesting if it stays wet through the late summer and fall.
Birds that were conspicuously absent today were Black-necked Stilts, Roseate Spoonbills, Swallow-tailed Kites, Black-whiskered Vireos, Prairie Warblers, and Common Yellowthroats. Twilight Darners and Mosquitoes were abundant in the mangroves around Flamingo as were Deerflies in the open areas away from the shoreline.
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