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Posted by Paul Bithorn on 18:33:29 10/21/13
Eleven intrepid birders participated in Tropical Audubon Society's annual fall field trip to Shark Valley and Loop Road on Saturday, October 19, 2013. Balmy weather, reaching temperatures of 90 degrees and a slack wind had my sweat glands working overtime, releasing Goose Island IPA s after a late night at Woody s West End Tavern - enjoying the Motown sounds of Mojo Scoundrels. Thankfully, the mosquitoes and deer flies were not that much of a problem, but curiously, their flight seemed a bit erratic after biting me. Water levels in both locations were high but the bird diversity was better than expected. Sixty-two (62) species (may have missed a few seen by others), including twelve (12) warblers, were tallied including:
Mottled Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Double-crested Cormorant
Anhinga
American Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Snail Kite (2 at abandoned airboat meeting place) (1 at airboat ramp just west of meeting place)
Cooper s Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
American Kestrel
Common Moorhen
Limpkin
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Eastern Screech Owl (heard in Pinecrest on Loop Road)
Barred Owl (Loop Road) See Russ Martens excellent photo in previous post
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
White-eyed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tufted Titmouse
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird (New offroad vehicle parking lot on Loop Road very birdy)
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher (entrance to Shark Valley)
European Starling
Orange-crowned Warbler
Northern Parula
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Pine Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Palm Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Common Yellowthroat
Summer Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Painted Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle
Brown Cowbird
Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnakes (Sisturus miliarius) 2 on Shark Valley Boardwalk
Several Dragonflies (including Green Skimmer, Roseate Skimmer and Halloween Pennants)
Liguus Fasciatus FloridaTree Snails (several color forms)
Orthalicus floridensis Banded Tree Snail
Life is good.......................and as Russ Martens, so eloquently stated in a previous post, thanks go out to Mariel Abreu for her delectable cup cakes and Vern Burkhalter, who recently returned from a 28 state and 3 province driving tour of North America, logging in more than 16,000 miles, for the two tasty Alaskan micro-brews that we sampled at the end of the trip including: Monk s Mistress, a Belgian-style Special Dark Ale (11.5% ABV) brewed by Midnight Sun Brewing Co. in Anchorage, which invites you to succumb to a little bit of heaven on earth and Kassik s Beaver Tail Blonde Ale (5.2% ABV) brewed by Kassik s Brewery in Kenai, boasting a pleasant spicy hop flavor that balances with a hint of sweet malt flavor. Cheers!
P.S. Please post photos from our fieldtrip if possible.
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