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Posted by Rick Schofield on 11:02:09 11/08/13
Each snowbird season (Oct-May) starts slowly at Loxahatchee and this Wednesday was no exception. While there was lots of little bird activity behind the Visitors' Center when I drove in, those birds had moved on by the time the group got there. In the mean time, most in the group got glimpses of a gorgeous Yellow-throated Warbler in the Marsh Trail parking lot. The bird perched on the rear-view mirror of one of the cars before flitting off. (More on him later.)
We walked over to the Visitors' Center for two things: the little birds that I had found earlier and the Barred Owls reported by John Hutchinson on Saturday. We came up pretty much empty handed though -- a House Wren, a few Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, a Gray Catbird, and a Pileated Woodpecker.
We walked the Butterfly Triangle but found only a few butterflies (imagine that!). Where that path comes back out onto Lee Road (at the northeast corner of C-6), we could see a large mixed flock of ducks -- Blue- and Green-winged Teals, and a lone Lesser Scaup. We tried to get better views of them (especially the Scaup because we wanted to eliminate Ring-necked Duck) but they spooked and we never got great views of them again.
When we got back to the Marsh Trail parking lot we got the best birds of the day -- female American Redstart (Yellowstart), beautiful Pine Warbler, gorgeous Yellow-throated Warbler (most likely the same on from earlier in the morning), handsome Black-and-White Warbler, a few Palm Warblers, and a Common-Yellowthroat.
Remember _Jody's Rules of Birding_? Rule number 2 clearly states, "The best birds are in the parking lot!"
Lastly, we walked the Marsh Trail trying to re-find the ducks. We spotted several small mixed groups of Teals but could not relocate the Scaup. We had most of the "standards" but no Snowy, Green or Cattle Egrets, and no Purple Gallinules. We also dipped on a Scarlet Ibis. :(
Until next Wednesday,
Rick
Loxahatchee NWR--Marsh Trail, Palm Beach, US-FL
Nov 6, 2013 7:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Protocol: Traveling
2.25 mile(s)
Comments: Weekly Wednesday morning birdwalk, Marsh Trail, Loxahatchee NWR, Boynton Beach, Florida. 12 birders. Rick Schofield, leader.
41 species
Blue-winged Teal
Green-winged Teal
Lesser Scaup 1
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Anhinga 6
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1
White Ibis
Glossy Ibis
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey 1
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Limpkin 2
Mourning Dove 2
Belted Kingfisher 2
Downy Woodpecker 1
Pileated Woodpecker 2
American Kestrel 1
Monk Parakeet 2
Eastern Phoebe 3
Blue Jay
House Wren 2
Carolina Wren 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling
Black-and-white Warbler 4
Common Yellowthroat 1
American Redstart 1
Palm Warbler 6
Pine Warbler 2
Yellow-throated Warbler 1
Northern Cardinal 2
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle
View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S15589002
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
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