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Posted by Toe on 08:29:45 11/12/13
Trey and I headed into ENP yesterday in search of something, anything interesting. We briefly checked the area from C-111 to Aerojet Road and found nothing, no flycatchers or kingbirds on teh wire, no sparrows along the road, nothing. We then drove straight to West Lake, checking the road along the way for anything, but alas no sparrows along the road either, only 2-3 Palm Warblers. At West Lake we found the same compliment of ducks previously reported. I'm surprised by the number of Ruddy Ducks at this one spot.
We then headed to Gate 15 in hopes of getting Hooded Merganser, which winter here every year, except this one! On the walk to the mound we found one (1) Savannah Sparrow, our only sparrow for the day. There were no birds on the pond on the north side of the mound, and the south side ponds have almost disappeared due to the vegetation growing in. There were no ducks on the south side either. On the mound itself there were a couple of Palm Warblers and our only other interesting bird, a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. No Swamp Sparrows or anything interesting around the mound, no raptors overhead, nothing. We checked out the scrape on Research Rd and only found 3 Lesser Yellowlegs. Our final stop was the quarry lake on 107 Ave where we found more of the same - nothing! No ducks, terns, nothing at all. We didn't bother stopping at Cutler Wetlands since all that was readily visiber were coots.
Last winter was made memorable by all the cool wintering birds we had, and the Lucky Hammock area was alive with Vermilion, Ash-throated, Brown-crested and Least Flycatchers, Swainson's Hawk, Kingbirds, Dickcissels, and more. Not the case so far this year.
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