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Posted by David S. on 11:11:33 12/01/13
13 kayakers with 9 kayaks made up the flotilla of our event to visit the shorebirds at Snake Bight, in Everglades NP. Laura Reynolds was there to supply kayaks and gear to our participants, through Tropical Audubon Society.
We departed the marina in Flamingo around 9:30 am and headed east to Snake Bight, about 2 miles away. Low tide in Florida Bay was listed at 8:35 am, but the 1 hour delay time in Snake Bight was extended another 2.5 hours due to the 15-20 mph NE winds. Low tide came to the northern end of Snake Bight about 1:00 pm, which affected our ability to reach the main concentration of shorebirds.
Consequently, our species count was lower than expected, but we made up in the numbers we did see. Over 1000 American White Pelicans were observed. While waiting for the tide to rise so we could get closer, some of us paddled up a small creek to explore. We got out to stretch our legs and move around a bit. Some people even experienced what a true mud flat can be like. After "playing in the mud", we boarded our boats and headed out to check out some more birds. The tide was slowly rising, but time was running out, so we decided to head back. 39 species were tally-ed by the end of the day, but not by everyone. The last kayak returned to the Marina by 3:30 pm. Birds observed were as follows. Hope the pictured waterfowl is a Black Scoter...please correct if wrong.
Pied-billed Grebe
American White Pelican
Brown Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Anhinga
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Reddish Egret
Tricolored Heron
Little Blue Heron
Yellow-crowned Night Heron
White Ibis
Glossy Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
Blue-winged Teal
Red-breasted Merganser
Black Scoter
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Peregrine Falcon
Semipalmated Plover
Greater Yellowlegs
Willet
Spotted Sandpiper
Marbled Godwit
Dunlin
Western Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Royal Tern
Black Skimmer
Belted Kingfisher
Pileated Woodpecker (heard)
Great-crested Flycatcher (heard)
American Crow
Palm Warbler
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