[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]
Posted by John Boyd on 07:48:50 03/02/14
Since I had taken a group to Lucky Hammock last weekend, I decided to skip Lucky this time and go straight to Anhinga Trail. We found our first Black-crowned Night-Heron on the edge of the main pool. That was soon followed by a Purple Gallinule out foraging on the bare bank (the first of 4). As we walked out the paved path, an American Bittern flew over and dropped into the sawgrass. Nice!
After a walk around Anhinga Trail, we headed down the Gumbo Limbo Trail. Sometimes this area is deadly quiet, but today it was good. We found 5 warbler species, including Magnolia, not to mention the ubiquitous Catbirds and White-eyed Vireos. One unusual sighting was a Eurasian Collared-Dove near the visitor's center, something that is dirt common a few miles to the east, but rare there.
Long Pine Key was next, where we quickly found a show-off male Towhee. That was soon followed by a pack of Brown-headed Nuthatches. Of course, Pine Warblers were also present. We walked the "Three-in-one Trail" through Mosier Hammock, then headed out.
The Mahogany Hammock is another place that can be frustratingly quiet. It can also be great. We encountered a couple of warbler flocks. In one case, a Pileated Woodpecker was banging away right above us, but couldn't get more than a cursory glance because of the warblers! We added Prairie, Yellow-throated, and Black-throated Green, as well as a Blue-headed Vireo. There were lots of Parulas around here and at Gumbo Limbo, likely mostly migrants.
A short stop at Pautotis Pond gave us Roseate Spoonbill, along with Coot and PB Grebe. We already had Wood Stork from Anhinga Trail.
We ate our picnic lunches at West Lake. I had hoped to find ducks. We found zip. The boardwalk was a different story. We padded out warbler total with Worm-eating, Black-and-white, and Redstart. Then we found the ducks! They were visible from the boardwalk. Distance was something of a problem, but they included Ruddy Duck, Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Duck, and a single Red-breasted Merganser. We also found both Caspian and Royal Tern. A Barred-Owl called as we returned to the cars.
Mrazek Pond added our only Kingfisher of the day. It also had both teal and a Northern Shoveler (good spot, Bob).
The tide at Flamingo was extremely high. We found a few shorebirds near the amphitheater and Black-necked Stilts at Eco Pond. An Ovenbird at Eco Pond was our 13th warbler species of the day.
[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]