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Posted by Rick Schofield on 10:17:25 03/13/14
The first and last Wednesday of Daylight Savings Time are great times (so you don t have to get up at 4:00 am) to arrive at Loxahatchee an hour before sunrise to witness the flyout of all the birds that roost in the interior of the refuge. So today we met at 6:30 am at the observation platform near the boat launch and waited for the birds. Lori brought brownies and I brought cookies so everyone had a sugar source.
While still dark and while people were still arriving, we had several Virginia Rails calling back and forth quite close to us.
It took a while before the birds began to emerge but they did -- and in large numbers. There must be a starter bird waving a flag because they come out in specific order: first, the Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets; next, the Tricolored and Little Blue Herons along with Snowy Egrets; next, the Black-crowned Night-Herons; and finally, the White Ibises followed quickly by the Glossy Ibises.
But not only do they emerge in a specific order, they also leave in a specific direction. While most come out from the west heading east, the Black-crowned Night-Herons and Snowy Egrets -- for whatever reason -- come east to the C-40 canal and then fly north over the canal until they are out of sight.
The light breeze saved us from the ravenous mosquitoes, thankfully. (Last October they ate us alive!)
When the flyout subsided, we drove back to the Marsh Trail parking lot and began our regular walk. Behind the Visitors Center we got Northern Parula; Carolina Wren; Black-and-white, Black-throated Green, Palm, Yellow-rumped, and Pine Warblers. We later added gorgeous Prairie Warbler and Common Yellowthroat (singing a completely different version of Witch-itty, witch-itty than I ve ever heard).
Except for the male Painted Bunting in the Marsh Trail parking lot, the rest of our sightings were pretty standard.
Butterflies included Pearl Crescent, White Peacock, Gulf Fritillary, and Zebra Heliconian.
Plants/flowers included Mexican Clover, Spanish needle, Firebush, and Peruvian Primrose-willow (neither primrose nor willow and considered a Category 1 invasive, which I never knew).
Rick
Loxahatchee NWR--Marsh Trail, Palm Beach, US-FL
Mar 12, 2014 6:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Protocol: Traveling
2.25 mile(s)
Comments: Weekly Wednesday morning birdwalk, Marsh Trail, Loxahatchee NWR, Boynton Beach, Florida. 18 birders. Rick Schofield, leader.
51 species
Wood Duck 2
Mottled Duck 5
Blue-winged Teal 20
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Anhinga
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
Glossy Ibis
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Red-shouldered Hawk
Virginia Rail 2 (at least two heard calling back and forth before dawn)
Purple Gallinule
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Limpkin
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue Jay (many)
Fish Crow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Carolina Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Parula
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)
Prairie Warbler 2
Black-throated Green Warbler 1
Northern Cardinal
Painted Bunting 1 (male)
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle
View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S17413139
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
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