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Posted by Paul-the-other on 17:39:14 01/29/06
Okeeheelee in Palm Beach county on Forest Hill Blvd was in high form this morning. Our birding adventure began in the parking lot of the Nature Center as we watched the courtship dance of the sandhill crane. Both male and female were "into" it with bowing, flapping of wings and short leaps into the air. Stick passing also occured. We were the only people present so the lovers got to carry on for about 20 minutes. At one point they were so engrossed in their courtship that they leaped and hopped to within 25 feet of where we posed with our cameras. As other patrons drove in the two birds moved unabashedly away into the pineland. What a treat that was!
Then we moved to the back of the Nature Center and saw, over a period of three hours, 5 ruby throated hummers, 4 blue jays, about 10 female and 3 male painted buntings, one indigo in full blue color and about 4 others "turning" as well as 10 female indigos. Also visiting the gay confusion of the feed station was one oven bird, one brown thrasher, three blue-gray gnatcatchers, one white winged dove, one ring-necked dove and 12 mourning doves. The blue jays performed perfect mimics of a red-shouldered hawk. The mockingbird spent about 10 minutes looking at the water dish before jumping in to "bathe." Well, it was windy and a little cool.
Several "birders" from New York joined us for the 11:00 -12:30 watch and were amply rewarded with all the sights we had seen and photographed. They had just come from Wakodahatchee and were fascinated by the raccoon and babies that were using one of the trees for a home.
The numbers of the buntings is difficult to estimate since they spook so easily and come and go in 20 minute intervals. Chances are we were seeing the same ones over and over and that accounts for the numbers posted above. Cardinals were also present and we heard warblers overhead but since we were manning cameras focused in the lower branches we didn't look up too much. For sure there were palm warblers.
If you are a birder and need these species you can wrap it all up right here and never leave your stool. And if you are a photographer, the action will test your VR lens and your eye-hand coordination. The space for pictures is limited and the constant quarreling-territorialism between all the birds and the ubiquitous squirrels gives you about 3-5 seconds per shot. Quite a challenge.
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