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Posted by Marcello Gomes on 19:22:04 05/12/14
Let's not even talk about Warblers Warblers shmarblers.
Florida resident birds hiding and nesting quietly around (Cardinals, Blue Jays, Mockingbirds, Woodpeckers, etc) - expected of course.
At Snook Island near the Lake Worth bridge ...the American Oystercatcher is still going strong. Mom, Dad, and the three chicks are thriving. Male has been busier than ever and lately I have observed the increase of his round-trip trips bringing more and more oysters/mollusks to feed the demand of growing chicks. I got the father with the food right on its beak. I'm not an oyster expert and I don't eat them either.
There were some Red Knots reported and photographed from Snook Island last week. I got one with the bill inserted in its feathers but you can see some rufus in the belly.
There were 2 Whimbrels on a sand spit (previous times was all the in the air 3x sighting). The Whimbrels were surrounded by a dozen Black-bellied Plovers in breeding plumage and a smaller bird with a long bill (perhaps an immature Short-billed Dowitcher - looks small but can't think of anything else with a bill like that ( you need to zoom in to see that one) to see the whole Island fiesta scene.
A few Semipalmated Sandpipers have been reported. I only saw a couple.
1 Forster's Tern with its elegant black cap on was hanging quietly by one of the islands. Not an usual sight near the beach at this time in my experience.
At Peaceful Waters Sanctuary there were:
40 Stilt Sandpipers and many with breeding plumage
2 Immature Blue-winged Teals (no white at the base of the bill like a female) never seen one like that.
1 Ruddy Duck on its way to acquire some breeding colors in a few weeks ( my own estimation) was resting along one of the pools in the back of the sanctuary. What a pretty guy.
A beautiful pair of Wood Ducks swimming right along each other.
1 Mute Swam was hanging there too
1 Green-winged Teal
18 Black-necked Stilts
24 or so Least Sandpipers
1 Solitary Sandpiper
At the Boynton Inlet .
18+ Ruddy Turnstones are still active around
40 Laughing Gulls (mostly breeding plumage) cruising over the ocean heading north
1 single 2nd Winter Northern Gannet was spotted
Some Royal Terns
7 Fish Crows right on the beach scavenging for leftover.
8 Brown Pelicans - mostly immatures diving back and forth around the beach
NO sight of the Common Eider but it was reported some days ago so I am almost sure still around (remember, feathers not quite ready for flight in my previous reports).
Can't think of anything else noteworthy at this point.
Marcello
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