Posted by John Boyd on March 06, 2016 at 18:00:40
The Everglades trip started at the Coe Visitor's Center at 7:30am. We had a good-sized group (maybe 25 birders) and started by walking around the parking lot and buildings. Highlights at Coe included 2 Green Herons, a Swallow-tailed Kite, Pileated Woodpecker (heard), Eastern Meadowlark (heard), Northern Parula, Palm Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, and Myrtle Warbler. We then headed to Royal Palm. We soon encountered our first Purple Gallinule. As much of the group headed on, I stayed back to look for American Bittern at the usual spot. I was soon rewarded and called the rest back to see the bittern. At the far end, we noted that some of the Pond Apples that Anhingas usually nest in had been taken over by Black Vultures. We also added Common Yellowthroat. After completing the loop we walked the Gumbo Limbo trail. Birding was slow there. Some walked the full trail and saw an Ovenbird. When we returned to the parking lot, Jeff Weber informed us that the rest of us had missed a dark morph Short-tailed Hawk. Research Road was next. A walk on the first trail (gate 2) yielded Red-tailed and Cooper's Hawks. Pine Warblers were also calling. We then drove on, passing a puddle with Wood Storks, White Ibis, Little Blue Heron, and Snowy Egret. The gate was open and we drove onward toward old Nike missile base. Before making the turn we found Eastern Meadowlark, another Swallow-tailed Kite, Purple Martins and Tree Swallows, and an American Kestrel. A House Wren called near the missile base, where we also saw more Meadowlarks. Some people had stopped earlier across from the Boy Scout Camp (east of the entrance) and had see Bluebirds and Nuthatches. We all stopped there on the way back. We spent a fair amount of time watching as the Eastern Bluebirds (probably at least 6), Pine Warblers, Brown-headed Nuthatches, Downy Woodpeckers, and Northern Flickers all put on a good show. At one point I was looking at a drab warbler next to a Pine Warbler and puzzling over its identity---Pine or Myrtle. It suddenly put its head down and I saw a yellow stripe, reminding me why the Myrtle Warbler's latin name is coronata. Eastern Towhee was heard, but not seen. It was noon by the time we were done on Research Road, and we headed to Long Pine Key for lunch. We didn't add anything new, although one table noticed a White-eyed Vireo that was visible in the bushes next to them. From there we went to Mahogany Hammock. We got more than half-way around with it seeming pretty dead. Of course, Mahogany often seems dead unless you a find a flock. Suddenly James spotted a possible vireo (later seen to be White-eyed) and someone else spotted a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher just a little farther back...the beginnings of a flock. The gnatcatcher turned into two (one without a tail) and had the beginnings of a flock. Before we were done, we had spotted White-eye Vireo, Gray Catbirds, a Worm-eating Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, 2 Northern Parulas, Myrtle Warblers, a Prairie Warbler, and at least 3 Black-throated Green Warblers, and a pair of Northern Cardinals. The next stop was Paurotis Pond, where we immediately added Roseate Spoonbill and Common Gallinule. We soon spotted Pied-billed Grebe. A Tricolored Heron flew in near some nesting egrets, our first of the day. Finally, several White-crowned Pigeons flew across the pond, one by one. Then it was off to West Lake. From the launch area we could see a bunch of American Coots and some ducks. The ducks were mostly Lesser Scaup, but there were a couple of female Greater Scaup in the mix as well as some Ring-necked Ducks. Some of us (including me) were unaware that a prominent white auricular patch was a useful field mark for female Greater Scaup. Jim Sigsbee insisted on it. Brian and I were also able to see the long white wing patch as they flew, confirming that Jim was right. We then walked the boardwalk. On the way out we found Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Catbirds, Myrtles, and a Common Grackle or two. A large number of coots were present on the main lake, as were more scaup. We eventually found some Ruddy Ducks. Jim Sigsbee found a Black-throated Blue Warbler on the way back, but I don't think anyone else saw it. A number of us did see a couple Black-and-white Warblers, and a male American Redstart. One person later mentioned seeing a Carolina Wren. Mrazek Pond had little, and we pressed on to Flamingo. The sandbar was covered, but a number of gulls were present there anyway, including Laughing, Lesser Black-backed, and Ring-billed Gulls. There were a few Caspian Terns in the mix, and a Royal Tern on a nesting bird sign near one of the islands. There was also a Spotted Sandpiper near the left end of the seawall. A quick check at the Amphitheater yielded little. We finished at Eco Pond where I got my only Belted Kingfisher of the day. On the way back, I saw another Swallow-tailed Kite near Nine Mile Pond. My last new bird of the day was an Indian Peafowl along the Ingraham Highway just west of 209th Ave. Here's the bird list, which includes a few birds I saw before or after the trip (e.g., Myna). Ruddy Duck Muscovy Duck Ring-necked Duck Greater Scaup Lesser Scaup Indian Peafowl Pied-billed Grebe Mourning Dove White-crowned Pigeon Eurasian Collared-Dove Rock Pigeon Purple Gallinule Common Gallinule American Coot Spotted Sandpiper Caspian Tern Royal Tern Laughing Gull Ring-billed Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull Wood Stork Anhinga Double-crested Cormorant White Ibis Roseate Spoonbill Brown Pelican American Bittern American Egret Great Blue Heron Green Heron Tricolored Heron Snowy Egret Little Blue Heron Turkey Vulture Black Vulture Osprey Swallow-tailed Kite Red-shouldered Hawk @Short-tailed Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Cooper's Hawk Belted Kingfisher Northern Flicker Pileated Woodpecker Red-bellied Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker American Kestrel Great Crested Flycatcher Eastern Phoebe White-eyed Vireo Loggerhead Shrike Blue Jay American Crow Tree Swallow Purple Martin Brown-headed Nuthatch Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Northern House-Wren @Carolina Wren Gray Catbird Brown Thrasher Northern Mockingbird European Starling Common Myna Eastern Bluebird House Sparrow Eastern Towhee Eastern Meadowlark Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Boat-tailed Grackle @Ovenbird Worm-eating Warbler Black-and-white Warbler Common Yellowthroat American Redstart Northern Parula @Black-throated Blue Warbler Palm Warbler Pine Warbler Yellow-throated Warbler Myrtle Warbler @Prairie Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Northern Cardinal