Posted by James Pascatore on March 28, 2016 at 19:26:54
On the day before Easter,My mom and I left for The Florida Keys at about 9:30 in the morning.The traffic sucked on the way down,but we were still in a good mood.It was a beautiful day,but it was hot.At Mile Marker 88 ,we spotted a Nanday Parakeet on the telephone line and then he flew off.Along the way,we did find Magnificent Frigatebird.Later,we arrived in Long Key State Park and began our quest. Along the way,we found Prairie Warbler,Palm Warbler,Gray Catbird,Red-bellied Woodpecker,Common Ground-Dove,Mourning Dove,Yellow-throated Warbler,Northern Cardinal,and Northern Waterthrush.We found the pink tape and waited,and waited,and waited,and waited until about 3:30 pm when the Zenaida Dove finally decided to show itself.As I excepted,the bird looks much smaller than the Mourning Dove,and more rusty and red too.We were so happy,we jumped like a bunch of giddy little schoolgirls.After that,we tried for the Black-faced Grassquit and nothing came out and then decided to call it a day,so we began our journey home. At Mile Marker 77,we spotted a Gray Kingbird and a Broad-winged Hawk (two of them).At mile Mile Marker 74,there was a plethora of shorebirds:Semipalmated Sandpiper,Ruddy Turnstone,Piping Plover,Willet,Short-billed Dowitcher,Greater Yellowlegs and a few others.So all in all,it was a good birding day.