Posted by Brian Rapoza on January 20, 2018 at 19:12:17
About twenty-five birders joined Richard Crossley (author of the Crossley ID Guide series) for a bird walk this morning at Dump Marsh in Cutler Bay. The walk was sponsored by TAS and Leica Store Miami, which provided Leica optics for some participants. Not only did Richard provide some great bird identification tips during the walk, but we had great looks at some amazing birds, including the Smooth-billed Ani that has been wintering at Dump Marsh. Today, the ani was seen and heard near a sunbathing American Crocodile about halfway down the canal the runs south along the western edge of the marsh. Other highlights included Least Flycatcher and Blue Grosbeak, both seen at or near the north end of the canal. Here's a list of what was seen (participants may want to add other species seen that are not listed here): Blue-winged Teal Mottled Duck Green-winged Teal Magnificent Frigatebird Anhinga Brown Pelican Great Blue Heron Great Egret Snowy Egret Little Blue Heron Tricolored Heron Cattle Egret Green Heron White Ibis Black Vulture Turkey Vulture Northern Harrier Bald Eagle Cooper's Hawk Red-shouldered Hawk Short-tailed Hawk Common Gallinule American Coot Killdeer Long-billed Dowitcher Spotted Sandpiper Greater Yellowlegs Bonaparte's Gull (flyover) Ring-billed Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull Common Ground-Dove Smooth-billed Ani Belted Kingfisher Merlin Peregrine Falcon Monk Parakeet Least Flycatcher . Eastern Phoebe Great Crested Flycatcher Loggerhead Shrike Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird European Starling Common Yellowthroat Yellow-rumped Warbler Prairie Warbler Northern Cardinal Blue Grosbeak Painted Bunting Red-winged Blackbird Boat-tailed Grackle