Posted by John Boyd on March 25, 2018 at 17:27:22
Everglades National Park, March 24, 2018 I arrived at the park before sunrise, and looked unsuccessfully for whips on Research Road. Then I returned to Coe Visitors Center to meet up with the group, which consisted of about 20 birders. We birded the area around Coe, finding a pair of Flickers, as well as Pine, Palm, Prairie, and Yellow-throated Warblers. We walked over to the road to the residence area, and birded the road down to the lake, which had a Belted Kingfisher. We added Cedar Waxwings and Downy Woodpecker to our list. Great Crested Flycatchers were active, as they turned out to be elsewhere in the park. We also heard Common Yellowthroat. On our way back to Coe, a flock of 16 Black-necked Stilts flew over. The hammock has sustained some damage from Irma, with some of the canopy open and trees down. Finally, we headed off to Anhinga Trail. Our first Roseate Spoonbill of the day was a flyover at Anhinga Trail. Bird density was rather low here. We did see some Wood Storks. Several Purple Gallinules were out feeding on the spatterdock. A couple of times they pulled off the flower and flew to a safer location to eat. We walked down the Gumbo Limbo trail to the pond, where Bill spotted a Prothonotary Warbler! We also added Yellow-throated Vireo here. We then drove out Research Road to the missile base. We already had some of the pineland species, so we focused on the open areas. We found an American Kestrel on the way out there. There were Eastern Meadowlarks along the N/S part of the road. A Northern Harrier was spotted there too. I stopped at one of the corners for a close meadowlark. While there, 4-5 Swallow-tailed Kites flew over. Although they were our first of the day, they were not the last. By then it was getting close to lunch time. We slowly drove back through the pinelands on Research Road, then over to Long Pine Key to find some picnic tables. A male Eastern Towhee foraged near my table. At the end of lunch we found a Pileated Woodpecker. Then it was off to Mahogany Hammock. Mahogany Hammock had White-eyed Vireo, more Great Crested Flycatchers, and another Pileated Woodpecker. This male Pileated was busy excavating a cavity. It was invisible inside most of the time, but would sometimes stick its head out. We also found a warbler flock, adding Black-and-white Warbler, Northern Parula, American Redstart, and for one lucky person, Black-throated Green Warbler. Here too, the hammock showed damage from Irma. We headed down to Paurotis Pond, where there were plenty of nesting Wood Storks and other large waders, including some Roseate Spoonbills. A couple of Ring-necked Ducks were also present, as was a stunning male Northern Parula. Our next stop was Nine Mile Pond, where we found the Black Tern that had been seen two days before. Then we were off to West Lake. By this time, we had entered the part of the park that was more heavily damaged by Irma, with many leafless mangroves, a missing understory (storm surge), and part of the boardwalk destroyed. Over three hundred American Coots were visible from the shelter. There was little cover and few birds on the boardwalk. We did hear Prairie Warbler, Great Crested Flycatcher and saw Red-bellied Woodpecker. At the water, we found a Caspian Tern, more Coots, and two Ring-necked Ducks and some distant Snowy Egrets. We bypassed Mrazek Pond as little was there, and headed on to Flamingo. There wasn't much on the exposed sandbar. We only found a couple of Willets (western, I think) on the bar. At least three Great White Herons were present, and there were various other large waders around. We also spotted a White Pelican a couple of Brown Pelicans, and a single Laughing Gull. A Spotted Sandpiper was in the usual location. A large flock of shorebirds was too distant to ID, even through the scope. We also checked the amphitheater, a bit of the Guy Bradley Trail, and Eco Pond, but didn't add anything new. Then we headed back home. Ring-necked Duck Mourning Dove Pied-billed Grebe American Coot Purple Gallinule Wood Stork Anhinga Double-crested Cormorant White Ibis Roseate Spoonbill American White Pelican Brown Pelican Black-crowned Night-Heron Little Blue Heron Tricolored Heron Snowy Egret Green Heron Cattle Egret American Egret Great Blue Heron Great White Heron Black-necked Stilt Spotted Sandpiper Western Willet Caspian Tern Black Tern Laughing Gull Black Vulture Turkey Vulture Osprey Swallow-tailed Kite Northern Harrier Red-shouldered Hawk Belted Kingfisher Pileated Woodpecker Northern Flicker Red-bellied Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker American Kestrel Great Crested Flycatcher Yellow-throated Vireo White-eyed Vireo Blue Jay American Crow Cedar Waxwing Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird European Starling Eastern Towhee Eastern Meadowlark Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Boat-tailed Grackle Black-and-white Warbler Prothonotary Warbler Common Yellowthroat (heard only) American Redstart Northern Parula Palm Warbler Pine Warbler Yellow-throated Warbler Myrtle Warbler Prairie Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Northern Cardinal