Posted by Luis A Gonzalez on February 09, 2020 at 00:41:54
Around 18 birders joined me today for this walk around Lucky Hammock, many of them were from out of state so the cold weather didn't seem to bother them much, however the target birds we were after were bothered by it, which sadly led to most of the targets of the hammock being no show. This includes the Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, Western and Tropical Kingbirds, and even the Crested Caracara that has been reported in the last few weeks. With that said, 35 species were still recorded (36 if you count the Barn Owl seen prewalk only by Bill Boeringer), some of the highlights include a brief appearance of the overwintering Brown-crested Flycatcher at the hammock by the entrance, a Limpkin that was cleaning itself on the other side of the canal, large flocks of Glossy Ibis moving about and multiple Northern Harrier hunting the field. The cold weather didn't stop the breeding activity for some birds however, as multiple male Northern Cardinals and Eastern Meadowlarks were trying their hardest to give little concerts to potential mates and ward off rival males. Overall, average trip that was made better by the people who joined in to make up for the lackluster bird show. Bird Checklist: Common Ground Dove 4 Limpkin 1 Greater Yellowlegs 1 (HO) Anhinga 2 Great Egret 1 Little Blue Heron 1 Cattle Egret 6 Green Heron 1 White Ibis 6 Glossy Ibis 80 Black Vulture 6 Turkey Vulture 23 Northern Harrier 4 Red-shouldered Hawk 3 Barn Owl 1 (Seen before walk by Bill Boeringer) Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 American Kestrel 2 Eastern Phoebe 13 Great Crested Flycatcher 3 Brown-crested Flycatcher 1 Loggerhead Shrike 7 Blue Jay 1 (HO) American Crow 5 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 3 European Starling 70 Northern Mockingbird 5 Eastern Meadowlark 13 Red-winged Blackbird 24 Brown-headed Cowbird 1 Common Grackle 3 Boat-tailed Grackle 1 Common Yellowthroat 18 Northern Parula 2 Palm Warbler 4 Northern Cardinal 11