Posted by Rangel Diaz on June 04, 2015 at 15:55:10
I parked along CR9336 this morning just outside the Frog Pond WMA entrance (gates were open today) hoping to catch a Barn/Short-eared Owl flying by as well as Sandhill Cranes. I ended up dipping on those birds but did have two Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks perched on the powerlines. I've seen them flyby before at Lucky Hammock but never sitting up on the lines like that. After, I drove along Aero Jet Road where White-eyed Vireos were abundant and picked up a Pileated Woodpecker when I got to The Annex. I checked the spreader canal but the water levels were pretty high for any straggling shorebirds (i.e. White-rumped Sandpiper) and the Deerflies were brutal. As I was driving to work I came across what seemed to be a communal roost for Swallow-tailed Kites at the intersection of SW 344 st and 117th ave. Between two Australian Pine Trees there were 7 STKI (5 alone in one tree). Cutler Wetlands produced a male Northern Shoveler, a Least Bittern and 4 Black-necked Stilts in 5 minutes of scanning for Black/Gull-billed Tern (which were not there).