Florida tri
Marcia Watson-Whitmyre (mww@UDel.Edu)
Mon, 20 Apr 1998 12:08:25 -0400
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
--------------07654FE69B230350563D774F
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Hello Opreyites! I have been out-of-touch for a while, because I was on
a 10-day solo birding trip to south Florida. This was a great trip for
me - I managed to score 23 life birds:
Fulvous Whistling-Duck
Mottled Duck
American White Pelican
Wood Stork
Greater Flamingo
Limpkin
Snail Kite
Short-tailed Hawk
Crested Caracara
Snowy Plover
Sandhill Crane
Roseate Tern
Sandwich Tern
White-crowned Pigeon
Eurasian Collared Dove
Monk Parakeet
Canary-winged Parakeet
Mangrove Cuckoo
Red-cockaded Woodpecker
Cave Swallow
Florida Scrub Jay
Bahama Mockingbird
Bachman's Sparrow
This was my first time birding in Florida. I had been there many times
previously, but my birding on those visits was confined to what I could
see from my father-in-law's condo balcony - so my previous Florida list
was woefully short, although it did include such goodies as Frigatebird
and Spoonbill.
This time, I flew into Key West, drove up the Keys, spent a couple of
days in the Everglades/Miami region, then worked my way through the
interior and up the west coast. The trip ended with a family gathering
in Orlando.
I guess the most satisfying bird for me was Mangrove Cuckoo. I tried
for it in a couple places in the Keys and finally found one on
Sugarloaf. I imitated the song, just once, and was amazed when the bird
answered me and then came right out, with a mouthful of caterpillars.
He stayed in view for quite a while. The most impressive bird was
Crested Caracara - they look unreal to me, more like a stuffed toy then
a real bird. Red-cockaded Woodpecker was easy at the Avon Park Air
Force Bombing Range - the Air Force hands out a map marked with the
likely places to find different birds, including the woodpeckers, Scrub
Jays, Grasshopper Sparrows, Caracaras, and a few others.
Roseate Tern was a surprise - I looked for it unsuccessfully in the
Keys, and then found them when I wasn't expecting them - two birds,
with a lot of other terns, just south of Fort Myers Beach one evening.
Bahama Mockingbird was right at the spot that Bill Pranty notes in his
Birder's Guide to Florida - at a little community park in Key West. It
was still a surprise, though, because I had been following hotline
reports and there was no mention of this one. Easy id - the bird stood
on the pavement in front of me, scolding and flashing his (patchless)
wings.
Flamingo required the most effort. I hiked the 5 mile round trip Snake
Bight trail in the Everglades to see them, dressed in a head-to-toe bug
suit to ward off the mosquitoes. Even though I wasn't bitten, the
buzzing was incredibly oud and stressful! Plus, the suit was hot, and
the head net was so covered with mosquitoes that I couldn't see well.
That almost got me into trouble, because I just about stepped on an
alligator that I thought was a log. Luckily, his head was pointing the
other way. When I finally got to the Florida Bay, there were 3
Flamingos, along with a large number of shorebirds and waders, fairly
far out on extensive mudflats. Viewing was far from optimal, with lots
of heat waves and shimmer. Good thing the flamingos have a distinctive
color and shape. There were Spoonbills out there too, but they were
easily differentiated by shape and feeding style.
I also did well on rails and gallinules, finding all the Florida
possibles except for Yellow. I had a Black Rail calling behind me at
the Flamingo spot, so that was a lucky one.
I could not find Antillean Nighthawk or Black-Whiskered Vireo, and heard
from other birders that they were not in yet. Smooth-billed Ani were
reported to be around, but were nesting and very secretive. I was
disappointed with the migrant landbirds in general - the birds were
coming in, but it seemed that I was always in the wrong place at the
wrong time. I only saw a handful of warblers: Palm, Pine, Prairie, and
Parula, plus one Black-and-White.
I think my favorite place was Loxahatchee NWR, northwest of Miami. The
area open to the public is limited, but one small impoundment was loaded
with a great diversity of birds. I set up my scope at one corner, and
then walked the perimeter, and counted over 60 species right there,
included 5 of the lifers. All in all, I had about 150 species on the
trip, so my Florida list is a lot healthier now.
If anyone is headed down there soon and wants some specific info on
birds/places, please drop me a line. I have lots of info that I can
share.
Marcia Watson-Whitmyre
Cecil County
Norm Saunders wrote:
>
>
> What new birds did you get in Florida??
>
> Best,
> Norm
>
--------------07654FE69B230350563D774F
Content-Type: text/x-vcard; charset=us-ascii; name="vcard.vcf"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Content-Description: Card for Marcia Watson-Whitmyre
Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="vcard.vcf"
begin: vcard
fn: Marcia Watson-Whitmyre
n: Watson-Whitmyre;Marcia
org: University of Delaware
adr: 234 Hullihen Hall;;University of Delaware;Newark;Delaware;19716;USA
email;internet: mww@udel.edu
title: Assistant Director for Academic Policies Administration
tel;work: 302-831-6656
tel;fax: 302-831-8745
x-mozilla-cpt: ;0
x-mozilla-html: FALSE
version: 2.1
end: vcard
--------------07654FE69B230350563D774F--