Six-Mile Cypress Slough Preserve

Friday, August 21st

For the past week the boardwalk at Six-Mile Sough Preserve has been closed for maintenance and will be closed for at least another week. So our efforts to bird spring migrants is limited to the parking area and butterfly garden.

Recently it seemed that we were finding most of the best sightings around the parking area anyway, so spending a few minutes in early morning could still offer some good prospects. So today I felt lucky in spotting my FOS Eastern Wood-Pewee and a roosting Short-tailed Hawk

Short-tailed Hawk perched at Six-mile Cypress Preserve

 The Short-tailed Hawk is one of the rarest birds found in Florida. It is reported that there are only about 500 of these birds living here. We see both the dark and light phases. Currently a pair of dark Short-tailed Hawks have been regulars at Six-mile Cypress Slough.

The species is far more common in tropical Mexico and south into South America. This species needs large tracts of riparian woodlands and cypress swamps and is rarely observed roosting. We do see them soaring above the forests as they search for there primary prey, small birds.

Avian Research and Conservation Institute (ARCI) web site.