Tuesday, March 15th
Yesterday, reports came out about the sighting of a Cuban Pewee, a rare vagrant to the U. S. being seen at Crandon Park in Miami. The bird had been seen in the same area for the past two days, so there were a few birders, including Dave and Tammy McQuade, Dennis Peacock, Lee, Neil Hayward, Leslie Starr, Joe Turner, Trey Mitchell and Larry Manfredi, who, today, waited for hours for a return visit of the rarity at the anointed sight.
After seven hours Bob Pelkey and I gave up, as had most everyone else. Hopefully it'll be relocated soon.
Birds we did observed at the location included Cape May, Yellow-rumped, Palm and Black-and-White Warblers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, a Yellow-throated Vireo, Sandhill Cranes, Red-shouldered Hawk, Turkey Vultures, White Ibis, American Coot and Common Gallinules
Exotics
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| Lots of Peacocks were present |
The park was loaded with lots of exotic birds and reptiles. Larry Manfredi was telling us that this location had once housed a mix exotic waterfowl and other birds. The surviving population included a large number of feral Peafowl and Egyptian Geese. Plus we observed several specimens of Spiny-tailed Iguanas of varying sizes.
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| Egyptian Geese |
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| Spiny-tailed Iguana |
Beach
On the beach, bordering the Biscayne Bay, were several gull and tern species including
Herring Gulls, Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Laughing Gulls, Ring-billed Gulls and Royal Terns, Also present was a large gathering of
Double-crested Cormorants, and a few
Brown Pelicans.
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| Double-crested Cormorant |
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| Royal Tern |
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| Lesser Black-backed Gull |
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| Lesser Black-backed Gull |
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| Laughing Gull |
While missing the Cuban Pewee, this was an enjoyable trip nonetheless, Tom. A future visit will require walking the extensive trail system of the park. It was cool to see the "double crest" of the cormorant. A rare event in my observations. Great job capturing the yawn of the gull.
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