A Day In Sarasota County

Thursday December 7th

Spent the day up in Sarasota County today with stops at the Celery Fields, Siesta Key and Myakka River State Park.

A pair of Nanday Parakeets were feeding
at the feeders at the Celery Fields

Arrived on a very foggy morning, at day break at the Celery Fields. It wasn't very birdy. Not many ducks, but An American Bittern did make a long flight across the marsh. My best birds here were a pair of Bronzed Cowbirds in the company of Grackles, Starlings and Brown-headed Cowbirds near the butterfly gardens.

Bronzed Cowbird at the Celery Fields

Bronzed Cowbird. Note the Red Eyes

Ring-billed Gull

At the beach at Siesta Key, a great many gulls and terns were seen resting on the shore. Nothing unusual, but the expected Herring, Laughing and Ring-billed Gulls, Black Skimmers, Royal, Sandwich, Forster's and Common Terns

Herring Gulls

Sandwich Tern

Common Tern

Herring Gull

A Tricolored Heron at Myakka River

A Horned Grebe on Myakka River

At Myakka River State State, I was expecting to see a diverse number of water fowl species.

But not today. A few Lesser Scaup, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks and Mottled Ducks were counted.  Best bird of the day here was was my FOS Horned Grebe.  Some other species seen included Tree Swallows, Yellowlegs, a single Black-necked Stilt, Caspian Terns and a pair of courting Bald Eagles. If you like alligators there were dozens on hand.

Lots of Black Vultures at Myakka

White Ibis at Myakka

Lesser Yellowlegs at Myakka

Vermilion Flycatcher in South Florida.

Wednesday, December 14th

A male Vermilion Flycatcher

Elected to run solo on a visit to Dade County, particularly to locate the Vermilion Flycatchers at the C-111 canal near the Everglades National Park. I had a number of target species in mind as well, including white-tailed kite, swainson's hawk, red-whiskered bulbul, bronzed cowbirds, purple gallinule and any ducks, sparrows or exotic species.

Left home about 5am for the long drive across the Tamiami Trail (US41) for my first of several spots I had planned on. By 8am I was in the parking lot of LaCarret's Restaurant on SW 40th Ave. It was very busy there with the expected urban birds, Grackles, House Sparrows, Rock Pigeons, Starlings, Ring-billed Gulls, Eurasian Collared Doves, but the bronzed cowbirds were a no-show while I was there.

Egyptian Geese at Kendell Baptist Hospital campus

Mitred Parakeet

Next was the Neighborhood north of Kendell Baptist Hospital. Patrolled the area in search of red-whiskered bulbuls.  Did not find them but did get Loggerhead Shrikes Northern Mockingbirds, Blue jays, Monk Parakeets and Mitred Parakeets.  At the hospital campus it was very quite until the Mitred Parakeets showed up, briefly, till a flock of Fish Crows disturbed them. A pair of Egyptian Geese and Muscovy Ducks were by the ponds and a Red-tailed Hawk flew over head.

Was interested in locating any addition parrot species. So next moved onto Matheson Park in Coral Gables, were it was very quite too. Looked for any birds, besides the parrots and hill mynas I was interested in. Best I found was a herd of cats. At this point it was starting to get very windy which is not good on a birding trip.

Next traveled south down Old Cutler Road toward Black Point Park. Kept an eye out along Old Cutler Road for any interesting sightings like peafowl or other exotics. At Black Point I was interested in any sea birds. Found the usual gulls, pelicans and cormorants. Best bird was a Spotted Sandpiper.  Next stopped at the nearby Dump Marsh and Cutler Wetlands.  The dump marsh had several Mottled Ducks, Blue-winged Teal, a few American Wigeons and a lone Gadwall and Red-breasted Merganser. Lots of Coots and several Common Gallinules. Heard later that lesser nighthawks and barn owls have been seen here recently.

Spotted Sandpiper at Black Point Park

At Cutler Wetlands the lighting was very bad. Missed out on identifying a few species because of the lighting, but did get a Herring Gull, American White Pelicans, Blue-winged Teal, Mottled ducks, more Coots and Common Gallinules. Had three Greater Yellowlegs and a single Lesser Yellowlegs too.

Gassed-up and had lunch in Homestead were I searched for any white-winged doves or common mynas.  But the winds were very gusty and no doubt the birds were sheltered somewhere out of sight.

Now it was time to locate the Vermilion Flycatcathers at C-111 Canal. Easily located one of them. These birds are not seen very often in south Florida. A few can be found wintering in the pan handle, but it was very conveint for a pair to show up here. It was a a LIFER.

Purple Gallinule

Just down the road is The Annex and Lucky Hammock. Again the winds really hampered birding. Did find the reported Western Kingbird and three Scissor-tailed Flycatchers on the fence bordering the main road. But seems that the small birds were hunkered down in the shrubs and grasses.  Did not even see or hear any catbirds or cardinals. Normally this is a good location for wintering raptors and was still so today. Had a couple of Northern Harriers, three American Kestrels, a Swainson's Hawk, a Red-tailed Hawk, a pair of Red-shouldered hawks, another pair of Short-tailed Hawks and a lot of Turkey Vultures with a few Black Vultures mixed in. Did dip on the white-tailed kite.

Purple Gallinule

Highlights in Everglades National Park, included a Purple Gallinule and several Anhingas on the Anhinga Trail, Green-winged Teal at Mrezek Pond, a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers at Eco Pond and at Flamingo had hundreds of Laughing Gulls, several Osprey including one being harassed by a Bald Eagle and a Red-brested Merganser. Out in the bay could be seen several American White Pelican and Black Skimmers. An American Crocodile was seen at the marina.

From here headed for home with brief rechecks at Lucky hammock and C-111 for white-tailed kite.  Still dipped, so headed for home.

Loggerhead Shrike at C-111

Pied-billed Grebe at Mrezak Pond



Black Vulture at Nine-mile Pond.



Day's List (68)

Egyptian Goose, Muscovy Duck, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Mottled Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Green-winged Teal, Red-breasted Merganser, Pied-billed Grebe, Wood Stork, Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga, American White Pelican, Brown Pelican,

Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Black-crowned Night-heron, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Black Vultures, Turkey Vultures,

Osprey, Bald eagle, Northern Harrier, Red-shouldered Hawk, Short-tailed Hawk, Swainson's Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Purple Gallinule, Common Gallinule, American Coot, Killdeer, Spotted sandpiper, Great Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Laughing Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Black Skimmer, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Monk Parakeet, Mitred Parakeet, Belted Kingfisher, Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, VERMILION FLYCATCHER, Western Kingbird, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Loggerhead Shrike, Blue Jay, American Crow, Fish Crow, Tree Swallow, House Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, palm Warbler, Common Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed cowbird and House sparrow.

Reptiles (2) American Alligator, American Crocodile

Purple Gallinule

Dade County Birding - The Search for a Smooth-Billed Ani
February 22, 2010

Elected to twitch after lifers today.  My options were to head north to Sebastian Inlet for the harlequin duck or south after the reported smooth-billed ani at the Anhinga Trail at Royal Hammock in Everglades National Park and then a jump over to Key Biscayne to the LaSagre Flycatcher at Bill Baggs State Park. Even with rain, I chose to go south.  The distance was shorter and a two-for-one was a possibility.

Checked out the scissor-tailed flycatcher roost on Florida City on Sw314th were we found four camera shy birds. Then  a quick stop at Lucky Hammock hoping for a few raptors and maybe warblers and such. Found several kestrels and northern harrier. The best bird here was a Brown-crested Flycatcher. It is a very rare wintering bird to south Florida.

A smooth-billed ani had recently been located along the Anhinga Trail in the Everglades and appeared to be very dependable. Well, this species is one of my nemeses birds. It is a bird found in the West Indes and had become a common south Florida bird after its arrival here, on its own.  But now it has become quite rare. A small population has been identified along Old Griffen Highway in Ft Lauderdale, near the airport. I have been there at least eight times to search out the anis, always without success. It seems to be a matter of luck. So an opportunity of a dependable bird was enticing. reports seemed to indicate it was easily found along the trail in the morning and was not very shy.  See the link below for a photo of it.

Well we looked for about four hours in a morning and afternoon session. A volunteer at the park commented that it seemed the bird came out late and she had a photo of the bird she had taken yesturday. She also commented on when the bird arrived it was the greeted by a great many of birders and cameras.

http://tropicalaudubon.org/tasboard/messages/33508.html

Did get some good looks at several Purple Gallenules, and a great many wading birds.  There were a few tree swallows, but did notice a single Purple Martin. Had a fly over of a White-Tailed Kite, and had to be a hundred Black Vutures hanging around and unafraid of all the people.  Fact is most of the animal life here were people friendly.

The Gumbo Limbo Trail was a bit birdy.  Had the usual Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers, Cardinals, a couple of Black & White Wablers, a Black-Throated Green Warbler and a Louisania Waterthrush.

Drove all the way down to Flamingo to look for the American Crocodiles, but it being a wet cloudy day, they were not sun bathing along the canal by the marina. Not much else was around either. A couple of Osprey and a few laughing Gulls.  An American White Pelican could be seen out in the bay and several Brown Pelicans were resting in the mangroves.

Because of the time wasted looking for the ani and the inclement weather, we blew off the trip over to Key Biscayne and headed for home. Did find a flock of about 40 Common Mynas in Homestead as we were gassing up the car.

My total day count was 60

My list - Blue-winged Teal, Pied-billed Grebe, American White Pelican, Brown Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Green Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Wood Stork, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, White-tailed Kite, Red-shouldered Hawk, American Kestrel, Purple Gallinule, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Killdeer, Laughing Gull, Barred Owl, Belted Kingfisher, Eastern Phoebe, Loggerhead Shrike, White-eyed Vireo, Blue-headed Vireo, American Crow, Purple Martin, Tree Swallow, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, Black-throated Green Warbler, Palm Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Common Yellowthroat, Eastern Towhee, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle, Northern Harrier, American Kestrel, Mourning Dove, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Common Myna, Ring-billed Gull, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, White-winged Dove, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Purple Gallinule 

Eastern Phoebe

Northern Cardinal

Palm Warbler

Palm Warbler

Wood Stork

Juvenile Wood Stork

Great Blue Heron

Green Heron

Black Vultures

Lots of Gators