09 October 2008

Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge


The Loxahatchee Widlife Refuge is part of the northernmost section of the Everglades. It has a wonderful cypress boardwalk that I normally hike but on my last visit I decided to do something a little different. I drove down to the boat launch area and watched a beautiful sunset over the marsh. A Red-shouldered Hawk greeted me on the hiking trail sign post.





During my short visit I had some great bird sightings. My FOTS Western Kingbird was on the wires as I drove in. A huge flock of Monk Parakeets were coming in to roost. And at least a dozen Black-bellied Whistling Ducks were flying over the dikes whistling their call. Mostly I've been focusing on looking for migrants this time of year but I'll be back to Loxahatchee to check out the resident Snail Kites and Pileated Woodpeckers once things settle down.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had 6 snail kites along 441 southbound alongside the Refuge on Wednesday morning! All were perched on the wires.

Sharon said...

I love this place...each time I visit I see something new. How lucky you were to see the hawk.