Bird-a-Day 2013

Bird-a-Day 2013 is already in full swing.  I am not participating this year but I rally on all the birders that sign up for this fun-filled birding event.  It's a non-stop, birding adventure and I am proud that I played along in 2012.  I was surprised to see today that I was even given a little shout out on the new website.  Congratulations to the champions, I'm proud to be listed on the same page.  Good luck to all of you in 2013.

Also, thanks must be given to Trey Mitchell for upkeeping and designing such a great site.

Green Cay Updates

Working at Green Cay is going well these days.  We are funded for 2013, our Migration Celebration is happening on October 27th, and I won a Golden Palm Award.  October is the beginning of snow bird season so attendance should be picking up.  We already have a few migrant birds coming through including a recently seen Wilson's Warbler, a male Painted Bunting, and our first winter Blue-winged Teal.  Plus, the baby Bobcats are making daily appearances. 

It's been so busy that I haven't had the time to update the blog but you better believe I finished out a great year of Bird-a-Day.  Look for my posted list of birds later this week!  And in other news, I'm in a graduate school program so if you don't see me much online I haven't forgotten The Flying Mullet days of life.  You better believe I have some camping trips planned, a few fun trips coming up, and the birding will continue.  Next up: The Big Sit at Green Cay's Migration Celebration.  We start counting birds from the back deck at 7AM.  Join us! 

Lifer Kentucky Warbler!

Today is number 255 in my Bird-a-Day efforts and after being stuck in Miami rush hour for two hours I was almost at my wits end.  The rain was coming down in buckets and it was already 6:30PM.  I was just beginning to think my hopes of seeing a lifer Kentucky Warbler were dashed but traffic eventually moved and the skies stopped raining just long enough for me to check A.D. Barnes Park.

I walked the sidewalk towards Homeless Hammock.  I followed the directions from birders who had posted of the whearabouts earlier in the day.  And sure enough it was right there, 5 feet away from me on the edge of the hammock.  I ran back to the car and took a few photos.  I know they are crummy but they show my lifer Kentucky Warbler.  I haven't been this stoked about a lifer in ages.  I guess the doubt that mounted in my stressful commute and the rain had me down but this little warbler picked up my spirits.  I was literally beaming while watching him hunt insects in the leaf litter.  It was hard to walk away but I did so happily knowing that I found the prize and the long hours in the car were worth it.  I topped off the celebration with a Shipyard Pumpkinhead once I was home. Thanks Kentucky Warbler for sticking around!  And thanks Miami birders who diligently post their sightings on TAS.   

Keys Birding

 

For Labor Day weekend Andy, Rosana, Emily, and I went to Key West for some fun times.  Along the way we stopped and did some shorebirding near Marathon.  We had a nice collection of birds including Short-billed & Long-billed Dowitchers, Willet, Least Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Sanderling, Semi-palmated Plover, Black-bellied Plover, and numerous terns on the flats.  While driving over the Bahia Honda Channel I spotted an Audubon's Shearwater.  We tried for better looks but it headed out past the bridge not to be re-seen.

Once in Key West we danced the night away and then on Sunday we birded Fort Zachary State Park.  The area around the bathrooms were very busy we had 10 warbler species within 20 minutes, including a HY Hooded Warbler that gave us killer looks from a few feet away.  After the Prothonotary, Worm-eating, Prairie, Redstart, Ovenbird, Blackpoll, Parula, Black-and-white, and Northern Waterthrush fun we hit the beach for some swimming.  The water was delightfully cool.

Now a busy week is starting and my Bird-a-day year is coming to a close.  I used a Spot-breasted Oriole today but the only easy bird I have left is a White Ibis.  For those that don't know about Bird-a-Day, you should definitely check it out.  I can't believe I made it to September!  

Roseate Terns in Marathon, FL

Every summer I like to head down to the Keys and see the Florida summer specialties.  This year Andy, Rosana, EmilyLark, and myself took the road trip down to Marathon, FL.  We promptly found a large number of Roseate Terns on top of the Marathon Government Building.  I've seen the terns here before in past summers but this was by far the largest number of terns in my personal record.  There was easily over a hundred of them.  We also had Least Terns flying around as well for good comparison.

After the tern show we checked into our little motel, The Sandpiper, which gives a great nightly rate.  Once settled we headed out again to the Marathon Airport for the afternoon nighthawk watch.  This one did not disappoint.  We had both Antillean and Common Nighthawks calling and diving.  We celebrated the day with some fun drinks watching the sun go down by 7-mile bridge. 

Summertime birding in South Florida is not glamorous.  It's hot, the humidity will soak your t-shirt, mosquitoes will carry you away, and biting flies will dive-bomb your head but if you're willing to brave the conditions there are some nice rewards out there like Roseate Terns, Antillean Nighthawks, Black-whiskered Vireos, Mangrove Cuckoos and Yellow Warblers.  The point of the story is, you won't see anything if you don't get out there.       

Red, Blue, and Yellow Herons at Matheson Park

The Bird A Day challenge continues with good birds after a stellar weekend of Antillean Nighthawk and Roseate Tern.  Today Andy called with a report of a Reddish Egret at Matheson Park.  I  rushed down there and saw it right before sunset.

I found with it some partners of Little Blue Heron and Yellow-crowned Night-Heron to make a colorful group of herons, at least in name.  The overcast sky makes all the birds look a little dull but trust me they put on a good show feeding in the wrack line. 

Bird A Day: White-tailed Kites

The Bird A Day challenge continues and while I used some nice northern birds on my recent trip to North Carolina, I still have work to do here in Florida.  On Tuesday, Andy and I drove out to Everglades National Park in a search to find a White-tailed Kite.  We both had numerous times tried for this bird during the winter with no luck but Research Road was kind to us this week and delivered TWO White-tailed Kites in one snag.  We had killer looks and watched the pair move only once to a different tree.  The lower kite in the photo above has a prey item that it was busy eating. 

We left after fullfilling looks and enjoyed the numerous Eastern Meadowlark on the drive out.  We also found Swallow-tailed Kites and Eastern Bluebird on Research Road before leaving.  The evening was topped off in Homestead with sightings of Gray Kingbird, Eastern Kingbird, and Common Myna.

Okeeheelee Birding

In addition to Great Horned Owls and Cedar Waxwings I also saw both Indigo and Painted Buntings at Okeeheelee. The males are developing some bright plumage these days! While on the trails I also saw my FOTS Chimney Swifts flyover and on the back canal I spied a family of Wood Ducks. You can tell by the way the mother Wood Duck is looking back at me that she wasn't happy that I discovered her little flock. She quickly ushered them away from me but not before I got one decent photo.

Okeeheelee gave me three really great birds for my Bird A Day list.  I'll be back I'm sure to pick up that Brown Thrasher that frequents the feeder and a Pileated Woodpecker later this summer.   Most people visit Okeeheelee and never make it to the back of the park but it's really a hidden gem.  The feeders always have a good bunting show in the fall/winter/spring and the trails always turn up something interesting.
 

Waxwings and Owls at Okeeheelee

My Bird a Day efforts continue and lately I have enjoyed a park a little closer to home, Okeeheelee Park. Okeeheelee has a great nature center with some nice pine flatwoods to explore. It was here that I finally saw my FOTS Cedar Waxwings. My mission was to go see the nesting Great Horned Owls.  I found the baby and the parent seen below.  I also found Cedar Waxwings galore.  The birding was so great I came back two weekends in a row.  Come back tomorrow to see my other finds!
 

Bird A Day: Black-throated Gray

The Bird A Day challenge has been taking me to new birding spots and expanding my County, State, and Life Lists. Yes, I do keep them all though not on any competitive level, just for fun. The latest adventure took me to Greynold's Park in Miami-Dade where I relocated an overwintering Black-throated Gray Warbler. At first I couldn't find my target bird but the park was so interesting that I enjoyed searching around. As I realized that my pursuit could end with a dip I went back to the spot described online and pished around. Finally I heard a chip note and knew my warbler was there, way up in the top of the canopy. I took a few crummy photos and watched the warbler until it disappeared. One more bird on the Bird A Day challenge, one happy birder!

Shorebirds of Crandon Beach

The Bird A Day efforts are taking me to new birding destinations and recently I paid my $5 dollar entry fee and birded Crandon Park while in Miami.  It was a great shorebird spot with Black-bellied Plovers and Dunlin being the highlights.  But even the Royal Terns and Pelicans gave me some nice looks for ordinary birds.  I only stayed about a hour or so but it worth the trip.  If you're looking for an empty beach during the weekday then Crandon should be on your short list while visiting Miami.

Rufous Hummingbird

It's a little late in the season but I got a lucky break this past weekend and found the over-wintering Rufous Hummingbird at Castellow Hammock Park in Miami-Dade.  There has been some speculation that this could be an Allen's Hummingbird but for my BirdaDay purposes I IDed as a Rufous.  I think it would be a tough call to go with Allen's and Rufous is much more likely but anything could happen.  I think this one will remain a mystery.

Short-tailed Hawk

It's not often that you see a Short-tailed Hawk perching but here's one I had the chance to see at eye-level recently at Everglades National Park.  Andy, Rosana, and I were recently searching for a White-tailed Kite down Research Road when on the way back we saw a small dark hawk on the side of the road.  We stopped the car and realized that it was a Short-tailed Hawk.  As we approached it awkwardly flew across the street and perched only 15 feet away.  It seemed very ruffled in the breast area and kind of stunned.  We weren't sure if it was hit by a car or suffered some other ailment but the one thing we did know, it wasn't functioning at 100 percent.  After we snapped a few photos we left it be perched in the tree.  I don't know what happened to this hawk but I hope it survived.