South Florida Birding (3 Viewers)

[csanchez7]

I highly recommend the Space Coast Birding Festival. I was there on Friday only, mostly networking with the various touring companies.

The leaders are excellent and the pelagic trip finale can be excellent as well -- a good way to add Red Phalarope to your state list.

Carlos

 

[merryslug]

Missed you Carlos - we drove up Saturday morning (nothing like starting at 3AM and driving for 3 hours!) and arrived right in time for our first field trip. SO glad we went though!

 

[Cervus]

Not sure where I should post this, but I had a surprise sighting out at Grassy Waters Preserve this afternoon...a Yellow-billed Cuckoo! It was in a cypress tree at the edge of the water just to the left of the boardwalk entrance (by the parking lot). I've never seen one in a cypress swamp habitat before.

Birds weren't plentiful, though...saw one each of Great Crested Flycatcher, Blackpoll Warbler, Palm Warbler, American Redstart, and female Common Yellowthroat. I'd gone out there for Snail Kites, but there weren't any raptors at all, not even any vultures on the thermals. I did see a flock of 8 Wood Storks fly over, though. I don't know if I've ever seen them fly in a flock before; they tend to be solitary.

A few days ago John D. MacArthur State Park was a nice place for migrant warblers...got good closeup looks at dozens of Northern Parulas, Cape Mays, Black-and-whites, Blackpolls, and Black-throated Blues.

 

[Sydsmythe]

Went to Ocean Ridge natural area Thursday night. It made up for all the failed Owl Prowls of last year. GHO flew by twice and then perched in a Red Mangrove. Heard several Screech Owl calls but didn't see any till I got back towards A1A. Played the call on my phone and then it seemed they were all over the place. A mated pair were not at all skittish and stayed close to me. I even got to see them get amorous on the power line.

There were a few fireflies but it was not the enchanting light display that will likely occur in a few months.

 

[Sydsmythe]

Saw a male snail kite at A.R.M. this past Sunday. At first he was in the second to last impoundment on the south end if you walk west over the white pedestrian bridge. He was there a good 45 minutes but he was too far away for both my lens and my photography skills, so I just got some low quality shots. He eventually flew onto the tree island.
Then about an hour later I headed back towards that area to see if he was around. I guess it was him I saw a couple of impoundments north of where I had first spotted him. He just inspired me to get saving for a longer lens. He was just too gorgeous

 

[Zackiedawg]

Visited Arthur Marshall Refuge Saturday around 4pm to see the Great Horned Owls, which did not disappoint - poppa owl was on prominent display and two owlets were hiding their faces in some spanish moss but moving around and stretching their wings. Didn't see momma.

While there, decided to hit the levees out in the first compound by the parking lot to see if anything was there - and surprisingly it was! All along the canal separating Bedner's Farm from the compound, across the canal in the trees that line the opposite shore, was all the action. At least 4 male painted buntings, 2 female, one female indigo bunting, several grey catbirds, and the best sighting of all, a beautiful male blue grosbeak in full bold color. Also spotted were 6 pileated woodpeckers which are quite active out there, two belted kingfishers, lots of palm, yellow rumped, and a few prairie warblers, and a cute 9-banded armadillo that practically ran into my left leg (blind and not real smart!).

Green Cay's been very active with spring migration and good sightings of more shy and rare locals too, but I'll update that on the Green Cay thread.

 

[Sydsmythe]

At Arthur Marshall---had an encounter with a gorgeous doe. We keep trying to find the bobcat and were told there are little ones....Darn snail kite in the westernmost area just before the levee, and I usually get there just before sunset, so even though he's close it's not too great for photos. I've seen all the GHO family. So cool.
The guy who takes care of the aple snails has been there; he's interesting.

 

[Zackiedawg]

Updates on Spanish River (beach) park in Boca - it's been surprisingly good there the past month or two - and this weekend had a pretty nice selection. I stopped by on Saturday morning, grey and overcast all day but before the rain hit. Painted buntings in abundance, Spotted Sandpipers by the police boat docks, lots and lots of cardinals and blue jays, prairie warblers continue to be there, yellow-rumped and palm warblers, a great first-time sighting for me of black-whiskered vireo, pileated woodpeckers, red-bellied woodpeckers, and a few red-shouldered hawks. Also, chimney swifts flying overhead.

I've been hearing other reports from there the past few days of summer tanagers, red-eyed vireos, white-eyed vireos, cape may warblers, and more - given what I was able to see in 1 hour on a grey morning, I don't have any real reason to doubt them.

 

[Zackiedawg]

Update this weekend on Daggerwing Nature Center in Boca Raton, where I stopped by Saturday morning. Lots of grey catbirds, blue jays, cardinals, two sora, little blue heron, ibis, pileated and red-bellied woodpeckers, cormorants and anhingas, great egret, osprey. The good sightings for the day were northern parula, prairie warbler, and the best of all, two great crested flycatchers singing away and hopping tree to tree right over my head.

 

[Zackiedawg]

Full on Spring migration today at Spanish River park in Boca Raton! Spotted and confirmed today were: white eyed vireo, red-eyed vireo, black whiskered vireo, black throated blue warbler, magnolia warbler, prairie warbler, Connecticut warbler, chimney swift, pileated, red-bellied, and downy woodpeckers, blue-headed vireo, and ovenbird. There were a few as-yet unidentified birds that I took some shots of and need to process and get some help with IDs.

 

[Zackiedawg]

Picking this thread back up now that fall migration is beginning, I thought I'd start with a weekend update from Spanish River Sunday - spotted the great-crested flycatchers back again for fall, along with some prairie warblers, pine warblers, and blue-grey gnatcatchers. Also omnipresent pileated woodpeckers were very active, along with the more usual birds - cardinals, blue jays, mockingbirds, red-bellied woodpeckers, monk parakeets, and a screetch owl.

 

[Zackiedawg]

A few October updates - these from my own backyard on Saturday and Sunday while relaxing in my swimming pool. I had flyovers of both peregrine falcon and red-tailed hawk, both first time sightings for me in South Florida, and especially rare around my house in Boca Raton. Very cool to see a red-tailed for a change, rather than the usual cooper's and red-shouldered (both of which I also saw in my yard). Migrators were around as well, with blue-grey gnatcatchers, yellow-throated warblers, red-eyed vireos, black and white warblers, common yellowthroats, grey catbirds, red-bellied woodpecker and downy woodpecker, white-winged doves, collared doves, mourning doves, blue jays, and millions of grackles, all without ever leaving my swimming pool.

 

[Zackiedawg]

At Arthur Marshall Refuge, I spotted and photographed my first Carolina wren, just at the left entrance to the cypress trail about 50 feet in. Northern waterthrush at the little pond behind the building. BG gnatcatchers, palm warblers all over. Eastern phoebes in large numbers out on the marsh trails, along with dozens of palm warblers and some pine warblers. Yellow-throated warblers and common yellowthroats also. Belted kingfisher along the road bordering the first pond by the marsh trails. Pileated and red-bellied woodpeckers all around, but more prominently, a possible red-headed woodpecker in a telephone pole right in front of the overflow/bus parking area.

 

[Zackiedawg]

This past weekend, I headed over to Tall Cypress in Coconut Creek after hearing of possible wood ducks in the pond just north of the park - and they were indeed there - a male and female wood duck...first-time sighting for me, so very cool. Also there - monk parakeets, palm & pine warblers, osprey, a broad-shouldered hawk, downy & red-bellied woodies, BG gnatcatchers, and a possible indigo bunting female.