We tried for the Red-whiskered Bulbul in the traditional area, but failed to find any. However, we did find a pair of White-winged Parakeets feeding on the flowers of a silky flowering tree. We drove to where the rehabilitated Red-footed Booby had been returning to roost, but a worker told us that the bird had not been seen today. We then ran into Adrian Binns, with whom we will go to the Dry Tortugas in a few days. He told us about the Baptist Hospital site for the bulbuls and the University of Miami site for Spot-breasted Oriole. We went to those two places to reconnoiter them for tomorrow. We also tried Fairchild Botanical Gardens for exotics, but since the temperature was in the high 80's, we didn't have any luck. After our tour of the area we headed to the Everglades where we spent the rest of the afternoon at Anhinga Trail where we did see Anhingas. But more importantly after being patient we got to see the Smooth-billed Ani that has been appearing there from time to time (photo). I looked for this bird in January in an industrial area near the Ft. Lauderdale airport which was an ugly place to bird. I'm glad we found it today in a more natural area. On the way back from the Everglades John mentioned that we should be looking for Common Nighthawks. I glanced out of the car window and there indeed was a nighthawk on the wire (photo). Seeing nighthawks like this is fairly common in Florida during their migration. The total is now 483.
We tried for the Red-whiskered Bulbul in the traditional area, but failed to find any. However, we did find a pair of White-winged Parakeets feeding on the flowers of a silky flowering tree. We drove to where the rehabilitated Red-footed Booby had been returning to roost, but a worker told us that the bird had not been seen today. We then ran into Adrian Binns, with whom we will go to the Dry Tortugas in a few days. He told us about the Baptist Hospital site for the bulbuls and the University of Miami site for Spot-breasted Oriole. We went to those two places to reconnoiter them for tomorrow. We also tried Fairchild Botanical Gardens for exotics, but since the temperature was in the high 80's, we didn't have any luck. After our tour of the area we headed to the Everglades where we spent the rest of the afternoon at Anhinga Trail where we did see Anhingas. But more importantly after being patient we got to see the Smooth-billed Ani that has been appearing there from time to time (photo). I looked for this bird in January in an industrial area near the Ft. Lauderdale airport which was an ugly place to bird. I'm glad we found it today in a more natural area. On the way back from the Everglades John mentioned that we should be looking for Common Nighthawks. I glanced out of the car window and there indeed was a nighthawk on the wire (photo). Seeing nighthawks like this is fairly common in Florida during their migration. The total is now 483.
Bob ... In case you haven't heard, a La Sagra's Flycatcher was on the ABA Rarities list again this morning ...
ReplyDeleteLa Sagra's Flycatcher (Myiarchus sagrae) (1)
Reported Apr 25, 2010 08:40 by Robin Diaz
- Bill Baggs / Cape Florida SP, Miami-Dade, Florida
- Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=25.6733,-80.1582&ll=25.6733,-80.1582
- Comments : "Seen at 7:40 AM in banding area; heard at 8:55 in same general area; called 8 times, then 4 more times a few minutes later - closer to paved bike path; seen at 9:50 AM and heard again before noon. Large VENT group and several birders from KS.