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Posted by Toe on 07:45:57 12/29/07
The Coot Bay CBC encompasses the lower reaches of Everglades National Park, and several teams covered the various count circles involved. Trey couldn't make it today, and I got the lucky task of the Coastal Prairie TraiL, but judging from its condition I think the word "Trail" no longer applies. I'd recommend the name be changed to the Coastal Prairie "Amorphous Suggested Paths for You to Choose From, Some of Which Do Not Exist." Except for Palm Warblers and Common Yellowthroats, I'd say birds were on the scarce side today, but there were some highlights.
After spending over a half hour at the Loop C campground listening for owls in the dark, I headed back to the Flamingo marina to meet up with the other counters. I turned right before reaching the exit to the campground and I'm glad I did. Just to the left of my car, a Short-eared Owl was hunting over the brushy area south of Echo Pond and east of the campground guardshack. I followed it with the highbeams as far as I could. Crippling falls short of the looks I got. After confirming that I was on my own today, I headed back to Loop C to wait for dawn to head into the Trail. No sooner did I start scanning the prairie to the north than I see a Harrier fly to the right and perch. Expecting little else, I was ready to head to the trail when I see another Short-eared Owl fly over the prairie heading south, disappearing behind the trees that mark the entrance to the Coastal Prairie thing.
The wooded section of the trail had almost nothing except for my only 2 Goldfinches of the day. After checking the south loop of the trail and finding none of the great birds that were there last year, I headed west on the main trail then north in search of Sharp-tailed Sparrows. It took a while to find them, but when I did I had both Nelson's and Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows, and they were very cooperative. At one point I had walk-away looks at 3 Nelson's and 3 Marsh Wrens in the same spot. If I'd had a camera. they would have disappeared immediately! That's how it goes.
The walk past the Sharp-tailed Sparrow area didn't produce much until I cam upon a pond with shorebirds. Both Yellowlegs, Dunlin, Least Sandpipers, and Black-bellied Plovers were a nice change of pace. No other interesting birds showed until the walk back, where I had a very cooperative Sedge Wren and Swamp Sparrow.
I only had 43 species, and some misses were puzzling, like both buntings and severral warbler species. I guess it's a slow winer all around. Below is the tally.
Campground area:
Short-eared Owl (2)
Coastal Prairie Trail:
American White Pelican (63)
Double-crested Cormorant (1)
Great Blue Heron (1)
Great Egret (2)
White Ibis (17)
Roseate Spoonbill (3)
Turkey Vulure (4)
Osprey (1)
Bald Eagle (1, juvenile)
Northern Harrier (4)
Red-shouldered Hawk (3)
American Kestrel (1)
Black-bellied Plover (8)
Killdeer (9)
Greater Yellowlegs (8)
Lesser Yellowlegs (72)
Willet (5)
Least Sandpiper (47)
Dunlin (41)
Forster's Tern (1)
Barred Owl (1, heard)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (3)
Pileated Woodpecker (1)
Eastern Phoebe (5)
Great-crested Flycatcher (4)
Loggerhead Shrike (2)
American Crow (2)
Tree Swallow (37)
House Wren (6)
Sedge Wren (1)
Marsh Wren (3)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (10)
Northern Mockingbird (2)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (1)
Prairie Warbler (1)
Palm Warbler (106)
Common Yellowthroat (86)
Savannah Sparrow (21)
Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow (6)
Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow (3)
Sharp-tailed Sparrow Sp. (2) Can I add this to my year list?
Swamp Sparrow (1)
Northern Cardinal (1)
American Goldfinch (2)
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