BIRD WALK - Jan. 31, 2012
Ann, Ralph and Gloria, Denny, and I started our morning by checking for the Osprey on the front nest. It seems that we don’t have them nesting there this year – There’s been no nest-building activity at the platform. I see them right in the area though, so I think they’ve chosen a new near-by spot. We had some nice sightings as we walked down by the front ponds – Ann spotted a Wood Stork, and we actually got to see a cute House Wren who stayed in sight after his chattering caught our attention!
Belted Kingfisher Sandhill Crane Great Egret
American Robin Boat-tail Grackle Fish Crow
Northern Mockingbird Common Moorhen Anhinga
Eastern Phoebe Double-crested Cormorant Wood Stork
Red-bellied Woodpecker Limpkin House Wren
Palm Warbler Red-shouldered Hawk Little Blue Heron
Carolina Wren (v)
As we continued down around thru ‘the flats’, we checked the trees along the side ridges. Denny spotted a pair of Red-bellied woodpeckers, who gave us real nice looks at them. A few small birds flitted in the trees, but we could only identify a few before they took off.
Mourning Dove White Ibis Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Osprey Black Vulture Turkey Vulture
Blue-grey Gnatcatcher
We circled the ponds by the treatment plant, and found the ‘line-up’ of the ‘black-type’ birds on the wires, that we often see there… It’s a challenge to try to sort them out into species, picking out the differences in bill and head size, tail size and shape, color shading, etc. But that challenge is one of the enjoyments of birding! These species are the first three below. We went on to see a neat baby alligator in one of the ponds – catching some rays.
Red-winged Blackbird Brown-headed Cowbird Common Grackle
Glossy Ibis Hooded Merganser Great Blue Heron
Tri-colored Heron Pied-billed Grebe
We took one of the new trails and went down along the butterfly garden. Many of last year’s plantings that were hit by last month’s frost are sprouting back up again – it’s spring! It should look quite different there in another month.
But our most exciting find was – ducks in the wet area on beyond the garden, in the flooded ‘hills and swales’. There were about 20 Green-winged Teals, which are a small, beautiful duck, and they were close enough to get a real nice view of them. A couple Blue-winged Teals were there, which I found there several days before. The ducks are starting their migration north, and may not hang around here too much longer, but it was a great sight, since it’s been years since we’ve had them on our Sanlan bird list!
Grey Catbird Northern Cardinal
Green-winged Teal Blue-winged Teal
Randi Denham
