Tropical Audubon Society

South Florida’s Voice of Conservation

About twenty-five birders joined Richard Crossley (author of the Crossley ID Guide series) for a bird walk this morning at Dump Marsh in Cutler Bay. The walk was sponsored by TAS and Leica Store Miami, which provided Leica optics for some participants. Not only did Richard provide some great bird identification tips during the walk, but we had great looks at some amazing birds, including the Smooth-billed Ani that has been wintering at Dump Marsh. Today, the ani was seen and heard near a sunbathing American Crocodile about halfway down the canal the runs south along the western edge of the marsh. Other highlights included Least Flycatcher and Blue Grosbeak, both seen at or near the north end of the canal. Here's a list of what was seen (participants may want to add other species seen that are not listed here):
Blue-winged Teal
Mottled Duck
Green-winged Teal
Magnificent Frigatebird
Anhinga
Brown Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
White Ibis
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier
Bald Eagle
Cooper's Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Short-tailed Hawk
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Killdeer
Long-billed Dowitcher
Spotted Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Bonaparte's Gull (flyover)
Ring-billed Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Common Ground-Dove
Smooth-billed Ani
Belted Kingfisher
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Monk Parakeet
Least Flycatcher .
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Loggerhead Shrike
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Blue Grosbeak
Painted Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Boat-tailed Grackle