Tropical Audubon Society

South Florida’s Voice of Conservation

About 40 birders joined me for this morning's bird walk in the East Everglades. Many of those present also attended my Birding 101 class last night at Leica Store Miami. A Barn Owl was seen by a few early-arriving participants. Over seventy Killdeer were assembled near the parking area and a Solitary Sandpiper was seen in a puddle near the entrance gate. All of the participants were treated to the spectacle of thousands of wading birds that are now congregating in the new water impoundments constructed within the area known to local birders as the C-357 sparrow fields. The impoundments have been drained in the past two weeks and only a few puddles remain, but large numbers of waders continue to feed in these puddles. Hundreds of Wood Storks were present, along with large numbers of Great Egret, Black-crowned Night-Heron and White Ibis. Huge numbers of Turkey Vultures and smaller numbers of Black Vultures were also present. We saw over forty species of birds in all, plus a few reptiles, including a snapping turtle, a large gator or two and a couple of garter snakes. Here's the bird list:
Pied-billed Grebe
Wood Stork
Double-crested Cormorant
Anhinga
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Little Blue Heron
Cattle Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
White Ibis
Glossy Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Red-shouldered Hawk
American Coot
Killdeer
Solitary Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Common Ground-Dove
Mourning Dove
Barn Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Eastern Phoebe
Loggerhead Shrike
White-eyed Vireo
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Northern Mockingbird
Common Yellowthroat
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Savannah Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Northern Cardinal
Painted Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle

Thanks to Leica Store Miami for providing high-quality loaner binoculars for many of today's participants!