STATEWIDE FINDS

I started the morning off down in Ft. Lauderdale where I had to be at a meeting with a client.  I had a little bit of time prior to the meeting and was close to Evergreen Cemetery so I decided to see if the overnight winds and front had left anything interesting for me to discover.  It was a very good decision because the cemetery was pretty lively...with migrant avian activity. 

I probably would have uncovered some more species, but I was almost late for the meeting because I was enjoying all the close looks at the myriad of migrants present.  I observed 10 different wood warbler species, with black-throated blues being the most dominant (after the palms).  Worm-eating, pine, prairie, ovenbird, american redstart, northern parula, black and white, and yellow-throated warblers were great treats.  Other migrants included a pair of male scarlet tanagers, swainson's and gray-cheeked thrushes, a somewhat late veery, and painted buntings (including a showy, vibrant male with 2 females). 

After the meeting was over, I decided to check out the Fern Forest Nature Center further north in Broward County to see if I could re-locate the yellow-bellied flycatcher reported there a few days earlier.  For being afternoon, the place wasn't too "unbirdy", with a few warbler species present, along with pileated woodpeckers, wood storks, and other typical passerines.  No yellow-bellied flycatchers were present.  In fact, I did not even run into one acadian or eastern phoebe...no Tyrannidae to be found.

On my way back I decided to take a short trip down SR 70 to see if I could find some caracara.  Before I encountered any, I found a triangular shaped wetland area on the south side of the road just west of Summerlin Road.  I slammed on the brakes (thankfully no one was behind me), made a quick u-turn, and hopped on the truck to see what was out there.  The wetland was absolutely slamming with waterfowl, waders, and shore birds.  Loads of american white pelicans, roseate spoonbills, glossy ibis, typical egrets and herons, and a limpkin were present.  6 duck species were present, including mottled, blue-winged teal, green-winged teal, northern shoveler, lesser scaup, and early american wigeon.  Many, many shore birds were present, but most were so small and far out, I couldn't ID all of them.  Those I could included killdeer, least sandpiper, long-billed dowitchers, lesser and greater yellowlegs, and a lone wilson's snipe and solitary sandpiper.

By then it was time to start heading back home, and besides a few adult caracara, there wasn't much to write home about, especially as it was growing to dusk.  All in all, it was a truly fantastic day, with being able to see all those different birds in one day and in all the different locales.  I've attached a few experimental photos using my iphone and binocs to "digi noc" the wealth of birds present off SR 70 in the Summerlin Road wetlands.