Comments on: Heavy migration over Florida

By: Angel & Mariel

Angel & Mariel — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 03:26:32 +0000

Thanks for the radar David.
Yesterday afternoon we went to Barnes and were excited to see a new group of migrants (American Redstarts, Black-throated Blues, B&W Warblers and FOTS Blackpoll). We were also lucky enough to finally see the Swainson’s Warbler which was awesome!

Today we birded Barnes, Kendall Indian Hammock & Matheson (east side).
At Barnes we observed Blackpoll, B/W Warbler & one Ovenbird.
Kendall Indian Hammock pleasantly surprised us with 5 Black-throated Green Warblers. Quite nice! We also observed several B/W Warblers, Blackpoll, a Prairie Warbler that glowed like a neon, Cape May, many Redstarts, few Black-throated Blue and about 5 Northern Parula. The Blue Jays observed us for a while as we ate lunch in the park and then we headed off towards Matheson.
We were treated at Matheson to a good group of 35 Ruddy Turnstones (some in breeding plumage) foraging along the shoreline. Which was absolutely awesome! After sometime of observing them a car passed flushing two groups together making them call out loudly and chase each other which made things even more interesting. We also saw Semipalmated Plovers, Spotted Sandpipers, a stunning Northern Parula, singing Prairies and other shorebirds.
Today was a good birding day for us!

Nature is Awesome!
Angel & Mariel

By: tricia

tricia — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 02:34:21 +0000

I was out on Sanibel today hoping to find some migrants at the lighthouse.
Found 2 palm warblers , a gray kingbird and 2 loons at the fishing pier.
DingDarling and Lovers Key SP were also devoid of activity.

By: Charlie Ewell

Charlie Ewell — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 01:58:45 +0000

BTW, I forgot to mention in the previous post that the pattern of warbler species does fit in nicely with the radar movement. These are Caribbean migrants, not trans-Gulf, matching up with the heavy movement out of Cuba the last two nights! It’s nice when 2+2 does in fact = 4!!!

By: Charlie Ewell

Charlie Ewell — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 01:52:28 +0000

David,

Here is a report from TAS Birdboard for the east coast today: Matheson Hammock:

In Reply to: Matheson Hammock trail migrants! posted by Felipe G.

This afternoon I checked out the Matheson Hammock trail and WOW.. Warblers were everywhere! The water puddles almost at the end of the trail had the biggest concentration of birds. It would of been good having another pair of eyes to help me out. I ended up with 11 species of warblers. It would of been good having another pair of eyes to help me out.The birds seen were:

Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Northern Parula
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Worm-eating Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Waterthrush
Ovenbird

By: Elaine

Elaine — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 23:47:56 +0000

Lake Okeechobee is approx. 37 miles long by 30 miles wide, totaling more than 730 square miles, with an average depth of 10 feet. It is a protected by the state of Florida. Lake Okeechobee Santuary lies just south of Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park, and at one time the southern point of the lake was the part of the Everglades.

The rare Everglades kite is found in the southwest section of the Lake. Resident birds include sandhill cranes, anhingas, bald eagles, osprey, purple gallinule, rails, sparrows, and many gulls, other raptors, and wading birds such as herons and egrets. Autumn and Spring migrations bring many variety of birds including painted and indigo buntings. Warblers sometimes cover the tree tops in great numbers.

It is a place where birders often travel for overnight trips. Unfortunately, the Everglades from Okeechobee south to the Keys and east to the Atlantic have been developed into residential areas.

BTW, I used to live in Millstone Borough, just up from the corner of Amwell and River Road. It is a beautiful area. I miss Colonial Park and watching thousands Canadas coming in from the outlying fields en masse at sunset. Always remind me of Klingon space ships. LOL