[bcbirdclub] Sunny South
- From: "Jerry Thornhill" <jthill@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "BCBC Listserve" <bcbirdclub@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "Janice Martin" <redwing@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 22 Jan 2009 21:08:31 -0500
Greetings fellow listers,
Well, the sunny south is trying to live up to its name. We still woke
up to record cold for Fort Pierce today (22º), but we managed to make it
up to 68º which felt positively balmy after the last two days.
We had a pretty good day with 44 species. The highlights were the two
birds Jane has been bugging me about for years. ?If I can just see a
Painted Bunting and a Purple Gallinule, I?ll die happy.? At Fort Pierce
Inlet State Park, I spotted a small bird cross the walkway and gave Jane
the location. She swooned to the ground and exclaimed, ?Painted
Bunting.? as it flew away. Unfortunately, I didn?t get a good look at
the male. A few steps down the walkway, I had a good look at the
female.
Late in the day, we got to Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National
Wildlife Refuge. It closes at sunset and we had about 30 minutes to
bird. We started out the Marsh Trail and began seeing Common Moorhens.
As we walked along, I kept looking and saying, ?Common Moorhen, Common
Moorhen, ?? Suddenly, it was ?PURPLE GALLINULE!!? The bird was very
cooperative. It was only about 30 feet away when I spotted it in the
edge of some water lilies. It then move even closer and out into the
open. We watched for several minutes.
Other highlights for the day: both Night-Herons, lots of Osprey
catching/eating fish, Glossy Ibis, a large group of Black Skimmers, and
an island that had over 200 Brown Pelicans perched in trees. There was
no sign of nests, but the trees were well white-washed and the birds
were there at 8:00 in the morning and were still there at noon.
Tomorrow, we hit the road for Corkscrew Sanctuary.
Thanks for all the positive feedback.
Jerry
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