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Monday, January 31, 2005

Great Egret - Eco Pond, Flamingo
         Today I biked the Rowdy Bend Trail and hiked the Christian Point Trail. Both trails are nice but the highlight of the day was seeing a flock of 37 Greater Flamingos off of the Snake Bight platform. The birds were probably a half to a quarter mile out into the bay but they were unmistakable in flight as well as identifiable while they were standing in the shallow water. These were lifebirds for me and birds that I have wanted to see for quite some time now. I would love to photograph this flock and think that my only opportunity will be by canoe but I don't know how skiddish the flock will be.  I hope to try it this weekend but we will see how the weather looks. I might push it forward to Wednesday if the weather holds.


Interesting Sightings

  The flamingos were the highlight of the day but Snake Bight produced a number of new birds for my trip list. Shorebirds which were totally absent from my list included Western and Least Sandpipers, a lone Greater Yellowlegs, and a number of Willets. Other nice birds included a white phase Reddish Egret as well as a dark phase that arrived later. Also, I had a Wurderman's Heron (Intermediate Phase Great Blue Heron).  This interesting bird is unique to South Florida and one that is rarely seen.

Other Interesting Observations:

  The western shore of Snake Bight which is not visible from the platform was completely loaded with birds and I hope to have an opportunity to bird and photograph there in the coming weeks by canoe. I was amazed by the sheer number of birds that flew by during mid morning as there was flock after flock with several thousand birds in each flock. An amazing event to witness.

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