Twenty-five birders joined Brian Rapoza and Luis Gonzalez for Tropical Audubon’s annual trip to the Everglades Agricultural Area south of Lake Okeechobee in Palm Beach County. The trip began at A1-FEB (Flow Equalization Basin) on US 27. Thirty-six species were tallied here: Fulvous Whistling-Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Mottled Duck, Pied-billed Grebe, Common Ground-Dove, Mourning Dove, Common Gallinule, Gray-headed Swamphen, Limpkin, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, Greater Yellowlegs, Anhinga, Double-crested Cormorant, Least Bittern, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Snowy Egret, Green Heron, Western Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, White Ibis, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Red-shouldered Hawk, Belted Kingfisher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Purple Martin, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Barn Swallow, Eastern Meadowlark, Red-winged Blackbird, Boat-tailed Grackle and Common Yellowthroat. A Common Myna was seen on US 27 as the group left A1-FEB and headed north towards South Bay.
Turning west onto Bolles Canal Road, we encountered huge flocks of migrant Bobolinks feeding in rice fields along the road. At one point, a Cooper’s Hawk flushed the birds and was able to snatch one out of the sky. Black-necked Stilt and Black-crowned Night-Heron were among other birds seen along this road. At Hidden Lake, a couple of miles north of Bolles Canal Road, we found three new shorebirds on sod fields on the south side of the lake: Pectoral Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitcher and Least Sandpiper. Also seen there were Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Gull-billed Tern and Bank Swallow. At the lake itself, we found Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Yellow Warbler and Prairie Warbler.
Next, we headed east to Belle Glade, then north to Torry Island, at the south end of Lake Okeechobee. New birds encountered during a walk on the trail to the observation tower included Eurasian Collared-Dove, Red-tailed Hawk, Downy Woodpecker, Eastern Kingbird, Loggerhead Shrike, Blue Jay, Fish Crow, Northern Mockingbird, Black-and-White Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler and Northern Cardinal. We then took a well-deserved break for lunch back in Belle Glade. Rock Pigeon, Laughing Gull, Black Vulture and House Sparrow were among the birds seen in town.
After lunch, we drove east on CR 880 to Gladeview Road, but only found more of many of the same birds seen during the morning. Heading north to the Hatton Highway sod fields, we encountered only one new bird, a Wood Stork, so we called it a day. An eBird trip report for the day, summarizing all the places visited and birds seen, can be viewed here.
Bobolinks, Photo by Luis Gonzalez