On Saturday, February 8, forty-one birders joined TAS Field Trip Coordinator Brian Rapoza for a very pleasant morning of birding at Black Point Park and along the Black Creek Trail in southern Miami-Dade County. Fifty-one different bird species, plus one additional taxon was recorded during the morning, including two “flagged as rare” birds; a Brown-crested Flycatcher and a Louisiana Waterthrush, both found along the Black Creek Trail. The “additional taxon” was a white morph Great Blue Heron, also known as a Great White Heron, which was seen across from the Black Point jetty. This subspecies was considered a distinct species for nearly 140 years until being lumped with Great Blue Heron by the American Ornithologists’ Union (now known as the American Ornithological Society) in 1973. Ornithologist James A. Kushlan, who attended today’s field trip, argues that Great White Heron should once again be elevated to full species level; a summary of the case for re-splitting this taxon can be viewed here.
Other birds seen during the morning include Red-breasted Merganser, Spotted Sandpiper, Wood Stork, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, American Kestrel, Eastern Phoebe, Great Crested Flycatcher, Common Myna, Ovenbird and Black-and-white, Yellow-throated and Prairie Warblers. An eBird checklist for this morning’s trip, which lists all birds tallied, can be viewed here.
Great White Heron (white morph Great Blue Heron). Photo by Brian Rapoza.