On Saturday, March 8, twenty-seven birders joined TAS Field Trip Coordinator Brian Rapoza for a very pleasant morning of birding at Wakodahatchee and Green Cay Wetlands in southern Palm Beach County. While we waited for participants to arrive, over twenty species of birds were observed in and around the retention pond adjacent to the Wakodahatchee parking area, including Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Eurasian Collared-Dove, White-winged Dove, Common Gallinule, American Coot, Gray-headed Swamphen, Black-necked Stilt, Wood Stork, Anhinga, Double-crested Cormorant, Glossy Ibis, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Snowy Egret, Green Heron, Nanday Parakeet, Boat-tailed Grackle, Palm Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Prairie Warbler and Northern Cardinal. As Wakodahatchee is a very popular place at this time of year, he parking lot filled quickly, resulting in at least a couple of participants being unable to find a place to park. They met us later in the morning at Green Cay Wetlands.
Nesting season was definitely in full swing; birds were on nests in virtually every pond apple tree along Wakodahatchee’s 0.5-mile boardwalk, including Wood Stork, Anhinga, Glossy Ibis, Tricolored Heron, Great Egret and Great Blue Heron. Other birds seen there included Mottled Duck, Rock Pigeon, Pied-billed Grebe, White Ibis, Black-crowned Night Heron, Western Cattle Egret, Turkey Vulture, Red-shouldered Hawk, Belted Kingfisher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Blue Jay, Fish Crow, Purple Martin, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Red-winged Blackbird and Common Yellowthroat. We also saw a couple of mammals: Marsh Rabbit and Gray Squirrel, plus a few American Alligators and various lizards, including Green Iguanas and Basilisk lizards.
After we completed the boardwalk circuit at Wakodahatchee, the group headed to Green Cay Wetlands. The only birds we observed at the feeders along the entrance boardwalk were Mourning Dove and Common Grackle. We made a complete circuit of Green Cay’s 1.5-mile boardwalk, tallying many of the same bird, mammal and lizard species seen at Wakodahatchee, plus a few new ones, including Purple Gallinule, Wilson’s Snipe, Least Bittern (heard), Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Osprey, Blue-headed Vireo, Black-and-white Warbler and Northern Parula (heard). We also saw at least one snake: a Banded Water Snake.
We ended the morning seeing or hearing 51 different birds, all of which are listed in an eBird trip report, which may be viewed by clicking here.
Great Egret: Photo by Brian Rapoza