A small group of birders with raincaots and umbrellas birded the morning away at Turkey Creek in Palm Bay, forgetting about lunch! 20 warbler species were seen , the best for me being Blackburnian, Hooded, Chestnut-sided, Blue-winged, Tennessee, Magnolia, and Black-throated Green.
In addition there were many Indigo Buntings, female Painted Bunting, House Wrens, Baltimore Oriole, Scarlet Tanagers, Blue Grosbeaks, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Swainson Thrushes, Empidonax Flycatchers, Pewees, Phoebes, Yellow-billed Cuckoos, White-eyed, Red-eyed, & Yellow-throated Vireos.
There were so many birds that I'm sure we missed a few here and there.
At 2:30 I stopped for a few minutes at Lori Wilson Park in Cocoa Beach. That turned into 1 1/2 hrs, after calling Howard to join me there. In the first 10 minutes at the pond area, I had 10 species of warblers. All fall there has been little or nothing in the hammock, but I decided to risk the very wet slippery boardwalk just to see. There were, I'd guess, at least 200 birds there and before leaving at 4 p.m., I had 18 species of warblers; the best for me being the Blue-winged, Blackburnian, Worm-eating, Hooded, Canada, Tennessee, Bay-breasted, and Chestnut-sided. While seated a few minutes in the round bench area, at least 12 warblers spun around in all directions at eye level, one hitting the back of my head; a first for me! A Northern Waterthrush sat on a low branch perfectly still for 5 minutes until Howard found it..
There were all the additional birds noted from Turkey Creek except for House Wrens, Oriole, and Yellow-throated vireo. I also had a Summer Tanager. The Grosbeaks were chipping, and the Phoebes singing, and I forgot how tired I was!
Will they be there tomorrow? I doubt it; but then who knows what will come through! After watching these guys for over 20 years on the beach, I still know little!!
Phyllis Mansfield,
Cocoa Beach
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