More Bahamas birds, Lakeview Drive Ponds

glam Gallinule

In the Bahamas, we stayed at the Comfort Suites on Paradise Island (following a recommendation by Corey Finger at 10000 Birds). Just down the road, less than a quarter-mile, is a birding hotspot, the Lakeview Drive Ponds, and we visited them several times during our stay.

Even before getting there, there were birds, like this cooperative young Green Heron by the roadside.

too young to know better

And the edge of a dirt parking lot held a few Common Ground-Doves, which were actually a life bird for me.

hello, lifer!

There are two ponds. The east pond is larger and a little wilder, and harder to find a good vantage point to. In one spot at the west end, you can sit on the roadside railing (or stand between it and the pond edge) and look east over the pond, though. The east pond is where the Least Grebes mostly stay (another lifer).

Least but not last

very grebelike

There was a mama grebe with a baby grebe peeping after her around sunset one day. Quite charming, though the light was too poor for photos.

Bahama Duck, yet another life bird

The west pond has a nice viewing platform, and is where the ducks mostly hang out. The exceptionally cute White-Cheeked Pintail (a.k.k Bahama Duck) was a real highlight.

Elena has decided these are the Best Duck.

Other waterbirds were also plentiful--a surprising number of White Ibis, one Glossy Ibis, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Common Gallinules, American Coot, a couple of stray Mallards that I'm assured are releases, Neotropic Cormorant...

Neotropic Cormorant

About sunset, an Osprey flew in to roost, and we saw Merlins as well.

I'll be your Osprey this evening

The viewing platform makes the west pond a popular place to feed ducks. I watched one afternoon as six people (one couple and four individuals) came and fed mostly the resident domestic Muscovy Ducks over a half-hour period. These are very fat ducks. Oddly the Mallards didn't come close for feeding, though the Pintails and Coots did.

Common Gallinule not shy at all

Some of the other waterfowl were quite habituated as well; a couple of the Gallinules would come right up on the platform and mix with the Muscovys, one one of the Great Egrets liked to loaf there as well.

habituated Egret

Notable among the landbirds was a fairly sizable flock of Boat-Tailed Grackles, which apparently are increasing numbers in New Providence recently. I took this photo just to document how many there were in one tree, but I kind of like how it came out.

artistic Grackles

North of the ponds, you can walk east along Casio Road to the Ocean Club. There were some nice birds hanging out in the vegetation on the north side of the road. Though I didn't find the Black-Faced Grassquits I was hoping for I did get amazing close looks at Smooth-Billed Anis foraging in the hedges.

smooth operator

Near the Ocean Club, I had my best view (and only half-decent photo) of a Red-Legged Thrush. I have to admit, I was a little disappointed by these thrushes; for some reason I thought they were bold and easily seen like Robins. Oh well. Very pretty, though.

got to be good-lookin' 'cause you're so hard to see

I'm going to do one more post about the Bahamas soon. Fair warning!

Common Ground-Dove, ohsocute

Florida, part one: Life Birds, Green Cay

Elena and I went to Florida over Presidents Day weekend. We were making a long-overdue visit to our friends Adam and Judy in Palm Beach County, but with their indulgence we got in some birding.

exclusive valet birding

I hadn't been in Florida in fifteen years, since before I started birding, so the life birds started coming as soon as we left the airport. White Ibises are all over the place--roadsides, along the ubiquitous canals, parking lots... And I saw my first Anhinga ouside a restaurant where we stopped for lunch. (My Big Fat Greek Restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale. Very nice place. Try the keftedes.)

Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga)

And Cattle Egrets are common roadside birds as well.

this one was at Green Cay, but trust me, they were all over the roadsides

Birding by the roadside is fun, but the best thing was Green Cay Wetlands.

totemic

This is a fantastic man-made wetlands park, run by Palm Beach County, with about a mile and a half of boardwalks that bring you right up close with normally-reclusive waterbirds.

very shy

This American Bittern wasn't a lifer, but what a view! It was not eight feet away from me, almost under the boardwalk. Funny thing--right after seeing it, I ran into Central Park birder Brian Padden, who was birding there with Big Year birding legend Sandy Komito. I had the pleasure of pointing them at the Bittern.

just off the parking lot

The birds at Green Cay start even before you reach the boardwalk. Along the path from the parking lot to the nature center building, we saw several warblers, Painted Buntings, and White-Winged Doves.

And then you get into the wetlands, and there's just a riot of birds. There are ducks:

I don't know how I missed seeing Blue-Winged Teals before, but I had.

in south Florida, Mottled Ducks replace Mallards as the common ducks

gallinules:

Common Gallinules live up to their name at Green Cay

juvenile Purple Gallinule. I didn't get a really good picture of an adult.

Grey-Headed Swamphen, an exotic South Florida speciality

herons:

Tricolored Heron. Well, I suppose you can claim any number of colors you like...

juvenile Little Blue Heron

adult Little Blue Heron

Glossy Ibises! Wood Storks! Limpkins!

Glossy Ibises, another introduced species quite at home in Florida

Wood Stork. It took HOW long to figure out these were dinosaurs?

this Limpkin was loudly asserting his territorial rights after a dispute

and Roseate Spoonbills. My god, the Spoonbills.

that spoon, that spoon, that Spoonbill...

And those are just my life birds! I'm not even close to done writing about Florida. More soon.