Field Trip Report, November 10, 2018

When we first arrived, it was a little foggy so I was concerned we wouldn’t get to see too many species. But later it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day. We had a group of 10 participants and we saw 36 species at Paleo Hammock. Tim brought us through the hammocks of Paleo Preserve sharing his knowledge about birds. He could identify the many bird species by their call. The trails had beautiful old oaks laden with Spanish moss. Around the oaks there were several song bird species and an abundance of Catbirds calling. Kathy spotted a Black and White Warbler, an added treat. We went to the marsh overlook for a full view of the marsh and then continued onto the marsh trail which has been recently opened. We saw a different habitat with thickets and open spaces along a water drainage area. The highlight was a Painted Bunting perched on a branch eating seeds.

Afterwards we traveled onto the C23-24 Reservoir, which brought us more surprises, a beautiful adult male Snail Kite flying overhead. There were 22 species including wading birds, ducks, grebes and a large alligator strolling along undisturbed, but far enough from us not to disturb us.

Thank you Tim for the phenomenal job you did guiding our group and Kathy for recording the bird count.

Report Submitted by Adella Blacka

See below for a complete list of bird species.

Paleo Hammock Preserve, 36 Species

• Storks: Wood Stork

• Wading Birds: Great Blue Heron; Little Blue Heron; Glossy Ibis

• Raptors & Allies: Black Vulture; Turkey Vulture; Osprey; Red-Shouldered Hawk

• Cranes: Sandhill Crane

• Shorebirds: Killdeer; Greater Yellowlegs

• Doves: Mourning Dove

• Woodpeckers: Red-Bellied Woodpecker; Downy Woodpecker; Pileated Woodpecker

• Falconidae: Crested Caracara

• Empidonax: Eastern Phoebe; Great-crested Flycatcher

• Vireos: White-eye Vireo

• Corvidae: Blue Jay; American Crow

• Swallows: Tree Swallow

• Wrens: Carolina Wren

• Gnatcatcher: Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

• Mimids: Gray Catbird

• Wood Warblers: Black-and-White Warbler; Common Yellowthroat; Palm Warbler (Western); Yellow-rumped Warbler

• Sparrows: Swamp Sparrow

• Cardinals & Allies: Northern Cardinal; Indigo bunting; Painted bunting

• Blackbirds: Red-winged Blackbird; Eastern Meadowlark; Boat-tailed Grackle

• C23/C24 Reservoir

• 22 Species

• Waterfowl: Black-bellied Whistling Duck

• Grebes: Pied-Billed Grebe

• Pelicaniformes: Double-crested Cormorant; Anhinga

• Wading Birds: Great Blue Heron; Great Egret; Little Blue Heron; Tri-colored Heron; Cattle Egret Green Heron; Black-crowned Night Heron; Glossy Ibis

• Raptors & Allies: Turkey Vulture; Osprey; Snail Kite; Red-shouldered Hawk

• Gallinules: Common Gallinule

• Limpkins: Limpkin

• Swallows: Tree Swallow

• Sparrows: Savannah Sparrow

• Blackbirds: Boat-Tailed Grackle

• Kingfishers: Belted Kingfisher

En route

• Northern Mockingbird; Common Grackle; Fish Crow

For a complete bird count: Check out ebird.org - Explore Data - Explore Hotspots -Paleo Hammock, St Lucie Co