On Saturday, October 28, twenty-five birders joined me for Tropical Audubon’s annual visit to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples. Most of the group met at the Miccosukee Service Plaza on Alligator Alley (I-75), then caravaned to Corkscrew via CR 833 and CR 846, searching for roadside birds along the way. Our main targets in this area were Wild Turkey, Sandhill Crane and Crested Caracara and we saw several of each. Other birds encountered before arriving at Corkscrew included Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Pied-billed Grebe, Common Ground-Dove, American Coot, Common and Purple Gallinule, Limpkin, Black-necked Stilt, Long-billed Dowitcher, Greater Yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper, Wood Stork, Anhinga, American Bittern, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Little Blue, Tricolored, Green and Great Blue Heron, Great, Snowy and Western Cattle Egret, White and Glossy Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Black and Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Red-shouldered Hawk, Belted Kingfisher, Pileated Woodpecker, American Kestrel, Eastern Phoebe, Loggerhead Shrike, American Crow and Eastern Meadowlark. We also saw several White-tailed Deer along the way.
Birding at Corkscrew was slow initially, but picked up considerable as we entered the heart of the sanctuary. Among the birds seen while exploring the 2.25-mile boardwalk were Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Sharp-shinned, Red-shouldered and Short-tailed Hawk, Red-bellied and Downy Woodpecker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Great Crested Flycatcher, White-eyed, Yellow-throated and Blue-headed Vireo, Blue Jay, Tufted Titmouse, Tree and Barn Swallow, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, House and Carolina Wren, Gray Catbird and fourteen warbler species: Black-and-white, Tennessee, Hooded, Magnolia, Bay-breasted, Palm, Pine, Yellow-throated, Prairie and Black-throated Green Warblers, as well as Northern Waterthrush, Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart and Northern Parula.
An eBird trip report listing the 83 species seen during the trip can be viewed here. Thanks to Luis Gonzalez for keeping track of everything seen during the day.