17 people met up at Wakodahatchee. (where I got a year bird, Black-necked Stilt in the lake by the parking lot). I decided we should go to Green Cay first because the parking lot has been getting full by 9:30 from reports I read. We first visited the Red-shouldered hawk nest with its chicks and then commenced to circle the boardwalk The Martin houses were full and the sky was full of them too. We had a stunning Purple Gallinule in great light when, suddenly, a male jumped on top of it and they mated! I was told 2 female Wood Ducks flew in a circle near me and then promptly left the park, and I missed it!An American Bittern was spotted by a couple of people and most all of us saw a flying Sora. A Pied-billed Grebe kept chasing away Blue-winged Teal, must have been a nest nearby. A Red-shouldered Hawk flew over us with something dangling from its beak; that something had legs. Probably going to feed the chicks we saw earlier. We found 5 Wilson’s Snipes, some of them being harassed by male Blue-winged Teal. Lastly, we crossed Hagen Ranch Road to find the Great Horned Owls. And we lucked out. Saw one parent and one really big, fluffy chick. Some people went back to Wakodahatchee but I got all turned around, due to being tired and/or because my back hurt. So I never made it back there. Three year birds for me, at 180!
