A total of 14 birders joined Nancy Freedman on this trip around different hotspots in Southern Palm Beach, 3 were stops made and 76 different species were seen between all 3 hotspots.
First stop was at Wakodahatchee Wetlands that gave great views of 56 different species including a pair of Purple Gallinules, 16 Gray-headed Swamphens, a foraging American Bittern, a very cooperative Sora and the first Purple Martins of the year. Checklist here.
At this point, the group split by accident with some early to leave the boardwalk went to Green Cay Wetlands where they got views of a roosting Chuck’s-wills-Widow and Wilson’s Snipe. However, most of the group that stayed beyond to see an eclipse male Northern Shoveler instead went to the second stop of Peaceful Water Wetlands. While there a number of duck species were seen, including Mottled Duck, a single Gadwall and American Wigeon. The Spot-breasted Oriole was sadly missed, but seeing 5 different Painted Buntings, including an adult male was still a nice sighting. It started raining as we headed back to the cars and at this point, only 3 birders would go to the last stop of the day. Checklist here.
The final stop was Belle Glade Marina & Torry Island, this spot would normally be overlooked, but with how many rarities have been reported from this place in the past few months, a stop was needed. Alongside the devious origin Tricolored Munias, up close views of the male Vermillion Flycatcher, 2 Tropical Kingbirds, and a number of seedeaters like Dickcissel, Indigo and Painted Bunting, and Blue Grosbeak were all seen, giving us 5/5 for the targets we wanted to see in this park and a good ending to this cloudy and partially chilly day. Checklist here
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