Bird Walk Wrap-Up: Kendale Lakes Park, January 2022
Photos Courtesy of Michele Louden • Sunday, January 30, 2022 • Kendale Lakes Park
Why would 20 women show up to a local park in Miami early one Sunday morning when overnight temperatures had dropped to 38F? …for an abundance of winter birds and the camaraderie, of course! The Phoebes held their first bird walk of the new year at Kendale Lakes Park on January 30, 2022. KLP is an impressive little park tallying 137 species of birds amassed since 1998. In this park 26 species of warblers have been observed and documented during the fall and winter.
Summer Tanager. Photo by Michele Louden.
On this nippy 47F morning we found 32 different birds including two of our target birds…Summer Tanager and Rufous Hummingbird! For me and a few others watching the gorgeous olive-green and yellow Summer Tanager catch, smack and painstakingly devour a Tomato Hornworm was a treat (especially for the tanager). A few of the ladies were repulsed as the bird used its bill to tear open, pull out and eat the worm’s entrails. But taking the time to observe specific bird behavior like this can be as rewarding as being able to identify birds. It’s part and parcel of getting to know the birds and becoming a skilled birder.
Rufous Hummingbird. Photo by Michele Louden.
We found the continuing female Rufous Hummingbird in one of the lovely Hong Kong Orchid trees planted throughout the park. The Hong Kong Orchid tree is one of the most beautiful Florida flowering trees with breathtaking and fragrant reddish-purple flowers. The blossoms usually appear in December through May. The Rufous Hummingbird sat and posed in the open for several minutes giving us excellent views. It is a tiny hummingbird with a brown-green crown and upper parts, a speckled throat and pale rufous flanks. It’s a little bigger and chunkier than the four Ruby-throated Hummingbirds we spotted feeding alongside in the orchid trees.
Later that morning the Phoebes enjoyed our traditional after bird-walk picnic. Since the picnic tables were chained down and sitting in the shade, we chose a nearby sunny spot to set up folding lawn and camp chairs. As we munched on savory and sweet treats, we chatted, laughed and planned our next outing. This cool, crisp, sunny morning with blue skies was a perfect way to jump-start our metabolisms and share fun and fellowship.
Birds We Saw
Egyptian Goose, 1
Muscovy Duck (Established Feral), 6
Mourning Dove, 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird, 4
Rufous Hummingbird, 1
Ring-billed Gull, 2
Double-crested Cormorant, 1
Little Blue Heron, 1
Cattle Egret, 2
White Ibis, 2
Black Vulture, 3
Turkey Vulture, 1
Cooper's Hawk, 2
Red-shouldered Hawk, 1
Short-tailed Hawk, 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker, 1
American Kestrel, 1
Yellow-throated Vireo, 1
Blue Jay, 1
Fish Crow, 11
Purple Martin, 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, 4
European Starling, 7
Northern Mockingbird, 5
Common Grackle, 4
Black-and-white Warbler, 3
Northern Parula, 3
Palm Warbler (Western), 30
Prairie Warbler, 1
Black-throated Green Warbler, 1
Summer Tanager, 1