EVERGLADES AGRICULTURAL AREA-Gladeview Road and 6 Mile Bend Ponds (sod field)

Sunday, August 13, 2023 • Everglades Agricultural Area • Report by Paddy Cunningham and Michele Louden • Images Courtesy of Michele Louden

Wood Storks by Michele Louden

The Everglades Agricultural Area on the southern end of Lake Okeechobee is a massive area of sugar cane and sod farms. During August many of the sod fields are flooded to control nematodes, worm-like animals that damage the grass. This is the perfect food, along with other insects, for hungry shorebirds migrating from the tundra on their way south.

The shallow water levels provide the perfect conditions for shorebird and wading birds in great numbers to find food. Unfortunately for birders, this migration occurs during the peak of summer heat, but seeing the variety of shorebirds and wading birds makes it more than worth the sweat. On our trip there was a nice breeze and plenty of cloud cover making it tolerable.

Armed with some tips on how to more easily identify shorebirds, a small group of eager Phoebes were ready to take on the summer heat and the potential to observe a multitude of birds. We got both and much more. At one point there were 200 Wood Storks circling in a kettle over an open wet field filled with about 1,000 birds of various species. It wasn’t the Powerball jackpot, but in the birding world it was a bonanza. We observed 81 species on this field trip!

Monk Parakeets by Michele Louden

Meeting at the Everglades Holiday Park was a good place to start. In addition to seeing the commonly expected birds we also saw Monk Parakeets, Chimney Swifts and had great views of a Gray Kingbird, for a total of 20 species seen.

Black-necked Stilt by Michele Louden

Gladeview Road is a place where you can pull off to the side and get out with the spotting scopes safely. There we had our first looks at the shorebirds we were seeking. In the open grass, it was great to be able to compare the bill lengths of the Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs. Seeing the jerking behavior of the birds as they walk around helped us picked them out from the other species.

In the sod, we could observe the heavy streaking of the Pectoral Sandpiper with a clear cut off on the belly. The tittering and bobbing behavior of the Spotted Sandpiper, made it easily identifiable along the muddy canal edge. We got a brief look at a Black-bellied Plover with an actual black belly, showing its lingering summer plumage. Many Black-necked Stilt delighted us in their snappy black- and-white tuxedos with red pants (legs). A special treat was the great number of Fulvous Whistling Ducks (21) flying out of the rice fields. As we were leaving, we were able to compare them to Black-bellied Whistling Ducks close to the road. We observed 30 species on Gladeview Road.

Black Tern by Michele Louden

The motherlode was waiting for us at the 6-mile bend ponds. Although difficult to find a place to park, the incredible number of birds were a spectacle to be seen and identified. Besides hundreds of Wood Storks and wading birds, there was a wide variety of the desired shorebirds feeding in great numbers. Starting with the strategy of identifying the largest first, the elegant American Avocets were feeding with their upturned bill in graceful groups. Some retained their beautiful rusty summer plumage. By searching out birds that displayed a sewing machine up-and-down feeding behavior, we were able to locate Long-billed Dowitchers. Walking like little soldiers, the Semipalmated Plovers delightfully ran around the muddy fields feeding among the many Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers (like sheep). The highlight of the day was seeing the spinning Wilson’s Phalaropes using their unique feeding behavior by stirring up the mud to reveal prey to eat. It was a great day for learning to identify shorebirds by silhouette and feeding behaviors. We saw 14 species of shorebirds.

There was also a variety of Terns to see. Target species Black and Gull-billed Terns can be found most easily during summer migration and in agricultural fields. One thing I tell people about identifying seabirds; terns go to work and gulls go to the beach. Terns fly usually straight with determination, looking down to hunt, while gulls fly more haphazardly tilting with the wind. Knowing this can be very helpful in trying to identify the Gull-billed Tern because it can look like a gull with a bigger bill, but flies like a tern hunting, especially over the canals. The small Black Terns are a real treat and can appear almost completely white to mottled black. Other terns that we saw were Least and Forster’s.

A group of Phoebes birders brave the heat to see shorebirds! By Ayla Shove

At this time of year and in this area is a great place to identify a variety of Swallows. They will collect on the telephone wires and sometimes you can see and compare 4 species at a time. Barn Swallows are in great numbers with a blush of deep peach-colored breasts and a shiny black back and forked tail. Bank Swallows have a brown band on their upper breast. Cliff Swallows and Cave Swallows can also be found in these mixed flocks of darting swallows. A total of 43 species were found at 6-mile bend pond standing in one place. Incredible!!

     A rainy picnic under the pavilion at the Belle Glade Marina made for a fun and cozy lunch. Gray-headed Swamphens walked along the edges of the waterways, along with a juvenile Purple Gallinule. A migrating Eastern Kingbird flew into a bush right by us and we compared it to a Gray Kingbird on the wire. The rain turned into an angry thunderstorm as we headed home. It was another incredible day of summer birding in the Everglades Agricultural Area. We observed a total of 81 species on this amazing day.

Past Birding TripsPhoebes BirdEverglades Agricultural Fields