April 2013 48
see a Marsh Wren or Least Bittern peeking out of the reeds that come close to the railing. Out in the water the boardwalk lets you get close to the ducks, the cute little male Ruddy Ducks with their sky blue bills, the colorful Northern Shovelers, and the pretty patterned teals. Coots and Moorhens are all over the place, and the platforms made by old reeds let you get a good look at their bizarre feet. A Pied-billed Grebe with chicks on her back is an adorable sight, and the Neotropic Cormorants and Brown Pelicans give a good show. Avocets are often present but keep themselves much farther away. The boardwalk has a tower that lets you see up over the reeds to the mud flats and smaller shallow areas where sandpipers hang out, along with the odd Purple Gallinule or Wilson’s Phalarope. Keep an eye overhead for White-Faced Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, and Northern Harrier. If you’re lucky you might get to witness the feeding style of the Black Skimmer or the Forster’s Tern. All types of herons and egrets hang out along the reed edges and sometimes even on the boardwalk, while Fulvous and Black-bellied Whistling Ducks seem to like the shallow water. Every time you visit the birding center there is a different combination of birds. My favorite time to go is about 4:00 in the afternoon, but anytime you go you’ll see something. Don’t forget to look under the boardwalk for one of the two resident alligators. You can pick up a birding checklist here or at the other birding spots; it has a map to the best spots on the island.
A Coot Foot
-Susan Decker
Philadelphia Vireo at Paradise Pond
-Susan Decker
or at the other birding spots; it has a map to the best spots on the island.