Harns Marsh Preserve 12/11--Snail Kite, Limpkin

Wednesday was time for some specialties. In the eastern part of Lee County lies the Harns Marsh Preserve, the crown jewel of the ECWCD (East County Water Control District). We got there fairly early while the morning was still cool. We'd been to the marsh 4 years ago, before it was officially a preserve. Back then it felt like we were trespassing--there was abandoned farm machinery on the side of the road along other other nondescript junk. Flocks of vultures greeted you and the ground was littered with the shells of apple snails.  And no other birders.This time, the area  seemed cleaner, brush cleared, no junk, plus we weren't the only ones there.  But there were no apple snail shells either, a bad sign, which we'll get to.

Photo: Shari Zirlin

When we arrived the field where the vultures had been was full of Cattle Egrets and we heard a hellacious bugling cry which turned out to be Sandhill Cranes. It didn't Shari long to locate the first Harns Marsh specialty, a Limpkin in the grass across the water. Limpkins are confined to southern Florida, in certain marshes where there are shell fish and are a monospecies--no other birds are related to them.

Photo: Shari Zirlin

We walked up the road when the cranes flew in They and the egrets didn't really seem to care about, something of theme in Florida. I'd rather the birds were more nervous.

Three Jersey birders that we knew were also in Florida; at Brig, earlier in the month, we agreed to stay in contact while we were all in Florida and on Wednesday we met up at the marsh. They got the Limpkin right away, one on the grass, the other sitting in a tree.

Photo: Shari Zirlin

Ken needed the other Harns Marsh specialty, but the lack of snail shells was discouraging since that is the food source for Snail Kite. The five of us scanned the skies, coming up with a Northern Harrier (which can fool you into thinking it is a kite) a Peregrine Falcon which landed in a tree across from us, only to be chased away by a Red-shouldered Hawk. Finally, around 11:30, as the day heated up and the thermals got going, Shari found a Snail Kite practically overhead (a female we think) and we all, along with a few other birders who'd arrived got great looks at this hard to find hawk. And Ken had his lifer.

We garnered 30 species for our 3 hours at this out of the way preserve, including a Wilson's Snipe that we flushed--a complete surprise to me.
Mottled Duck  17
Ring-necked Duck  50
Pied-billed Grebe  40
Wood Stork  3    Flyover
Double-crested Cormorant  2
Anhinga  1
Great Blue Heron  1
Great Egret  4
Snowy Egret  2
Little Blue Heron  5
Tricolored Heron  4
Cattle Egret  20
Glossy Ibis  5
Black Vulture  10
Turkey Vulture  20
Snail Kite  1
Northern Harrier  1
Red-shouldered Hawk  1
Common Gallinule  5
American Coot  25
Limpkin  4    
Sandhill Crane  3    
Least Sandpiper  9
Wilson's Snipe  1
Belted Kingfisher  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  1    Heard
Peregrine Falcon  1
Eastern Phoebe  2
Palm Warbler  10
Boat-tailed Grackle  15

Driving back we saw a boardwalk with birds sitting on the rails, so Shari made the next right which took us into another ECWCD park. Nothing we hadn't seen before, but Shari was able to take this picture of immature White Ibises.