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Wetlands, Black Rail, thrushes, and DTB



Hi Carolinabirders,

Fans of sewage treatment wetlands should definitely visit two places 
outside of the Carolinas. First, the Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Palm Beach 
County, Florida, just west of Delray Beach. They've constructed a 
complex of impoundments which differ subtly from each other in vegetation 
and water quality. A boardwalk winds over, around, and across the pools. 
It's planted over with abundant native vegetation. The place is 
surrounded by a sprawl of strip malls, franchises, and cookie-cutter 
housing developments, but in these wetlands I've had the best looks I've 
ever gotten of Limpkin, Least Bittern, Sora, Purple Gallinule, and other 
normally secretive marsh birds. I think there was even a White-cheeked 
Pintail reported there once (origin undetermined, of course).

Second, the Edinburgh Scenic Wetlands in Texas. It's one of the stops on 
the Great Texas Birding Trail. Similar to Wakodahatchee, there are 
several separate pools which differ in depth, vegetation, and water 
quality. When I visited there a few weeks ago, it was loaded with 
shorebirds, including many Black-necked Stilts and an American Avocet. 
There were also impressive numbers and variety of herons and egrets, plus 
a Least Grebe leading its chick around, and some Lesser Nighthawks 
resting in the fields. This spot also is gaining a reputation as a good 
place for odonates; we visited it during the "Dragonfly Days" festival 
back in May.

Both of these sites have taken wastewater, and created a tourist 
attraction. Neither charges admission at present, but if they did, I 
think birders would still visit frequently. While many water treatment 
plants probably wouldn't think of such projects on their own, and would 
probably be very amused at the idea of turning sewer water into a tourist 
trap, suggestions from we birders both to them and to local chambers of 
commerce and politicians and such might open some eyes...

Black Rails, now there's a smelly subject! That species has eluded me for 
years. Even a predawn raid on the marshes of Cedar Island NWR came up 
dry. So have after-dark vigils in the Everglades, dragging a rope across 
the "rail meadow" in Anahuac NWR, and a stakeout on South Padre Island. 
I've tried about everything except the old spring-tides (or hurricane 
storm-swell) visit to the coastal marshes. It's appealing to think of 
finding one in a local patch of cattails, but I won't hold my breath. 
Sadly, the best prospect that came into my mind was the marsh at the 
corner of Lake Wheeler and Penny Roads, which has now been cleared as 
part of the renovation of the old mill there as a historical site. There 
is a very grassy old beaver meadow at Horton Pond in Chatham County, but 
the surrounding habitat is pretty densely wooded, not terribly 
rail-hospitable. Hopefully this will fall under Eric Dean's theory of 
"talk about them and they will come"; I usually get to cover Horton's 
Pond on the Jordan Lake NAMC...

About Gray-Cheeked and Bicknell's Thrushes: I haven't had time to read my 
last two issues of Birding yet. Bill Pranty, in "A Birder's Guide to 
Florida", mentions that the lower mandible of Bicknell's is distinctly 
yellow if one gets a good close look; I think he said GC had a pinker 
one. This was the strongest field mark that Andreas Kristensen and I 
noted in our sighting of Bicknell's from Fort Clinch SP in Florida. Does 
the Birding article refute this as a useful field mark? Or not mention it 
at all?

Lastly, I too have received my copy of Dragonflies through Binoculars! 
Woo-hoo!! I was gloating yesterday on the dragonfly listserv, 
particularly at the expense of people who ignored my suggestion to order 
from the International Odonate Research Institute and sent their money to 
big corporate goobers like Amazon or Barnes and Noble instead. Many of 
them have to wait for the second shipment to arrive in October, while the 
IORI customers are all receiving theirs this week...

Good birding, butterflying, dragonflying, and all else,

Josh



Joshua S. Rose
Duke University
Department of Zoology

jsr6@acpub.duke.edu
http://www.duke.edu/~jsr6/