Peaceful Waters Sanctuary Walk

Sunday April, 16, 2023 • Peaceful Waters Sanctuary • Report by Andrea Diamond • Images Courtesy of Michele Louden

Seventeen ladies gathered at Peaceful Waters Sanctuary on April 16th for a Phoebes bird walk, enjoying an enchanting morning observing birds and other wildlife among the serene wetlands. We observed 56 bird species as we strolled the boardwalks and berms of this park located in Wellington, Florida — a 75-minute drive from Miami but well worth it!

The highlights of the day were 9 Wood Ducks flying and swimming and even perching on the boardwalk railing at times. There was a family of Wood Ducks with 4 ducklings. There were also Mottled Ducks with 13 ducklings and Common and Purple Gallinules with babies swimming in the duckweed and hiding in the brush. Many Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks flew over and Blue-winged Teal were swimming with the other ducks.

We also saw a Sora hiding very well in the underbrush (not possible for photos). The other great find was the Least Bittern. We were all so excited to see this small heron in his wetland habitat. As the morning continued, we saw 5 more Least Bitterns; some even perched in the open and others flew right by us. There were many good photo ops. Other interesting birds were observed included 2 Solitary Sandpipers and a very spotty Spotted Sandpiper. The Solitary Sandpiper has a very white belly and bold white spectacles around his eyes, and they are a medium-sized shorebird, while the Spotted Sandpiper is a small shorebird that constantly bobs his tail.

We saw 5 different warblers and 2 female Painted Buntings. We observed all of the herons you would typically find at this location as well as egrets and ibises and even one beautiful pink Roseate Spoonbill (with photo ops). The Red-shouldered Hawk and the Osprey were the 2 raptors we saw. At the end of the walk we all stood near the 4 Purple Martin houses and watched a flutter of activity, with the males and females singing and flying in and out. We also saw 2 marsh rabbits and 1 of the otters that live there.

Nine of us stayed for the picnic under the pavilion afterwards. It’s always such a nice bonding experience with all these lovely ladies. In closing, I’d like to thank Miriam for kindly volunteering to record our Phoebes checklist on ebird; to Roxanne for helping me scout the park earlier in the week; to Jeanne and Liz for not only spotting birds but for helping others “see” and enjoy the birds; to Michele for capturing some great shots of the wondrous birds and mammals we were lucky to observe and enjoy. And finally, a sincere thank you to all the remaining Phoebes who probably woke up before the crack of dawn to attend this walk: Amanda, Brucie, Jenny, Maribel, Gemma, Deb, Sylvia, Tawny, Melissa, Gabriela, Sally, Yadira and Kathy.