Florida trip summary - never too late...

Well I thought it was perhaps time to post something on my blog. Recently (2 weeks ago) my Dad and I did a whirlwind trip down to sunny south Florida, birding the keys and the Everglades. See below for our entire trip! I'll post some pics in a few days too.

South Florida birding trip, February 17-21, 2013

Ken Burrell kenard89@hotmail.com

Day 1 – Miami-Islamorada Sunday  February 17^th

After being delayed due to the snow in Toronto, we finally touched down into sunny Miami around lunch-time on Sunday. After another brief delay, we were finally off! We had our rental car, a nice Hydundai Elantra and our first and only Fish Crow’s of the trip.

From the airport in Miami we headed straight for the Keys, heading down US Route 1. Along the way, we were in awe of all the waterbirds (even when driving in-land), the number of hawks and vultures and different doves; not to mention the green vegetation and helmet-less motorcyclists! Here we had our first Boat-tailed Grackles, Common Ground-Dove’s, and Black Vultures. Making our way south onto Card Road South, we had our first views of mangroves and the Atlantic. We stopped at Key Largo Hammock State Park in the windy weather (winds were north at 30-40km/hr), and had a brief glimpse of a White-crowned Pigeon, as well as our first Ruby-throated Hummingbird, and our first warblers – Prairie’s, Yellow-rumped, and Palm.

Heading south from Key Largo Hammock State Park, we headed towards Islamorada, where we planned to stay the night in the area. Along the way we spotted a Western Kingbird briefly on the wires. In Islamorada, after settling in at the Days Inn, we checked the ocean, getting our first of several Lesser Black-backed Gulls and some more warblers.

Day 2 – Islamorada-Big Pine Key Monday  February 18^th

Dad and I woke up first thing in Islamorada, and started heading south-west right away. Before we left though, we checked out the ocean from the hotel, picking up our only Northern Gannet, along with several Willets, and more Yellow-rump’s. We stopped at several spots along US-Route 1, picking up the usual waterbirds (e.g., Brown Pelican, the regular herons, Royal Terns and more than enough Laughing Gulls)! Our first notable stop however was at Curry Hammock State Park, where we walked a series of trails, picking up a surprising Worm-eating Warbler and our first of many Northern Parulas. Continuing we stopped at the Marathon airport, picking up a group of 4 Scissor-tailed Flycatchers(!) and another Western Kingbird! Just across the highway we drove around the local golf course, picking up our only 2 Monk Parakeets and a (dark) Short-tailed Hawk (both were lifers). At Ohio Key we saw several shorebirds, including Red Knot, Stilt Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitchers and Least Sandpipers. From here, we continued and stopped at Bahio-Honda State Park. Here we came across our first notable neotropical warblers (asides from the WEWA), netting Ovenbird, American Redstart and a surprising ‘Audubon’s’ Yellow-rumped Warbler (a review species in Florida!).

After having lunch on the beach at Bahia-Honda, we continued onto Big Pine and No Name Keys. Here we came across the endangered subspecies of White-tailed Deer, called ‘Key’ Deer. Traffic was also starting to die down, however costs associated with gas, hotels, and food were becoming more expensive. Several neotropical songbirds were also around, with Great Crested Flycatchers, more Prairie Warblers and another Ovenbird showing up. On No Name Key we had another White-crowned Pigeon as well as a large Iguana. We tried staying overnight in Key West, however all the hotels were booked and we had to back-track to Big Pine Key, where we stayed overnight and enjoyed a nice Mexican/Cuban dinner.

Day 3 – Big Pine Key-Key West-Florida City  Tuesday February 19^th

On day 3, we aimed to be in Key West just after sunrise to check out a few local hotspots. Our first stops were the Golf Course and Botanical Gardens. The Golf Course provided our first waterfowl (with the exception of Red-breasted Merganser) in the freshwater ponds, with Ring-necked Ducks and Blue-winged Teals being seen in good numbers. Wintering neotropical songbirds were also in evidence, with the Botanical Gardens being great. Since the gardens didn’t open until 10am, we decided we would have our own private tour before things opened up...and were rewarded with picking up the female Western Spindalis that had been last seen a few weeks before! We also got other good birds, including; Painted and Indigo Buntings, 2 more Ovenbirds, our first Northern Waterthrushes and a Black-throated Green Warbler. Muscovy Ducks and Red Junglefowl were also around the area and White-eyed Vireos and Prairie Warblers were particularly plentiful in the adjacent mangroves.

 From the Botanical Gardens, we toured Key West, stopping at Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park before heading north and east towards the Everglades on US Route 1. Fort Zachary and Key West was very summer-like, being close to 85 degrees Fahrenheit, however birds were still around and we picked up our first Glossy Ibis, Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks, Black Skimmer and Magnificent Frigatebirds in the area.

Getting off the Keys, Dad and I found a hotel in Florida City, just outside the Everglades. From here we had just enough time to check Lucky Hammock, picking up a wintering Tropical Kingbird (with 2 Western Kingbirds!), and several new open-country birds for the trip; Eastern Meadowlark, Sandhill Cranes, Northern Harriers and Brown Thrasher as well as Pine and Orange-crowned Warblers. Arriving back at our hotel just before dark we picked up a Common Myna while at a stoplight!

Day 4 – Everglades National Park Wednesday February 20^th

Dad and I got up well before dawn (around 06:45) and drove into the park, aiming to be near the south end of the ‘road’ for first light. Along the way we stopped at the park gate, where we picked up 2/3 Lesser Nighthawks wintering in the area. We continued on towards Flamingo, picking up several new birds as the habitat and landscape had dramatically changed from the Caribbean-like Keys to the now flat prairie-like Everglades. We started at Snake Bite, hiking about a mile down the trail and back. Here we picked up our only Limpkin’s, as well as unexpected birds like American Robin and Carolina Wren, plus the usual warblers (Prairie, Palm, N. Parula and N. Waterthrushes). After hitting up Snake Bite, we continued towards Flamingo, stopping at Mrazek Pond. Here we watched it seemed like hundreds of waterbirds in the small pool (~1 acre in size). Literally every heron was here, including Wood Storks, Roseate Spoonbills, and lots of teal (both species). Arriving in Flamingo, high-tide was approaching, and the sand-bar just offshore was packed with an estimated flock of 600(!) Black Skimmers amongst the 180 Willets and other regular waterbirds. Other shorebirds were around in decent numbers with us picking up our only Marbled Godwits, Dunlin and Western Sandpipers. We also scored pretty big, with Dad picking out a group of 11 Swallow-tailed Kites soaring overhead! After checking out the south end around Flamingo, we headed back north towards the park gate. Along the way we picked up Barn Swallow, Black-and-white Warbler, Lesser Scaup and Barred Owls at Mahogany Hammock. By this time, the day had really heated up (mid 80’s) and activity was fairly slow. Nevertheless stopping at the Long Pine Campground netted a rather unexpected Brown-headed Nuthatch! Nearby we also checked out Anhinga Trail. The trail was fantastic, however the crowds definitely were not! Dozens of every species of heron were in evidence often within only a few feet of us! The trail ended up netting several new species like American Bittern, Purple Gallinule, and Black-crowned Night-Heron. After hiking Anhinga Trail, we decided to go back to Flamingo for low-tide when we hoped more shorebirds would be around. Having dinner watching the tide go out was definitely a highlight, along with seeing all the regular waterbirds. Around dusk we headed back to our hotel, but not before stopping at a few spots, listening for any birds calling after dark. Stopping at ‘the’ spot for ‘Cape Sable’ Seaside Sparrow picked up 3-4 birds which were definitely the rarest bird of the trip (most recent estimate is 2,400 birds), plus a bonus Virginia Rail (uncommon) and Great-horned Owl. The day was pretty good, with 96 species throughout the day in perfect summer-like weather as well as seeing the odd Alligator.

Day 5 - Everglades - Miami - Ontario

Day 5 was our last day in sunny Florida. Dad and I again decided we’d try to get to Flamingo for first light and low-tide, hoping for shorebirds. Shorebirds didn’t turn out, so we quickly changed gears, driving back towards Snake Bite to walk the road for wintering neotropical birds. This was a good idea, with us netting 14 species of warblers, many in good numbers (Prairie 15, A. Redstart 7, Black-and-white 14, N. Parual 19, and N. Waterthrush 10), comparable to Pelee or Long Point in May.  Highlights here included our only Cape May (female) and a singing Yellow-throated Warblers, plus our only male Painted Bunting and several Barred Owls calling in broad day-light. After spending the first few hours in the park, we had to start making our way towards the airport in Miami.

Driving out of the park we picked up another White-crowned Pigeon. Getting out of the park, we stopped again at Lucky Hammock, where we finally got the Brown-crested Flycatcher as well as our first American 

Goldfinches and another Painted Bunting.

The drive back to the airport continued with much of the same stuff we had seen on the trip down to the Keys, with lots of Vultures, herons and doves being seen along the way.

All in all it was a great trip, 141 species, great weather (sunny and warm) and most importantly great company! The ABA regional bird finding guide proved to be an invaluable tool for this trip and is highly recommended for birders going to Florida in the future.

Found on the following page is a list of all species seen, plus the frequency observed throughout the trip (N=35 checklists). 

#	Species	Frequency		#	Species	Frequency
1	Muscovy Duck	9		43	Purple Gallinule	3
2	Mottled Duck	3		44	Common Gallinule	17
3	Blue-winged Teal	14		45	American Coot	23
4	Green-winged Teal	3		46	Limpkin	3
5	Ring-necked Duck	6		47	Sandhill Crane	3
6	Lesser Scaup	3		48	Black-bellied Plover	9
7	Red-breasted Merganser	6		49	Killdeer	17
8	Red Junglefowl	6		50	Black-necked Stilt	3
9	Pied-billed Grebe	23		51	Spotted Sandpiper	20
10	Wood Stork	23		52	Greater Yellowlegs	3
11	Magnificent Frigatebird	9		53	Willet	17
12	Northern Gannet	3		54	Lesser Yellowlegs	3
13	Double-crested Cormorant	69		55	Marbled Godwit	3
14	Anhinga	20		56	Ruddy Turnstone	6
15	American White Pelican	17		57	Red Knot	3
16	Brown Pelican	49		58	Sanderling	9
17	American Bittern	6		59	Western Sandpiper	3
18	Great Blue Heron	49		60	Least Sandpiper	11
19	Great Egret	54		61	Dunlin	3
20	Snowy Egret	31		62	Stilt Sandpiper	3
21	Little Blue Heron	29		63	Short-billed Dowitcher	3
22	Tricolored Heron	20		64	Laughing Gull	54
23	Reddish Egret	11		65	Ring-billed Gull	46
24	Cattle Egret	11		66	Herring Gull	17
25	Green Heron	9		67	Lesser Black-backed Gull	11
26	Black-crowned Night-Heron	9		68	Caspian Tern	11
27	White Ibis	49		69	Forster’s Tern	6
28	Glossy Ibis	9		70	Royal Tern	37
29	Roseate Spoonbill	26		71	Black Skimmer	11
30	Black Vulture	29		72	Rock Pigeon	31
31	Turkey Vulture	77		73	White-crowned Pigeon	9
32	Osprey	60		74	Eurasian Collared-Dove	29
33	Swallow-tailed Kite	3		75	Mourning Dove	40
34	Northern Harrier	6		76	Common Ground-Dove	11
35	Sharp-shinned Hawk	3		77	Great-horned Owl	3
36	Cooper’s Hawk	3		78	Barred Owl	6
37	Bald Eagle	9		79	Lesser Nighthawk	3
38	Red-shouldered Hawk	35		80	Ruby-throated Hummingbird	6
39	Broad-winged Hawk	17		81	Belted Kingfisher	46
40	Short-tailed Hawk	3		82	Red-bellied Woodpecker	34
41	Red-tailed Hawk	3		83	Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	11
42	Virginia Rail	3		84	Downy Woodpecker	3

85	Pileated Woodpecker	9		114	Northern Waterthrush	17
86	American Kestrel	40		115	Black-and-white Warbler	6
87	Merlin	3		116	Orange-crowned Warbler	6
88	Monk Parakeet	3		117	Common Yellowthroat	23
89	Eastern Phoebe	23		118	American Redstart	14
90	Great Crested Flycatcher	20		119	Cape May Warbler	3
91	Brown-crested Flycatcher	3		120	Northern Parula	29
92	Tropical Kingbird	3		121	Palm Warbler	60
93	Western Kingbird	11		122	Pine Warbler	6
94	Scissor-tailed Kingbird	3		123	Yellow-rumped Warbler	63
95	Loggerhead Shrike	14		124	Yellow-throated Warbler	3
96	White-eyed Vireo	23		125	Prairie Warbler	31
97	Blue-headed Vireo	6		126	Black-throated Green Warbler	6
98	American Crow	23		127	Western Spindalis	3
99	Fish Crow	9		128	Savannah Sparrow	3
100	Tree Swallow	34		129	Seaside Sparrow	3
101	Barn Swallow	3		130	Northern Cardinal	43
102	Brown-headed Nuthatch	3		131	Indigo Bunting	3
103	House Wren	6		132	Painted Bunting	17
104	Carolina Wren	3		133	Red-winged Blackbird	40
105	Blue-gray Gnatcatcher	46		134	Eastern Meadowlark	9
106	American Robin	3		135	Common Grackle	14
107	Gray Catbird	54		136	Boat-tailed Grackle	14
108	Northern Mockingbird	54		137	Brown-headed Cowbird	6
109	Brown Thrasher	6		138	American Goldfinch	3
110	Common Myna	3		139	House Sparrow	6
111	European Starling	37		140	Northern Shoveler	6
112	Ovenbird	9		141	White-winged Dove	9
113	Worm-eating Warbler	3