Little Birder: Southern Florida

Saturday, June 21: On the last morning of Jen's conference, I stayed closer to Orlando and hit a couple local spots. I didn't get a single year bird, but it was a fun morning of birding nonetheless, and I did find a few new state birds. The first was Hal Scott Park, where I failed to find a Brown-headed Nuthatch, but did have good numbers of Bachman's Sparrows. I almost stepped on this brightly colored grasshopper, which was the first of many.

Southeastern Lubber Grasshopper

Hal Scott Regional Preserve and Park, Orange Co, FL

June 21, 2014

Next it was on to Orlando Wetlands, which I wish I had discovered earlier in the trip because it was a rather impressive location. I finally got to see a Purple Gallinule here, and it didn't take long to pick up a Least Bittern calling. This big allgator was on the bank, looking like he was having a good chuckle about something. Who knows what kinds of jokes gators tell themselves to pass the time.

American Alligator

Orlando Wetlands, Orange Co, FL

June 21, 2014

This was the highest concentration of Anhingas I saw all trip.

Anhinga

Orlando Wetlands, Orange Co, FL

June 21, 2014

I liked the following pairing of birds because they represent local breeders, but also two of the rarer birds I've been happy to see in Illinois this year.

Glossy Ibis and Black-bellied Whistling Duck

Orlando Wetlands, Orange Co, FL

June 21, 2014

Black-bellied Whistling Duck

Orlando Wetlands, Orange Co, FL

June 21, 2014

And I got a nice look at a pretty good sized softshell that had meandered out onto the trail
.

Florida Softshell Turtle

Orlando Wetlands, Orange Co, FL

June 21, 2014

I drove back into town, picked Jen up, and we hit the Florida Turnpike to head south. On the way we stopped by Juno Dunes Natural Area to try to relocate the Bananaquit from a couple days prior, but apparently it was just a one day wonder. There were frigatebirds overhead though, and a nice Gray Kingbird along the way. And we found a big Gopher Tortoise ambling along.

Gray Kingbird

Juno Dunes Natural Area, Palm Beach Co, FL

June 21, 2014

Gopher Tortoise

Juno Dunes Natural Area, Palm Beach Co, FL

June 21, 2014

Then we popped over the dunes to get our first look at the Atlantic Ocean. We had each only seen it looking out the window of a plane flying over, so it was cool to actually look out across it from a warm, white sand beach.

But the moment was short lived, as we still had a long drive to get to Key Largo. We didn't realize just how far it was beforehand, and it ended up being a heck of a haul roundtrip to be down there less than 24 hours. Not as big of a fan of long road trips as I am, Jen was really a trooper.

We eventually arrived in the keys, and I was amazed at the numbers of Gray Kingbirds along the power lines. Loggerhead Shrikes began increasing in numbers too. And then lifers started happening - White-crowned Pigeons were flying over in considerable numbers, their stark white caps set off from their dark bodies. Then I saw a starling sized bird hop up from the road, but its flight and wing pattern were foreign to me. When it landed on a line, I saw yellow around the eye extending to the bill - Common Myna. Another exotic, but hey, it counts.

After checking in to our little cottage at the quaint Seafarer Resort and Beach, we headed west and had a nice seafood dinner at Robbie's in Islamorada. We left there in time to catch a beautiful sunset over the Gulf of Mexico as we drove further west out Highway 1 to Marathon, where we arrived just in time for a couple more birds. A drive around the Sombrero Golf Club got us to a flock of Least Terns, and as I picked through them a larger tern with a black bill and a relatively longer, forked tail emerged - Roseate Tern! The bird was diving in and out behind some trees over a pond, and that combined with the constantly decreasing daylight made it frustratingly impossible to photograph. But it was an awesome lifer to snag just in the nick of time!

On the way back we stopped by the Marathon airport. I found a spot to park near the airstrip, stopped the car, and began listening. First came the "bzeeewww" of a Common Nighthawk, which seemed promising. Sure enough, just moments later came the "piti-pit-pit, piti-pit-pit" of an Antillean Nighthawk! I was a little surprised at just how raspy the call was. Jen, who earned her Wife of the Century badge on this long day of travel, also got to hear it.

Sunday, June 22: While Jen got ready the next morning, I made a quick Starbucks run to get us some breakfast. On the way I pulled down to the Key Largo Kampground to turn around, and much to my delight I had a pair of Black-whiskered Vireos singing away! I got out, and in the process of tracking them down, a Mangrove Cuckoo sounded off! I stood there absolutely shocked that these two specialties had cooperated so nicely in the tiny sliver of time I had this morning. I had to get moving so I only saw the vireo briefly and had to leave the cuckoo as a heard only bird, but I was still thrilled about my fifth and sixth lifers in the keys.

Jen and I had a leisurely rest of the morning, enjoying our breakfast on the beach at Seafarer. Our stay included free kayak rentals, so we grabbed a couple and paddled around the bay for a little bit. Jen spotted a big iguana on another section of beach, so we paddled over to investigate and found two others with it. A Prairie Warbler sounded off here. The ever present frigatebirds of the keys were gliding overhead, and we got to kayak right up to some Least Terns sitting on buoys. The morning sun, warm water, and breeze off the Gulf made for a refreshing morning in between long drives. But we still had one more bit of fun on the docket before the trip back to Orlando - Everglades National Park.

On the way, I saw a funny looking cowbird on a line and was able to pull over real quick to look at it. I was hoping for a lifer, but found an equally as good bird for the region - Bronzed Cowbird. I didn't expect to have this guy in both Arizona and Florida this year.

Bronzed Cowbird

Miami-Dade Co, FL

June 22, 2014

In Everglades National Park, we began at the Anhinga trail, where its namesake greeted us at the front pond. The short trail had a really nice assortment of birds and wildlife, considering the muggy midmorning conditions, and less than ideal time of year for the region. People were complaining about the bugs, but compared to my southern Illinois experience a week prior (which wasn't as bad as I had anticipated, actually), I didn't think it was bad at all.