Florida - February 2008 
Florida - February 2008
by Mike & Bridgette King
Day 1 - Sat 9th February 2008
Manchester to Orlando BACK TO FLORIDA
This was our third visit to Florida and this time on our own. I knew there would be less lifers for me as it was our fourth visit to the U.S.A. but I had only visited Florida in October before so should get a few wintering species.
We flew Virgin Atlantic from Manchester aboard the 747-400 “Jersey Girl”, a plane we had returned on in 2004. Virgin were first rate and we experienced pleasant flights both ways. Incidentally flying from Manchester was £100 each cheaper than Gatwick!
The weather remained very warm to hot and sunny throughout at around 25-30ºC. It was occasionally cloudy and we had one or two showers of rain but never enough to disrupt what we were doing.
I saw 140+ species with 20 lifers. Disappointments were few but missing Swallow-tailed Kite as we were just a couple of days too early was galling. Bridgette was particularly miffed that the Space Shuttle took off 48 hours before we arrived, it was rescheduled following the December cancellation.
We arrived fairly late in the day with little light to do anything but 20 species were seen between Orlando International and our first week's base at Grand Beach, Lake Bryan. They were all old friends seen on our previous visits. This is a really useful Gazetteer to find places with.
New
trip birds: Snowy
Egret, American Coot, Great
Blue Heron, Great Egret, Boat-tailed
Grackle, White Ibis, Little
Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Starling,
Double Crested Cormorant, Mallard,
Anhinga, Red-tailed Hawk,
Red-shouldered Hawk, Cattle
Egret, American Black Vulture, American
Kestrel, Loggerhead Shrike, Glossy
Ibis, Pied-billed Grebe.
Day 2 - Sun 10th February 2008
Grand Beach, Lake Bryan, Tibet-Butler Preserve and Lake Apopka SCISSORS AT DUSK
I awoke at first light itching to get out there even though my body clock was all over the place. Today we weren't doing much beyond a bit of stocking up so I left Bridgette sleeping and headed out to explore our site. First I had to retune my ears to the dawn chorus, a lot I had heard before but how quickly I had forgotten. The first new trip bird was a female Northern Cardinal, a nice easy one to get underway. Six Pied-billed Grebes were sat on the lake near to the shore. Then I found an Eastern Phoebe and the first of several of the ubiquitous Palm Warblers. Near the reception I was pleased to find a pair of Hooded Mergansers on the adjacent pool. This was a half-tick as I had only seen a rather scruffy female in Arizona last year and now here was a very smart male. Two Mourning Doves watched me from the roof and a Gray Squirrel bolted past my feet. I turned my attention to the lake and was pleased to see an early morning Osprey stretching its wings overhead. Three Little Blue Herons (pic 1 below), two Tricolored Herons and two White Ibis (pic 2 below) were seen; two American Crows cawed over (you really need to hear the crows to separate them here, the similar Fish Crow has a Tellytubby-like Eh-Oh call). 20+ Ring-billed Gulls of all ages were on one of the jetties (pic 3 below), a Yellow-rumped Warbler called from a nearby tree and then ten Fish Crows flew in to land on the wires overhead. A loud Red-bellied Woodpecker flew from tree to tree, a raucous Blue Jay announced its presence, as did a Northern Mockingbird. A distant tern wouldn't give itself up so I returned for breakfast. After breakfast I spotted an adult Bald Eagle soaring above the lake, now that's some garden tick! I went back out to the lake where the mystery tern revealed itself to be a Forster's Tern.
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We
drove out to the shops and picked up three more trip ticks along the Central
Florida Parkway - a Mottled Duck, two Wood
Storks and two Killdeers.
We
returned for lunch at midday and in the air over the lake together were a pair
of Red-shouldered Hawks, an adult Bald
Eagle, a Red-tailed Hawk, 2+ Turkey
Vultures and an Osprey.
After lunch we took a short drive out to Tibet-Butler Preserve. It was fairly quiet and the warden had negative news on just about everything we asked about. A Gray Catbird popped up briefly while we were talking. The only positive news was that there were AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES on the feeders, two males and a female, and this was my first lifer of the trip. We walked the boardwalk trails out to a lovely peaceful pond (pic 4 above) and watched as three Wood Ducks (2m, 1f) flew in, and flew out again just as quickly as a party of noisy schoolchildren arrived. Returning to the centre a Tufted Titmouse was on the feeders, the warden pointed out a Black Racer snake, which sent Bridgette racing for the car and I found a FIVE-LINED SKINK, new to me, on the restroom wall. In the car park were three Eastern Towhees.
We
left and headed north for the Hooper Farms Road Kingbird roost (pic 5 below) at
Lake Apopka and made a right lash of finding it. However we eventually arrived
at Magnolia Park. 15 Red-winged Blackbirds flew
over here, ten Forster’s Terns were fishing on
the lake and four Ospreys put in a great display.
We moved a little further along the road where we found the roost and a couple
of birders (Jeff and Sue) from Pennsylvania. Birds started to arrive as we did
– the first of 50+ WESTERN KINGBIRDS (pic 6
below), a lifer, flew in to roost on the wires. American
Robins came from everywhere, there were 500+ by the time we left. Also a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher was new for the trip. Eventually Jeff found
the bird we had really come to see, a SCISSOR-TAILED
FLYCATCHER (pic 7 below), another lifer,
stunning in delicate grey and apricot plumage with a tail almost twice its body
length. Then just for good measure we found a second. We left as the sun was
beginning to set and if we’d made a mess of finding the place then that was
nothing to getting home again. A c45 minute journey took just over two hours.
The next day I bought a Delorme Atlas!
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New
trip birds: Northern
Cardinal, Eastern Phoebe, Palm
Warbler, Hooded Merganser, Mourning
Dove, Osprey, American
Crow, Tricolored Heron, Ring-billed
Gull, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Fish
Crow, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Blue
Jay, Northern Mockingbird, Forster's
Tern, Bald Eagle, Mottled
Duck, Wood Stork, Killdeer,
Gray Catbird, AMERICAN
GOLDFINCH, Wood Duck, Tufted
Titmouse, Eastern Towhee, Moorhen,
Red-winged Blackbird, WESTERN
KINGBIRD, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, American
Robin, SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER.
New
trip mammals: Gray
Squirrel
New
trip reptiles and amphibians:
Pig Frog, Florida
Peninsula Cooter, FIVE-LINED SKINK, Black
Racer.
New
trip butterflies:
Cloudless Sulphur, Eastern
Tiger Swallowtail, Long-tailed Skipper.
Day 3 - Mon 11th February 2008
Grand Beach, Lake Bryan and Sea World, Orlando DOLPHINS, WHALES & THE KRAKEN
I
was out around the site at first light again. I never manage a lie-in on
holiday. The first new bird was quite a surprise as I had seen many in Arizona
but never in Florida. It was three House Finches,
a male and two females. Originally only a resident of Mexico and the
southwestern United States, they were introduced to the eastern United States in
the 1940s. The birds were being sold illegally in New York and marketed as the
"Hollywood Finch." Initially a pet store in Long Island released the
birds into the wild in order to avoid prosecution. The released birds spread
rapidly and, in some unforested areas, have displaced the native Purple Finch.
Yet another instance of man upsetting nature’s balance.
Next
I found a woodpecker species but it took several minutes to get good views of
it. It was a male YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER,
another lifer. Then in a corner of the site I hit a little purple patch adding
three trip ticks all at once, a House Wren, a Blue-headed
Vireo and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Just
outside the gates I found a small pine copse with some rough ground beyond and a
stream running through the middle. Two Wild Turkeys
flew out of the trees and started to strut around the car park opposite. I
don’t think I’ll ever get used to Turkeys in car parks, it just seems weird.
On the way back for breakfast I also found three Common
Ground Doves. Aside from all the usual species four Gray
Catbirds were good value.
We
decided to go to Sea
World today as it was always a good day out as a family and
this time we could do it at our more leisurely pace. Sea World had 12+ American
Robins around the entrance and as ever was particularly good for herons
and the photographic opportunities that they afford. A Tree
Swallow that flew over was a trip tick. We had a really nice day enjoying
all the sea life and the Dolphin and Killer Whale shows and braved the Kraken
again, a serious rollercoaster.
In
the evening Bridgette and I walked around the grounds of our accommodation and
had a face to face encounter with a Raccoon.
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New
trip birds: House
Finch, YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER, House
Wren, Blue-headed Vireo, Ruby-crowned
Kinglet, Wild Turkey, Common
Ground Dove, House Sparrow, Tree
Swallow.
New
trip mammals: Raccoon.
Day 4 - Tue 12th February 2008
Grand Beach, Lake Bryan, St Augustine Beach and Tomoka State Park BOOBY JOB & ELUSIVE OWL
My
usual pre-breakfast stroll around the grounds turned up three Common
Grackles, a male Common Yellowthroat and
two Downy Woodpeckers, all new trip birds. I
don’t know how I had missed the grackles previously, they aren’t exactly low-key birds.
This morning there were four Wild Turkeys
strutting around.
Today
we were going twitching, not something I usually do on holiday, but we had heard
of a BROWN BOOBY at St Augustine Beach on the NE
coast, which had been present on the fishing pier since August. We set off
north-west but had two notable birds en route. A Pileated
Woodpecker was beside the Lee Road exit (88) of the I4, a trip tick.
Better still a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher was on
wires beside the US1 Dixie Highway near Dupont Center, just outside the Grace
Pointe Baptist Church.
We stopped at a Publix supermarket in St Augustine and bought lunch before arriving at St Augustine Beach at 11:15am. We parked up and asked at the pier office if the Booby was still being seen. We were assured it was still on the pier by the white hut but if we wanted to walk down there it would cost a dollar. I paid my $1 for two tickets and we walked along scanning the ocean and skies for the bird. 10+ Ruddy Turnstones (pic 11 below) and the same number of Brown Pelicans (pic 12 below) were trip ticks.
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We arrived at the white hut and there was the BROWN BOOBY just sat preening not three feet away (pics 13-15 below). It was the easiest lifer I had ever got and usually expect some sort of fight from each new conquest, but not this guy, he was oblivious to our presence being more concerned with his grooming. He was obviously being fed tidbits by the many fisherman and had it made. Eventually two pelicans landed on the top of his hut and after a period of energetic flapping he proved he could still fly and launched himself into the wind. This was our cue to go for lunch. We also noted singles of Sandwich Tern, Forster’s Tern and Royal Tern and 10+ Gannets fished off the end of the pier.
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We shared our lunch with Laughing Gulls (including a summer-plumaged adult) and Ring-billed Gulls. A raucous cry alerted me to a swirl of 30+ green parakeets. Initially I thought that they were Monks but when they landed on a nearby lawn I could see that they were all Black-hooded Parakeets, a feral species I had seen previously in Tenerife (pic 16 above).
We
decided to head back south via Tomoka
State Park, where I hoped to see GREAT
HORNED OWL which was nesting in an old Osprey nest near the bridge (pic
17 below). On
arrival I met Meret Wilson who together with a fellow English birder was
watching a Marsh Wren. I enquired about the owl
nest and Meret pointed it out but seconds later the heavens opened. My track
record with this owl hasn’t been good. In 2002 in Florida I heard one, in 2004
I drew a complete blank and in 2007 in Arizona we found pellets and now it
looked like I was going to be thwarted again. The adult was on the nest but
because of the heavy storm remained sitting tight and out of sight for most of
the time. However I did get scope views although pretty unsatisfactory for a
life tick. I also had a Belted Kingfisher just
before we gave up for the day. As with any storm in Florida it cleared quite
quickly as we journeyed home.
17.
New
trip birds: Common Grackle, Common
Yellowthroat, Downy Woodpecker, Collared
Dove, Pileated Woodpecker, Ruddy
Turnstone, Brown Pelican, BROWN
BOOBY, Sandwich Tern, Northern
Gannet, Royal Tern, Laughing
Gull, Black-hooded Parakeet,
Marsh Wren, GREAT HORNED OWL, Belted
Kingfisher.
Day 5 – Wed 13th February 2008
Grand Beach, Lake Bryan and Epcot EPCOT OUTING
I
took an early turn around the grounds yet again and 50+ American Robins that flew over high up were notable. New species for
the trip were my only Hermit Thrush of the
holiday, a Swamp Sparrow beside the stream, a singing Brown Thrasher and a Green
Heron beside the lake and also a BELLA MOTH.
We
planned a long day at Epcot
today so birding opportunities would be few. However
I never stop looking and five Killdeers in the
car park as we arrived were appreciated. In the stream that ran alongside the
car park were eight Hooded Mergansers (2m, 6f).
We
had a really good day and were able to enjoy all the attractions (without
binoculars). A fully-winged unringed Egyptian Goose
was inside the grounds and I knew one had been seen around Central Florida
recently (pic 18 below). It was obviously feral as Epcot has no wildfowl collection of its own.
Around midday a PURPLE MARTIN flew around the
grounds for a few minutes but remained quite high but was nevertheless a lifer
for me. Common Grackles are also an ever present
anywhere there's food (pic 19 below). After the hottest Kung Pao chicken I have ever tasted in
“China” (the waiter did warn me!) we stayed on for the fabulous nightly
firework display, but had to buy warm clothes because it went off so cold and we
weren’t prepared.
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New
trip birds: Hermit
Thrush, Swamp Sparrow, Brown
Thrasher, Green Heron, Egyptian
Goose, PURPLE MARTIN.
New
trip moths: BELLA
MOTH.
Day 6 – Thu 14th February 2008
Grand Beach, Lake Bryan, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas and Merritt Island CHRISTMAS IN FLORIDA
This
morning in the small wood adjacent to the rough ground I found five BROWN-HEADED
COWBIRDS (1m, 4f), which were a lifer for me, also my second ever Yellow-bellied
Sapsucker, and new for the trip a Wilson’s
Snipe, which flushed from cover by the stream.
After breakfast we headed north to Orlando Wetlands Park next to the small town of Christmas (pic 20 below). It was a very long walk around, at least on the route we took, and the sun was quite relentless as were a few biting insects.
20.
It didn’t really turn up much in the way of special birds, and I missed a Limpkin yet again, but it was very pleasant there. New for the trip were c70 Blue-winged Teal, a pair of Green-winged Teal, a pair of Sandhill Cranes, two Savannah Sparrows and a male Lesser Scaup. Also notable was a movement of 50+ Tree Swallows, and probably many more, half a dozen Red-shouldered Hawks including a pair mating and many herons and ibises, including at least ten Glossy Ibis (pic 21 below). Alligators were noticeable with at least ten seen. Also there were many butterflies including several new species for me. We saw Black Swallowtail, White Peacock, RED ADMIRAL (not sure if this is different from the UK one?), VARIEGATED FRITILLARY, Fiery Skipper, PEARL CRESCENT, QUEEN and Giant Swallowtail. We also saw another Raccoon and a couple of Florida Peninsula Cooters. After a welcome drink we set off for Merritt Island. Pic 22 below Black Vulture.
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We parked just before the bridge to eat lunch and watched for birds while we ate. A Willet was at the water’s edge with five Western Sandpipers and out on the channel were 50+ Lesser Scaup and a Horned Grebe (Slavonian Grebe). Driving towards the start of Black Point Drive we saw a Belted Kingfisher and a Northern Harrier hunting. The Drive was excellent with many new trip species including eight Lesser Yellowlegs, three Greater Yellowlegs, 26 Short-billed Dowitchers, two flocks of 100 Dunlin, 31 American Avocets, a Reddish Egret, 17 Pintail, 24 Shovelers, three Black Skimmers, a Black-bellied Plover (Grey Plover), eight Least Sandpipers, a Sora (record shot pic 25 below) and eight Roseate Spoonbills (pic 23-24 below).
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We
spent a lot of time taking photos. As there was only about an hour of daylight
left we decided to head for the Scrub Ridge Trail and try for Florida
Scrub Jay, a species which has led me on a merry dance in the past. We
met an English couple who said there were a large family party of jays just
along the track, but we soon found out not any longer. We watched a selection of
species on the flashes and an Osprey settling down
for the night. Then the insects started to bite so we turned for the car. As we
did a single Florida Scrub Jay popped up on top
of a bush fleetingly and was the final bird of the day.
New
trip birds: BROWN-HEADED
COWBIRD, Wilson’s Snipe, Blue-winged
Teal, Green-winged Teal, Sandhill
Crane, Savannah Sparrow, Lesser
Scaup, Willet, Western
Sandpiper, Horned Grebe (Slavonian Grebe),
Lesser Scaup, Northern
Harrier, Lesser Yellowlegs, Greater
Yellowlegs, Short-billed Dowitcher, Dunlin,
American Avocet, Reddish
Egret, Pintail, Shoveler,
Black Skimmer, Black-bellied
Plover (Grey Plover), Least Sandpiper, Sora,
Roseate Spoonbill, Florida
Scrub Jay.
New
trip reptiles and amphibians:
Alligator.
Day 7 – Fri 15th February 2008
Grand Beach, Lake Bryan, Titusville and Maplewood Village HUMMERS & WHISTLERS & THE MYTHICAL BIRD
Today
we were heading back up to Titusville after a kind invitation to visit the yard
of Doug Stuckey, who had a few special birds in residence. We arrived in
beautiful sunny weather to find his front garden filled Brown-headed Cowbirds, whose lovely bubbling call was nicer than
their reputation. We found information notices on his front door and had been
told to feel free to bird in his yard even though he was at work.
We went around to the side of his house and soon saw up to five PAINTED BUNTINGS (4m, 1f) on his feeders (record shot pic 27 below). They were a much wanted lifer and the males looked like a colour explosion painted by a small child. Bridgette managed a record shot of these, but they were very flighty and in a dark corner of the yard but you should see what I mean. Returning to the back yard we stood watching the hummingbird feeder and it wasn’t long before we were rewarded with the first visit of the wintering male BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD (pic 26 below). Eight Canada Geese flew over, presumably feral. We returned to the front garden where a RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD was at the feeders. Three lifers in about 20 minutes, pretty good going. Returning to the back yard I had brief views of a nice male Baltimore Oriole perched in a tree, a species I had only seen previously in the UK!
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Two lady birders arrived and I found that I had just missed a White-winged Dove opposite the front garden, which would have been a lifer too. Despite walking up and down the street I couldn’t relocate it. Just before we left after further views of the hummers, we found a Ruby-crowned Kinglet in a bush and a Purple Martin flew around over our heads, giving much better views than the one I had seen previously at Epcot.
We
drove towards Merritt Island and parked in the same spot by the bridge, where I
thought I had glimpsed Bonaparte’s Gulls when we travelled across the other
day, but there was no sign, another species I’ve only seen in the UK. A Bottle-nosed
Dolphin was swimming in close to the shore today. Also new for the
holiday was an American Herring Gull, which
shared our lunch (pic 28 below), two adult Great Black-backed Gulls
and eight Sanderlings were with seven Western
Sandpipers and a Black-bellied Plover
(Grey Plover).
28.
We
decided to look for Maplewood Village in West Cocoa which was home to both
species of Whistling –Ducks but finding it was another matter. We received
conflicting directions from two residents who had heard of it and drew blanks
with another three who didn’t have a clue. Eventually I saw a Police car
pulled up at a motel, so we stopped and I went in and the policeman immediately
put us straight. We were actually very close at this point.
On finding the lake in the middle of the village we could immediately see and hear lots of BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCKS (pic 29 below). There were around 200 in all. They were another life bird and were good fun to watch. A Fulvous was also supposed to be here but we couldn’t find it. Suddenly a bird appeared on the lawn behind us and I nearly dismissed it as an ibis, but on closer inspection it was a LIMPKIN (pics 30-31 below). This was unbelievable, on three visits to Florida now we had not seen Limpkin in some of the most Limpkinesque habitat in the world and it had realised almost mythical status, and yet in the middle of a housing complex here was our first. Then at the other side of the lake a second appeared as if by magic. Also here a householder was hand-feeding a pair of Sandhill Cranes. Near the village we also saw seven Muscovy Ducks.
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We
left for home then and on the way saw a good sized flock of 40 Lesser
Scaups on a pond at the junction of I95 and SR528 W and a very large Alligator
was beside a pond near the toll at Exit 16 of the I95.
We rested up for a while before doing a bit of shopping and then headed to Downtown Disney for the evening. We had a very nice meal at the Rainforest Café (tip: book a table when you arrive or you could be in for a very long wait) and an Anhinga posed beautifully for photographs (pic 32 below).
32.
New
trip birds:
PAINTED BUNTING, BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD,
Canada Goose,
RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, Baltimore Oriole,
Great Black-backed Gull, Sanderling,
American Herring Gull, Muscovy Duck, BLACK-BELLIED
WHISTLING DUCK, LIMPKIN.
New
trip reptiles and amphibians:
Cuban or Brown Anole.
New
trip mammals: Bottle-nosed
Dolphin.
Day 8 – Sat 16th February 2008
Grand Beach, Lake Bryan to Marco Island via Joe Overstreet Road and Three Lakes WMA MOVING DAY
Today was moving day, we were making the long journey south to Marco Island where we would be based for the second week. It is the largest of Florida's Ten Thousand Islands, located on the Gulf of Mexico in Southwest Florida. I decided to have a last turn around the grounds before breakfast. More than 1000 American Robins were moving northwards in waves, I stopped counting at 1000 and they were still coming. I found five Chipping Sparrows, a Florida tick, adjacent to the rough ground and the five Wild Turkeys were in the car park as they had been daily. (Pics 33-34 below).
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After
breakfast we headed south on the 192, we had planned a couple of stops on the
way to break the day up and we couldn’t get the house keys until 4pm anyway. I
could feel the onset of a sore throat and had developed an annoying cough, maybe
a reaction to heat outside and cold air con in. 
At
Canoe Creek Road there were 50+ Turkey Vultures
in the air together, a flock of 27 Cattle Egrets,
20 Sandhill Cranes and five Wild
Turkeys. This time we didn’t see any Whooping Cranes though. We drove
down Joe Overstreet Road stopping at intervals. Two Eastern
Meadowlarks were new for the holiday, a Savannah
Sparrow caused identity problems, Turkey Vultures
posed nicely for photos (pic 35 left) and an adult Bald
Eagle, an American Kestrel and a male Northern
Harrier soared over the grasslands. Arriving at Lake Kissimmee at the
roads end we found it to be very busy with campers and air boats as it was
Presidents holiday weekend. No Snail Kites as a result, however two juvenile Bald
Eagles were over the lake and there were also notably 200+ Glossy
Ibises, 30 Black Skimmers, 100 American
Coots and 100+ Boat-tailed Grackles. It
was now very hot so we didn’t stay out of the car for long. On the drive back
up the road I saw a Fox Squirrel in pines.
We
drove the short distance to Three Lakes WMA where although we saw Red-cockaded
Woodpecker nest trees banded in white paint we failed to see any birds. Probably
because it was the hottest part of the day and again it was very busy with
campers. However a short walk was rewarded with two Eastern
Bluebirds, a Chipping Sparrow, a Prairie
Warbler, two Yellow-rumped Warblers, a Pine
Warbler and best of all a BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH,
which was a lifer.
Continuing
south after a picnic lunch we saw another Eastern
Meadowlark and an adult Bald Eagle at
Kenansville, after missing Crested Caracara at
Joe Overstreet one was bizarrely stood in a supermarket car park in Okeechobee.
We stopped for shopping at La Belle where we saw a Muscovy
Duck and a Cattle Egret wrestled with
dropped chicken bones in the U-Save car park.
Eventually
we got to Marco Island at around 5:30pm and found that the agent’s office
where we picked up the keys was 35.
just a couple of hundred yards from our house.
It was a very nice house with a pool backed on to one of the many canals, which
divided up Marco Island.
New
trip birds:
Chipping Sparrow, Eastern Meadowlark, Eastern
Bluebird, Prairie Warbler, Pine
Warbler, BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH,
Crested Caracara.
Day 9 – Sun 17th February 2008
Marco Island and Rookery Bay QUIET DAY & SNAKES
I awoke early feeling pretty rough but I decided I couldn’t let a cold get the better of me, so after a breakfast of coffee and Paracetamol I headed out to explore my new surroundings. I walked in the general direction of the beach seeing very little except for lots of older people out walking. Marco certainly seemed to have an Eastbourne-like air to it. I arrived at the beach where dozens of people were walking the strand line. Fortunately this didn’t bother the birds who seemed to be most concentrated where the most people were. There were 100+ Laughing Gulls, 20+ Ring-billed Gulls, three American Herring Gulls, 10+ Royal Terns (pic 36 below), four Sandwich Terns, 20 Black Skimmers and 20+ Brown Pelicans. Waders present were mostly Sanderlings with one or two Willets (pic 37 below),, Grey (Black-bellied) Plovers and Turnstones. Three Bottle-nosed Dolphins were just offshore and I took lots of pictures of water where they had been. I eventually arrived at Tigertail Beach where a lagoon held two Mottled Ducks, four Least Sandpipers, six Semi-palmated Plovers, six Dunlins, four Short-billed Dowitchers and a Reddish Egret amongst more common species.
37.
Later
that morning Bridgette and I took a drive out, stopping at a Sunday morning
craft market, where I was a little concerned to see that a wildlife sanctuary
had brought along a Florida Panther in a travelling cage to promote their cause.
I thought it was a little too hot, noisy and cramped for the panther to be very
happy, but I suppose the people knew what they were doing.
Next
we drove to Rookery Bay and found the visitor centre closed on weekends, however
we found access to a boardwalk at Shell
Island Road behind the former visitor centre. It was very quiet until Bridgette
spotted a large snake under the boardwalk and overtook me pointing and calling
“Snake! Snake! Snake!”. As you can gather she is not keen but I went to have
a look – it was a fairly large Black
Racer, which lived up to its name as I
reached for my camera. Apart from five Mottled
Ducks and a fishing Raccoon
there was little of note. Four Eastern Towhees in the car park on our return were nice.
In
the evening we went for a walk, checking on some of the many Burrowing Owl nest
sites which were all around Marco Island, but we did not see any owls. A flock
of 12 Killdeers
was good and a fly-over Cooper’s Hawk was the only one of the holiday.
Returning to our house Bridgette struck again finding a SOUTHERN RING-NECKED SNAKE on the drive next to ours! (pic 38 below),
38.
New
trip birds:
Semi-palmated Plover, Cooper’s Hawk.
New
trip reptiles: SOUTHERN RING-NECKED SNAKE.
Day 10 – Mon 18th February 2008
Key West KEY WEST AND BACK
39. 
Today
Bridgette had seen an advert in a magazine in the house for a fast boat to Key
West, the southernmost point in the U.S.A., just 90 miles from Cuba. Because the
exchange rate is so good currently and it seemed a better option than all day on
the road we decided to go. It was $106 dollars each return (c£50). Because
of security concerns and the proximity to Cuba you will need your passport when
landing by sea at Key West. We arrived
at the Marina at 7:30am for an 8:30am departure aboard the 130 foot Super
Cruiser M/V “Whale
Watcher”. It travelled at 30 knots all the way and arrived just before
midday, giving five hours ashore with a 5pm return. Whilst we sat aboard prior
to setting sail two Bottle-nosed Dolphins gave
close views and 30+ Brown Pelicans were in the harbour. As we moved gently out
of the harbour before the captain went to full throttle six Magnificent
Frigatebirds flew around the boat, giving Bridgette her first views of
these huge seabirds. To be honest to journey was fast and smooth but not great
for seabirds as I had hoped. I saw a few Royal Terns,
Double Crested Cormorants and half a dozen immature
Gannets as well as a few more Bottle-nosed
Dolphins, but not anything more unusual.
Arriving at Key West a Great White Heron, the white morph of Great Blue was a first record for me, and 200+ Black Skimmers were skimming in the harbour and then resting communally on nearby roofs.
We decided to head for Fort Zachary Taylor State Park where I hoped to find White-crowned Pigeon. However together with another couple from Manchester we were disappointed by the news from the warden that they had all moved out of the park and were currently very elusive. He was right we didn't find any. In fact we saw very few birds at all. although Brown Pelicans were common (pic 40 below), and instead walked to the southernmost point in Continental U.S.A. (pic 39 left) and had a relaxed lunch with some local beer followed by Key Lime Pie. After lunch we took a cycle taxi back towards the port as it was too hot to walk. We did see a few butterflies on our walks including the first Zebra Longwing (the State butterfly) of the holiday and a couple of the beautiful Gulf Fritillaries. There were a further six Magnificent Frigatebirds as we set sail for home. We enjoyed a glorious sunset at sea about an hour into the journey (pic 41 below).
40.
41.
New
trip birds:
Magnificent Frigatebird, GREAT
WHITE HERON.
New trip butterflies: Zebra Longwing, Gulf Fritillary.
Day 11 – Tue 19th February 2008
Collier-Seminole State Park, H P Williams Wayside & Big Cypress Bend GATORS & TICKS
It rained until 9am today so we had a cooked breakfast and rolled out at about 10:30am. We stopped just over the bridge off of the island and found a good selection of waders on the mud at low tide including the only Spotted Sandpiper of the holiday. Also there was 50 Short-billed Dowitchers, 100 Dunlin and 30 Willets together with all the usual herons. Our next stop was at Collier-Seminole State Park. It was very quiet with the only "new" bird being a white juvenile Little Blue Heron.
Giving
up here very quickly we moved on along the Tamiami Trail, stopping at the only
place for miles that had fuel and food. We bought lunch at the Subway here and
exchanged news with two American birders who recommended H P Williams Wayside
just a little further along the road. We drove there and found a new boardwalk,
which gave good views of the wildlife, including Alligators,
herons, Anhingas and a large FLORIDA
GAR fish. Leading away from the boardwalk was a road, which seemed to
vanish into the distance for miles. To the right-hand side of the road was a
well-vegetated channel packed with wildlife. we drove along it for a couple of
miles stopping at intervals to view. A warden was warning people to stay in
their cars because of the very close Alligators. We
saw 33 and there must have been many more (pic 42 below). Also we saw the first Buckeye
butterflies of the holiday, only the second Green Heron
and best of all three beautiful PURPLE GALLINULES,
which were a lifer for me.
42.
We travelled back towards Marco Island and stopped at Big Cypress Bend. The 2000 ft Big Cypress Bend boardwalk is the most accessible part of the Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve and terminates at a wide platform overlooking a small, cypress-rimmed pond. The birding here was excellent and we immediately found ourselves caught up with a party of birders from the northern states and Canada. They had got onto a party of warblers. Together we managed to pick out a Palm Warbler, a Yellow-throated Warbler, a Prairie Warbler, a stunning Northern Parula and 6+ Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. Then we could just see a Bald Eagle sitting atop its treetop nest. Their party moved ahead but not before I had mentioned to a lady from Canada that we hoped to see a BARRED OWL, which would be a lifer, and she said she had them in her garden. No sooner had they moved out of sight than a BARRED OWL started calling from the left-hand side of the boardwalk, to be quickly answered by its mate on the right. Then it flew into sight quite close to us, an impressive large owl and even more impressive when it began calling again, head down and full of effort “Who-cooks-for-you”. Its mate flew up into a nearby tree and was joined by the calling bird where they began nuzzling and pair bonding. Although it was quite gloomy along the boardwalk I managed a few photos, which I took great delight in showing to the Canadian lady when her party returned (pics 44-45 below). Just after this a strange call got us onto a GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER, another lifer. It was a large and fairly colourful flycatcher but generally remained fairly high in the trees. The lush vegetation of the swamp included some huge Strangler Figs (pic 45 below), which were living up to their name and strangling the life out other trees. There were also bromeliads and air plants giving the place a jungle-like feel. Another strange bird song started up, I didn’t know the song but I certainly knew the bird once I found it. It was a White-eyed Vireo, which I had seen many times before in the fall, but of course were not singing then. We walked to the end of the boardwalk where we saw some young Alligators and one large adult. Then we returned to the car in dimming light after an excellent afternoon’s birding.
43.
44. 
45.
New trip birds: Spotted Sandpiper, AMERICAN PURPLE GALLINULE, Yellow-throated Warbler, Northern Parula, BARRED OWL, GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER, White-eyed Vireo.
New trip fish: FLORIDA GAR.
New trip butterflies: Buckeye.
Day 12 – Wed 20th February 2008
Bunche Beach, J N “Ding” Darling Refuge & Corkscrew Swamp SANIBEL & SWAMP AT NIGHT
I awoke still in the grip of a chest cold (and this was probably my worst day with it) but dragged myself off to Tigertail Beach anyway. All the waders had vanished with the exception of three Grey (Black-bellied) Plovers. The only new species for the holiday was a Peregrine which was sharing a tree with an Osprey (pic 46 below), one of the pair from the nearby nest platform. Thousands of Fiddler Crabs rushed for their holes amongst the mangroves as I walked along the beach (pic 47 below).
46.
47. 
After breakfast we headed off for Bunche Beach and Sanibel Island but due to a map-reading misfortune we got caught up in the rush hour traffic and the journey took twice as long as it should have. Eventually we arrived at Bunche Beach where our target was the wintering LONG-BILLED CURLEW. In front of the car park on the beach were 200+ Black Skimmers (pic 48 below), 100+ Laughing Gulls, 10+ Ring-billed Gulls, ten Short-billed Dowitchers, a few Willets and three Reddish Egrets. Just offshore were four Red-breasted Mergansers, a U.S.A. tick. We decided to walk right from the car park but did not find the wader flock. An adult Bald Eagle flew over as did yet another Osprey. Florida must have one of the highest concentrations of Ospreys in the world. We walked the long walk back to the car park and scanning into the distance saw a large flock of birds to the left. We set off in that direction and eventually could identify the species in the loafing wader flock. The incoming tide was making them restless. As best we could tell the tightly packed flock consisted of 100 Willets, a few Black Skimmers, 10+ Marbled Godwits, the ten Short-billed Dowitchers we had seen earlier and in the middle of them all, at last, the LONG-BILLED CURLEW. Suddenly deciding the water was getting too deep it peeled off of the flock and flew towards us. By walking in a wide circle pretending it didn’t interest me I was able to get quite close and take some photos (pics 49-50). Very pleased with this new bird we set off for Sanibel Island and the J N “Ding” Darling Refuge.
48.
49.
50.
Travelling
across the bridge to Sanibel (Toll $6) I saw a Bottle-nosed
Dolphin, the obligatory Osprey, a Sandwich
Tern flew over and a mass of small waders, which frustratingly we
couldn’t get to.
On arrival at the refuge we paid our $5 to drive around the wildlife drive. We stopped early and spent half an hour identifying birds for some keen, but novice American birders and taking more photos. The best birds at this first stop were a flock of 90 American White Pelicans, the first five, of 38 in total, Roseate Spoonbills, all gloriously bright pink and another adult Bald Eagle. One of the Americans showed me a photo of a Night Heron, which was right by the entrance booth, it was Yellow-crowned, one of my target species. A warden said I needn’t worry there would be plenty more. There weren’t! We completed the drive seeing nothing else new and returned to the start of the drive. Sure enough, catching lizards at a range of about three feet, was the YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT HERON, a life tick for me and very photogenic too (pic 51 below).
51.
That
evening we were booked on a Night Walk at Corkscrew
Swamp Sanctuary. I had hoped to get to Corkscrew in daylight in time for
some birding, but because of the traffic jam in the morning and the long
searches for the curlew and the heron, and yet another traffic jam getting off
of Sanibel, it was nearly dusk when we arrived. Worse our petrol warning light
came on and there were no gas stations for miles and I think we were running on
fumes by the time we reached Immokalee. There was a flock of 200+ Cattle
Egrets near there beginning to roost beside the road with other herons.
As
we arrived at Corkscrew at least four White-tailed Deer
were on the roadside verges. After changing into long trousers and a
long-sleeved shirt just in case of biting insects (unnecessary as it happens),
we walked to the reception centre where we met with Brad, the warden and the
other walk participants. Brad gave us a very interesting 2 hours plus walk
around the swamp describing ecology, wildlife and management amongst other
things. I discovered he was a keen birder and we swapped information and tales.
It surprised me how quiet it was at night in the swamp, I expected creatures to
be calling, but the only noise was made by crickets and distant dogs. We saw
little in the way of wildlife, although recent lucky visitors had had several
sightings of Florida Panther. We saw a Raccoon,
a Common Nighthawk catching insects from the top
of a tall snag, lots of Fireflies provided an
illuminated backdrop and an unidentified Night Heron
(probably Black-crowned) was seen in silhouette as it croaked off in flight. It
was very bright anyway due to a full moon, which was also moving through a lunar
eclipse. As we left afterwards we saw a Marsh Rabbit
in the car park.
New trip birds: Peregrine, Red-breasted Merganser, LONG-BILLED CURLEW, American White Pelican, YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT HERON, Common Nighthawk.
New
trip mammals: White-tailed
Deer, Marsh Rabbit.
Day 13 – Thu 21st February 2008
Everglades National Park GATOR CENTRAL & THE SEA OF GRASS
Today
was the last full day so we had decided to make the long drive to the Everglades
National Park. First however we had a drive around Marco Island to check out
the Burrowing Owl nest sites and it was
successful finding one out in the open at the first site we checked. It was a
long drive to reach the Visitor Centre, enlivened on the way with a good
selection of roadside species including 20+ Black Vultures on a huge Alligator
road kill along the US41.
On arrival at the Visitor Centre we learnt that there was an active Great Horned Owl nest in the car park. We walked out to it and were able to see a Great Horned Owl juvenile on the nest but there was no sign of the adults. We decided to walk the Anhinga Trail first were we learnt we had just missed a Short-tailed Hawk, so eyes remained to the sky for the rest of the day, not only for that but in hope of a Swallow-tailed Kite. A Double-crested Cormorant posed beautifully (pic 52 below). This trail had an American Purple Gallinule, which came across the channel and got so close it was difficult to focus the camera (pic 53 below). It was also Gator Central here, they were everywhere in large numbers (pic 54 below). We also walked the Royal Palm Hammock but it was very quiet. I guess we were just a week or two too early. American Crows drank from puddles in car park and a Great Blue Heron also posed beautifully. (pic 55-56 below).
52.
53. 
54.
55. 
56.
We carried on deeper into the park stopping at Pa-hay-okee viewpoint where we could see for miles across the sea of grass (pic 57 below) but birds were in short supply with the exception of a Great Crested Flycatcher and an Eastern Phoebe. The elevation of the Everglades was frightening! (pic 58 below).
57.
58. 
The next stop was at Mahogany Hammock, which was also quiet, but a fluffy white Barred Owlet eighty feet up a Mahogany tree was neck-breakingly notable. Our next stop was at Paurotis Pond ten Roseate Spoonbills gleamed in the sunshine, but all thoughts of getting photos was abandoned when we noticed a huge Alligator on the bank. Our next stop was Snake Bight trail where snakes were the very least of our worries, it was the insects that were dangerous here. We had gone several hundred yards before they found Bridgette to their liking so we beat a hasty retreat. We met a good ol' boy who was wearing only shorts and a vest who told us he never got bitten. He said next time we came we should only shower in water and not use any soap or shampoo (he was bald as a coot!) because the mozzies love fragrant people. We did see another Great Crested Flycatcher and a White-eyed Vireo before we ran away. At this point our petrol light came on yet again, our cruiser must have had a tank the size of a thermos flask! We were in a bit of a quandary because we probably wouldn't make it back to Homestead but Flamingo (the end of the road) was supposed to have a gas station and was only seven miles away. We took the chance and were very relieved that it did, but the price was very high, but it was a sellers market.
Flamingo was one of the only places you can see AMERICAN CROCODILES, there were two there, right outside the café/shop and restrooms. They were a first for us (pic 59 below). Also here was a flock of about 300 Laughing Gulls (pic 60 below) with just one juvenile Ring-billed Gull and 300 White Ibises. We drove the short distance to Eco Pond after coffee and burgers and walked all the way around. There was a good selection of birds here including our last new species of the day - six Black-necked Stilts. Also notable was eight Greater Yellowlegs, a Lesser Yellowlegs, four Killdeers, a Least Sandpiper and many Brown Anoles along the fences including two males fighting.
59.
60. 
Returning to the Visitor Centre we added nothing new but decided to check the car park to see if the adult Great Horned Owls were around. Well one was and finally I was getting great views, Bridgette wasn't as keen to look though because in it's talons was a large headless Brown Water Snake (pics 61-62 below). Then came the long drive back to Marco Island after an interesting first taste of the Everglades, which surely would be much better when migration starts.
61.
62. 
New
trip birds: Burrowing
Owl, Black-necked Stilt.
New trip reptiles: AMERICAN CROCODILE.
Day 14 – Fri 22nd February 2008
Marco Island to Orlando and home GOODBYE RUBY TUESDAY
I
awoke to a glorious sunrise (pic 66 below) and decided to have a final walk
around before we packed up and hit the road. I found a pair of Burrowing
Owls above ground no more than 200 yards from the house (pic 63 below). I
walked down to Tigertail Beach and then on to Hideaway Beach where there were
masses of waders, herons and ibises. Typical that now I had found a big flock I
didn’t have time to enjoy them. Amongst the flock there were two new species
for the holiday a Snowy (Kentish) Plover, a
U.S.A. tick and a Wilson’s Plover. Also 10+ Semi-palmated
Plovers, 10+ Short-billed Dowitchers, 10+ Willets,
nine Least Sandpipers (pic 64 below), three Grey
(Black-bellied) Plovers (pic 65 below), 20+ Sanderlings
and a Ruddy Turnstone.
We
left to head north after breakfast and amassed a good list of all the usual
herons, ibises and raptors on the way. No Swallow-tailed Kite though! We had a
picnic lunch at Lake Eva in Haines City, which we shared with 200 Ring-billed
Gulls. Finally about four hours after leaving Marco Island we arrived in
Kissimmee. Here we did some last minute shopping before heading to the airport.
The last birds of the holiday was a pair of Sandhill
Cranes near the airport. We flew home to Manchester overnight aboard the
747-400 “Ruby Tuesday”.
Another excellent holiday had come to a close, with 19 lifers and some wonderful new experiences.
New
trip birds: Snowy
Plover (Kentish Plover), Wilson’s Plover.
63.
64. 
65.
66.
As
always I would like to thank Bridgette for doing most of the driving and for
being the perfect travelling companion. Thanks also to Brad at Corkscrew Swamp,
Tom Rodriguez again, all those on the BIRDBRAINS list who helped with
information, Doug Stuckey for his hospitality and Lois White for her kind offer
too (shame the Lazuli Bunting vanished). If anybody ever wants help planning a
trip to Florida I'm an old hand now and additionally have lots of maps and books
which I am willing to loan. You know where to find me.
Mike & Bridgette King © 2008
SPECIES LISTS
BIRDS
BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCK c200 Maplewood Village, West Cocoa
Canada Goose 8 flew over Cowan Drive, Titusville
Egyptian Goose 1 full-winged, unringed bird at Epcot, Orlando
Muscovy Duck 7 West Cocoa, 1 La Belle
Wood Duck 2m 1f Tibet-Butler Preserve, a pair, I4, Exit 88, Orlando
Mallard Fairly common, seen most days in small numbers
Mottled Duck 1 Central Florida Parkway, Orlando
Blue-winged Teal Fairly common, seen suitable habitat
Northern Shoveler 24 Black Point Drive, Merritt Island
Northern Pintail 17 Black Point Drive, Merritt Island
Green-winged Teal A pair Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, 11 Black Point Drive, Merritt Island
Lesser Scaup 1m Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, 50+ Merritt Island, 40 I95/CR528 junction
Hooded Merganser A pair Grand Beach, Lake Bryan, 2m, 6f Epcot, Orlando
Red-breasted Merganser 4 Bunche Beach, Fort Myers, 16 J N “Ding” Darling Preserve
Wild Turkey Fairly common, seen most days in small numbers during the first week
Pied-billed Grebe Fairly common, seen most days in small numbers
Horned Grebe (Slavonian Grebe) 1 Merritt Island
BROWN BOOBY 1 St Augustine Beach fishing pier
Northern Gannet 10+ St Augustine Beach fishing pier
American White Pelican 90 & 12 J N “Ding” Darling Preserve
Brown Pelican Fairly common, seen most days that we were in coastal habitat
Double-crested Cormorant Common, seen daily
Anhinga Common, seen daily in small numbers
Magnificent Frigatebird 6 Marco Island, 6 Key West
Great Blue Heron Common, seen daily in small numbers
“GREAT WHITE HERON” 1 Key West. First record of this morph.
Great Egret Common, seen daily in small numbers
Snowy Egret Common, seen daily in small numbers
Little Blue Heron Common, seen daily in small numbers
Tricolored Heron Common, seen daily in small numbers
Reddish Egret A few seen in suitable habitat
Cattle Egret Common, seen daily in small numbers
Green Heron 1 Grand Beach, Lake Bryan, 1 H P Williams Boardwalk road
YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT HERON 1 J N “Ding” Darling Preserve
White Ibis Common, seen daily
Glossy Ibis Fairly common in suitable habitat
Roseate
Spoonbill
8 Black Point Drive, Merritt Island, 48 J N “Ding” Darling Preserve,
10 Everglades N.P.
Wood Stork Fairly common, seen most days in small numbers
Black Vulture Fairly common, seen most days in small numbers
Turkey Vulture Common, seen daily
Osprey Common, seen daily
Bald Eagle 1 adult Grand Beach, Lake Bryan
Northern Harrier A few seen at Merritt Island and Everglades N.P.
Cooper's Hawk 1 Marco Island
Red-shouldered Hawk Fairly common, seen most days in small numbers
Red-tailed Hawk A few seen but less common than Red-shouldered
Crested Caracara 1 Okeechobee in a supermarket car park!
American Kestrel Fairly common, seen most days in small numbers
Peregrine Falcon