FLORIDA - MARCH 2006

by Phil Pope 

This trip originated from an exchange of emails about the trip in 1994 which myself, Ron Thomas and Cosmo Bloom had undertaken in the States. On that trip we barely slept, ate or did anything except bird and Cosmo had suggested that we have an ‘anti’ 1994 trip where we slept comfortably in his place (rather than the car!) ate decent meals (as opposed to a banana or a ‘Big Mac’) and enjoyed a few birds at a leisurely pace. 

So on 22^nd March this year Ron and I arrived at Tampa airport at around midnight after a change at Washington to keep the fare down. We were reunited with Cosmo and, after the usual fond greetings we were piled into the car. ‘Just time to drop off the luggage then it’s off to Merritt Island to get the list started, it’s a few hours drive and you can kip in the back until daylight.’  The fundamental principles were already out of the window and birding was the only thing that really mattered.

It actually took less time than anticipated to get across the peninsula to Merritt island, which is home to the Kennedy Space Centre near Orlando, and we arrived at the gates with a couple of hours to spare before daylight. 

We parked up and crashed out in the car to catch up some sleep. I had just dozed off when I was suddenly aware of bright lights and an authoritative voice. A NASA security guard had had reports of a ‘suspicious’ vehicle  by the gates and politely suggested that we get the hell out of there and park somewhere else. So we retreated back a few miles alongside some lakes just offshore.

As the light arrived we were out with the scopes. Along the edge of the water were a single Grey Plover and some Turnstones. Out on the water were several Lesser Scaup. A  Crow flew past and uttered a rather strange cry, not an American Crow it must be a Fish Crow, my first tick of the trip.

A Bald Eagle then flew over and a flock of gulls were found to contain both Ring-billed and Laughing Gulls. A Willet landed nearby and some Pied-billed Grebes were seen. The list was underway.

We drove along a bit to some different pools on which were several species of duck, Shoveler and Blue-winged Teal as well as a Tricolored Heron and a Snowy Egret. A Belted Kingfisher flew past and we spotted several Red-breasted Mergansers some way out on the water.

We had been told that the Peacock trail, a 7 mile circuit, was currently the most productive and set off round it. Straight away we picked up a lot of song and activity and we left the car. A Black-and-white Warbler was seen at close range going up the side of a tree just like a Treecreeper. Northern Mockingbirds were singing and very visible as were both Turkey Vultures and Black Vultures overhead. A pair of neat looking Common Ground Doves were seen and a Red-breasted Woodpecker showed well.  

Another large tree seemed to be full of birds, a cracking Prairie Warbler, White-eyed Vireos, Yellow-rumped Warbler, a Blue Jay and a Gray Catbird were all identified.

Moving on again and the first pools held a pair of Wilson's Snipe as well as a Savannah Sparrow, Moorhen and a Black-necked Stilt. A Barn Swallow flew over.

On again and the next pools had very obliging Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs standing next to each other. We were able to assess the sizes and the bills which helped enormously over the next few days when we saw many more of both species, but usually on their own. A number of Least Sandpipers were also present, more easily identified than I had thought with their pale legs, browner coloration and small size.

 Further round we saw a Solitary Sandpiper in flight, Glossy Ibis, lots of Caspian Terns and a few White Pelicans. A small flock of dowitchers were seen and confusion reigned, it’s good to know the locals have problems with them as well. Eventually we heard the calls which seemed a clear ‘Ki Ki Ki’ making them Long-billed. Not the ones we were expecting here. 

Some Forster's Terns flew over, the first winter birds looking particularly smart with their bold face masks. We also identified a Bonaparte's Gull flying over and saw our first Cattle Egrets and Little Blue Herons.

We called in at the local visitor centre (no food here!) and located the best place for the local endemics the Florida Scrub Jays. It didn’t take us long to find them and they seemed just as intent on sussing us out. There was also a really cute Armadillo feeding on the side of the road here.

I was surviving at this point on my emergency biscuit supply as it was past midday and we hadn’t eaten, but there was just one more trail to do, unfortunately I didn’t record which one (hunger was taking its toll). 

We had great views of a Marsh Hawk (now split from Hen Harrier) and a Common Yellowthroat. Then we found a biggish flock of waders a little way off. They seemed to consist largely of Least Sandpipers and Dunlin, with a few Semi-palmated Plovers.  We then found a black legged ‘peep’ and a long debate ensued as to its identity. I had been studying videos and was thinking that the length of bill and dumpy shape of the bird made it a Semi-palmated Sandpiper but we couldn’t really reach any conclusions so, we made notes and put it on hold. 

At around 3:30pm we had to head back westwards as Cosmo had got us tickets to the big Ice Hockey game in Tampa that evening. Of course I had to stop and eat, a hasty Big Mac from a drive through! We just made the game in time, the Tampa Bay Lightnings against Washington Capitals.  

It was a really exciting game with a terrific atmosphere. Tampa eventually won by 4 to 3 and Ron and I shared in the general celebrations. We eventually got to bed somewhere around midnight about 45 hours since I had last got up. 

March 24^th – Day 2

We actually had a bit of a lie in this morning and didn’t get out birding until around 7:30am. The idea was to drive around and get some of the local birds near to Cosmo’s house which was about a half hour’s drive north of Tampa. The first good birds were the Sandhill Cranes which were simply wandering alongside the highway. They were incredibly tame and allowed a close approach.

We stopped at a nearby lake and a Limpkin flew across and landed only a short distance away, and I thought this could be a difficult bird! Another lake had an impressive colony of breeding Wood Storks together with a single Roseate Spoonbill. 

We then drove to Lettuce Lake Park near Tampa and followed the marked trail on a boardwalk though woodland of Cypress trees and swamps alongside the Hillsborough river. We had some good birds as well as enjoying plants, butterflies and a Water Snake. Firstly we had great views of a stunning Prothonotary Warbler followed by a Northern Parula. Two hawks were seen flying high overhead and these were identified as Short-tailed Hawks which caused some excitement. One creek had a flock of White Ibis with another obliging Limpkin. A Red-shouldered hawk was perched close by on a dead tree stump and Blue-grey Gnatcatchers seemed to be common around there. Red-eyed Vireos were heard singing and on reaching the car park again we had superb views of a Yellow-throated Vireo. At the visitor centre a Carolina Wren seemed to be hanging around the corner of the building, it clearly had a nest down by the trash cans.  

Following up some postings on the web we drove to Valrico to the garden of Steve Baches. He is apparently quite happy for birders to park up and go into his garden which has a good record for Hummingbirds. In this case a number of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were present and we duly walked in, feeling a little uncomfortable. However, Steve soon came out to see us and was more than happy to talk birds and butterflies with us. He showed us a young Hummer with just a hint of red throat as well as American Goldfinches a Chipping Sparrow and an Indigo Bunting. His wintering Clay-colored Sparrow had departed a few days before, or so he thought, in fact it turned up again just after we departed.  

We finished the day with a visit to the pools at the West Pascoe Industrial park. By now a rather nippy northerly wind had developed and small birds were difficult to pin down. There were some tantalising glimpses of both Sedge and Marsh Wrens but not good enough to tick for me. There were Least Sandpipers on the edge of the water and as the light started to go hundreds of Red-winged Blackbirds and Boat-tailed Grackles flew into the reedbed to roost. The hoped for American Woodcock failed to show.   

March 25^th Day 3

It was back to early starts today as we had information about a good sight for Rails and we needed to be there early. So it was a quick breakfast and a drive south to the Sarasota Celery Fields. Basically, a reedbed complex. We got there around 08:00 and set up the scopes by a sort of Rondavel on a mound overlooking the reedbeds. It wasn’t long before the cry of ‘Sora’ went up and there, just walking along the water’s edge in front of the reeds was our first Rail, a Sora.  Then another one appeared a bit further along. 

We got chatting to a British birder living locally who had been spending a large part of his time here photographing Rails and on a tip from him we walked a short distance around the reeds to the first corner. There were some gaps in the reeds very close here and after just a few minutes a superb Virginia Rail emerged and fed right in front of us. 

A bit further round the reeds opened out to a large pool and there were a number of waders present. Lots of Least Sandpipers again and some Lesser Yellowlegs. We also picked out a single Pectoral Sandpiper and a Stilt Sandpiper.

Walking back round to where our new friend had positioned himself we spent another wonderful hour with another three Soras, Swamp Sparrows, another Virginia Rail and just as we were thinking of leaving a King Rail emerged and walked across in front of the reeds. This place was really fantastic! 

This afternoon we were going to try our luck with migration at Fort De Soto Park on the coast but the fact that there was a stiff northerly wind blowing did not bode well, however we decided to try anyway. We stopped first at Emerson State Park which was not overburdened with birds. We did get great views of a Common Loon just offshore and a Spotted Sandpiper flew by. On then, after a rushed visit to a Dairy Queen, to Fort Desoto. The first pools on the way in held possibly a couple of hundred Redheads with smaller numbers of Ring necked Ducks. Cosmo took us along a trail where he had had great birds in the past but things were pretty quiet. We did eventually find a Blue-headed Vireo and an Ovenbird, which was new for me. Palm Warblers were flitting around practically everywhere but it was the waders that eventually stole the show.  

Along the beach were several scattered flocks and we worked through them carefully. There were the usual Least Sandpipers, Sanderling and Dunlin but also good numbers of black legged ‘peeps’ which all had good length bills and couldn’t be anything other than Western Sandpipers. Thinking back to our encounter on day one we decided that that one had to have been a Semi-palmated Sandpiper. There were also several Plovers. Wilson’s Plovers seemed to be nesting and there were several Semi-palmated Plovers as well as a few Piping Plovers. 

Cosmo had decided that he needed to spend a bit of time at home the next day so at this point Ron and I acquired a hire car from the airport and drove it back to his house. We spent the evening planning the next few days. 

March 26^th – Day 4

We didn’t want to go too far today and had decided to try out some lesser known parks within easy reach. We headed for the JB Starkey Wilderness Park piney woods as this was a habitat we hadn’t encountered yet. We reached the park in about half an hour and took a while to work out the best way of birding it. We found a ‘bird trail’ and decided to walk that. Whilst we were having a discussion over a slight problem with starting the car I happened to glance up to see a wild Turkey strolling across the car park, rather a scrawny version compared to the ones we’re used to at Xmas but a good tick nonetheless. 

Pine Warbler was heard straight away but took a bit of finding. The rest of the walk was hot and rather quiet. We saw a Downy Woodpecker and another singing Yellow-throated Vireo. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and Tufted Titmouse were seen several times but apart from that, although it was nice habitat the real specialists eluded us. I suspect that to find the Bachman’s Sparrows or Brown-headed Nuthatch you may need to be prepared to hire a bike and cycle in a few miles.

I decided to try out another coastal location although this northerly wind hadn’t let up and the chance of migrants seemed poor. We drove south west to ‘Honeymoon Island’ and visited the main sites as given in the guide. The first stop was some mussel beds on the north side but the tide was a little high and only Dunlin, Grey Plover and Willets were seen here.

The scrub behind the beach which could have been good for migrants was pretty dead in the wind, although the Laughing Gulls were showing well (see above) so we decided to walk the ‘Osprey’ trail. 

This was rather aptly named as we soon came to an area of dead Cypress(?) trees that were almost entirely filled with occupied Osprey nests, I think there were around twenty nests there. It was Osprey city. Right in the middle of these was a single Great Horned Owl nest. The young could be clearly seen but there was no sign of the adults while we were there. A Sharp-shinned Hawk was also seen perched on a snag in the same area. This trail then became the ‘Pelican’ trail and we did indeed see Brown Pelicans but couldn’t muster the inclination to walk right to the tip of the peninsula where we may have found the biggest concentrations of waders.

Back at Cosmo’s we were treated to an excellent Vietnamese style meal prepared by his family! We actually managed another early night in preparation for an early start for our drive down south the next day. 

March 27^th – Day 5

We were away before dawn and drove around 150 miles down the interstate to Fort Myers where we then wound our way through the heavy traffic to Sanibel Island. The ‘Ding Darling’ reserve consists of a four mile driveway around a series of creeks and mangrove shoreline. We drove slowly around and birds were everywhere, the usual waterbirds were evident, lots of White Ibis, White Pelicans, Little Blue Heron, Cattle Egrets, Reddish Egret, Tricolored Heron and Great White Egrets. The waders were difficult to get close to at first but then a large flock eventually landed on some exposed mud just 30 yards or so away. There were large numbers of Short-billed Dowitchers, the ‘tu-tu-tu’ calls were very evident. There were also Western and Least Sandpipers, Dunlin, Grey Plover, Lesser Yellowlegs and Willets. We had superb views. This was really what I had made this trip for! Small birds were in short supply, it was now the middle of the day and Mangrove Cuckoo, which does occur here, seemed a little fanciful. (We were told that there had been no recent records). So I finally tore myself away from the waders and we headed on to the next planned venue. 

A further drive of around an hour and a half took us to Corkscrew Swamp. This consisted of a two mile board walk around a swamp set amid huge Cypress trees, it was superbly organised and gave some superb views of most of the birds. We soon heard a Pileated Woodpecker drumming, sounding like a hammer drill! before getting some flight views. A Red-shouldered hawk was sitting in a low tree very close to the walk and a Green Agama lizard added a bit of variety. Wood storks flew over and a Swallow-tailed Kite was seen in the distance. We then came to a Barred Owl nest which was being photographed by several professional looking characters with huge lenses. The two chicks had recently fledged and were sitting in the tree near to the nest (see above). One of them still had a fair bit of down but the other looked much like the adult. Whilst we were watching these we saw five more Swallow-tailed Kites just above through the gaps in the trees.

Continuing on round we saw firstly a Black-crowned Night Heron on a nest then a Yellow-crowned Night Heron also on a nest, both very close to the path. A Limpkin was feeding just under the boardwalk. A Great Crested flycatcher was seen nearby as was our second Black-and-white warbler. 

We left at around four as we had a Motel 6 to find back in Fort Myers and we wanted to get there before it got too dark. On the map from the internet it looked as if it was on highway 44 and I directed Ron onto this road, no sign, so we pulled over to ask two passers by. They were an English couple who, it soon became apparent, were very drunk! They took us into the local bar to ask directions and we soon had half a dozen different directions as everyone round the bar tried to help. It was only when the owner (the only one that was sober) came out that we had a definitive route. Apparently there were two route 44s. It had split into two and we were on the wrong one. We eventually found it and as we were checking in the receptionist had to keep breaking off to answer the phone and give directions to lost customers. One guy said it was the most difficult Motel 6 in the country to find. We found a convenient Denny’s down the road (a guy came in to ask if anyone knew where the Motel 6 was!) and had some good food before getting an early night. 

March 28^th – Day 6  

We had decided to head for the Everglades today just so I could get a brief experience of this fascinating habitat. So it was up at 5 o’clock and after filling up with gas and a steady 3 hour drive we arrived at the northern point of the Everglades National park and Shark Valley. A short distance before the turn to the reserve we saw some Purple Martins nesting at the top of a tall pole. 

Just around the entrance we saw a Black-crowned Night Heron, Green Heron, several Alligators, a pair of Red-shouldered hawks nesting in the top of a palm tree and Anhingas were very evident in the area. 

Cars were not allowed in the reserve and the only way round is to join a two hour tour on an open bus. The guide, however, was very good on his birds and made sure he stopped to identify everything. The track wound its way across the expanse of grassland that makes up the Everglades. At this time of the year it was very dry with occasional pools and holes dug out by the alligators to get them down to the water table. The pools alongside the track were full of the usual waterbirds. Purple Gallinules were a new species for the trip, and there was Snowy Egrets, Great White Egrets, Tricolored Heron, Little Blue and Great Blue Herons.

Killdeers were nesting just a few feet into the grass. Then we had a real coup, the guide announced that he usually saw an American Bittern in the reeds at this point. We were instantly on red alert and there it was! Showing superbly as it walked swiftly across towards the thicker reeds. This was a lifer for both of us.

There were a few Least Sandpipers and both Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs on the rest of the loop as well as many sightings of Alligators of various sizes, from babies to monsters! On leaving the reserve we stopped at the edge of a reed bed and open grassland area and there, as we had hoped, was a Snail Kite hunting. 

We decided to head back to Fort Myers and try for one more important species which, according to the guides was rather numerous near there. We went through the town and into the adjoining town of Cape Coral. Following the directions to the game fields we found what we were looking for, a line of burrows, some of which had Burrowing Owls on guard. 

We watched several of these interesting birds for some time and were joined by one of the local photographers who regularly checked the Owls. Apparently there are around a thousand such burrows in the Cape Coral area. Amazing!  It was time to head back to the Motel and another visit to Denny’s. 

March 29^th – The last day!

We had a good lie in this morning and then made our way back up the interstate to Tampa and our flight home. On the way we saw a Swallow-tailed Kite crossing the road near the Manatee River and as a final tick we stopped off at the Manatee viewing centre at Apollo Beach. We had some excellent views of these fascinating animals just twenty yards away under the water. I can’t quite see why the sailors of old thought they were mermaids, they must have been away from home for an awfully long time! 

The car was duly returned on time, despite some hairy driving experiences in the city centre and we caught our flight home, via Washington again. I had 34 lifers, a very pleasing total for a relatively short trip! 

Philip Pope    (Photos courtesy of Ron Thomas)