VENTURE TO FLORIDA

March 9 - 15, 2007

TRIP REPORT

Our venture to Florida took us from the tourist Mecca of Orlando all the way to the southernmost tip of the continental United States, Key West. The landscape changed dramatically throughout our travels. From Pine Flatwoods to Dry Prairie, Oak Forest to Cypress Hammocks, Mangroves to sandy beaches and towering concrete jungles along the Atlantic coast! After a good night's rest in Orlando we ventured out into Osceola County a true vision of what most of Central Florida looked like in the 18th Century. Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Bachman's Sparrow, Limpkin, Snail Kite and Swallow-tailed Kite were all admired. A Live Oak tree in St Cloud was decorated by a small flock of songbirds including Northern Parula, Black-and-white Warbler and Downy Woodpecker. Titusville, a small town on the Atlantic Coast, was to be our next destination; famous for being the gateway to Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island NWR. The latter was where we would spend the day birding enjoying great looks at feeding Roseate Spoonbills, a plethora of busy shorebirds, a dancing Reddish Egret and Florida's only endemic, the enigmatic Florida Scrub-jay. A visit to a nearby canal gave us the opportunity to study the behavior of several Manatees. Later on that day Simon's driving skills were fully tested as we made our way south along the coast to West Palm Beach. We arrived at the Wakodahatchee Wetlands as the sun dipped below the horizon. A pleasant stroll along the boardwalk gave us unbelievable views of many species including tame Purple Gallinules, Little Blue Herons, Glossy Ibis, a sleeping Pied-billed Grebe, several wailing Limpkins and a huge 13 foot Alligator crashing through the water in search of supper! Wakodahatchee was so good we returned the next morning and added a typically lone Solitary Sandpiper to our list. A female Least Bittern decided to put on a show and sat in full view a mere 6 feet away! The nearby Green Cay Wetlands treated us to very close views of Mottled Ducks, Purple Gallinules, Cedar Waxwings and Purple Martins. A Red-shouldered Hawk picked a fight with a Northern Harrier; the latter won! We finished the day searching around Fort Lauderdale Airport for Smooth-billed Ani's. After an hour or so of frustration we finally came across one sitting in a bush. While we all enjoyed scope views of this strange looking bird two others appeared. It was a fitting end to a memorable day. It isn't often one has the opportunity to see a first American record but this was what faced us as we headed south to Key West early the next morning. 5am to be exact! Our main quarry for the day was a Cuban immigrant found only a few days previous at Fort Zachary Taylor State Park. Upon arrival we piled out of the vehicle and joined the admiring crowd already present. Sitting on top of an Australian Pine was the United States first Loggerhead Kingbird. What a splendid bird! A gourmet breakfast in the company of the islands famous Red Junglefowl followed; interrupted briefly to admire our first White-crowned Pigeon of the trip. Back at the state park we saw both Short-tailed and Broad-winged Hawks as well as several Magnificent Frigatebirds. Our picnic at Bahia Honda SP was spiced up by an escaped Canary who alighted in a tree next to the table. He was looking for a handout! The tiny endemic race of White-tailed Deer known as Key Deer was our next target. We drove slowly around Big Pine and No Name Key and finally a single doe obliged us with good views by the side of the road. Marathon was to be our next destination; a retention pond to be exact. As we stared at a dried up muddy hollow by the side of the road we concluded that some people's interpretation of what retention ponds look like was different to our own! We continued on our way and proceeded to miss our turn, a result of some shoddy navigating by the co-pilot! As Simon attempted to find our way back to the intended destination we stumbled across our target species! A lone Burrowing Owl sat beside the road and blinked uninterestingly at us. After such a long day we started later than usual the next morning and headed into the Everglades National Park. A quick stop at Lucky Hammock produced an unexpected Least Flycatcher, a female Painted Bunting, Great Crested Flycatcher and a Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Inside the park we ambled along the Anhinga trail enjoying close views of its namesake as well as breathtaking looks at Alligators. The Gumbo Limbo trail didn't produce any warblers but we did see a small brown snake disappearing into the brush. Mahogany Hammock had a very confiding White-crowned Pigeon as well as many Gray Catbirds, Blue-headed Vireo, Black-and-white Warbler but unfortunately no Barred Owls. Lunch was taken at the Flamingo Campsite, a Laughing Gull kept us company! In the Marina we picked up American White Pelicans, Black Skimmers, Osprey, Reddish Egret, Great White Heron and Sharon spotted our only Spotted Sandpiper of the trip. Further exploration of the marina produced two mighty American Crocodiles and splendid views of a Short-tailed Hawk over the road. Mrazek Pond held the usual assortment of wading birds, Belted Kingfisher and four superb Swallow-tailed Kites gliding in the sky above. Snake Bight Trail didn't give up the elusive Mangrove Cuckoo but we did see Northern Waterthrush. The "Cape Sable" Seaside Sparrow also eluded us as the sun began to dip towards the horizon once again. Lucky Hammock was to be our first port of call the next morning. A Barred Owl eating a rat on top of a pole and a male Painted Bunting were the highlights. After breakfast we headed to Cutler Ridge but the Cave Swallows weren't home. A dark morph Short-tailed Hawk provided compensation. Simon then took on the Miami traffic and we drove around and around (getting dizzy!) searching for Red-whiskered Bulbuls and Spot-breasted Orioles. Both proved very elusive and we only managed to find three Bulbuls. Two pairs of Hill Mynahs were observed and Monk Parakeets screeched overhead. A long day ended at A.D. Barnes Park where we lucked into a nice songbird flock that included a male Black-throated Blue Warbler, American Redstart and an immature male Summer Tanager. The feral cat population there was rather large! We returned to West Palm Beach for our last night together and enjoyed another delicious meal at Howley's. The Crab Cake Sandwich was yummy! We hit the Atlantic Coast the next morning and enjoyed diving Northern Gannets and flocks of Royal Terns. At Viera Wetlands we added Ring-necked Duck to our list, our final addition. We ended the trip where it began, in Orlando. A great time was had by all! 

Andy Wraithmell

LOCATION GUIDE

 March 8                      Arrive in Orlando

March 9                      East Lake Tohopekaliga, Joe Overstreet Road, Lake Kissimmee, Three Lakes WMA, Fred’s Fish Camp, Lake Marian

March 10                    Merritt Island NWR, Wakodahatchee Wetlands

March 11                    Wakodahatchee Wetlands, Green Cay Wetlands, Fort Lauderdale Airport

March 12                    Fort Zachary Taylor SP (Key West), No Name Key, Big Pine Key, Bahia Honda SP, Marathon

March 13                    Lucky Hammock, Everglades National Park

March 14                    Lucky Hammock, Cutler Ridge, Kendall, A.D. Barnes Park

March 15                    Sebastian Inlet SP, Viera Wetlands, Orlando

American Alligator, Everglades NP

Least Bittern, Wakodahatchee

Purple Gallinule, Green Cay

Sora, Green Cay

Roseate Spoonbill over Merritt Island NWR

Short-tailed Hawk, Everglades NP

Swallow-tailed Kite, St Cloud

Bromeliad

American Crocodile

Great Egret

Lake Marian

Manatee

Suzette & Double-crested Cormorant

Loggerhead Kingbird in Key West - March 2007

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