Florida, 3 -17 September, 1996 Jane Denham and Dylan Thomas [email protected] 4-5 September, Indian Harbour Beach As the aeroplane approached Orlando airport , my first impression of Florida was how wet it was, there were lakes everywhere. The birding got off to a good start, Turkey Vulture's circling over the runway. Jane and I were staying with relatives in Indian Harbour Beach, which lies on the strip of land between the Indian River and the Atlantic Ocean. We saw a number of birds on the drive from the airport, including White Ibis, Cattle Egret, more Turkey Vulture's, Osprey, Brown Pelican and Mourning Dove. Next morning, thanks to jet lag, we got up just before sunrise, opened the curtains and saw a Great Horned Owl fly to the top of a pine. We had a look around the gardens of the condo', and were surprised at the number of Eurasian Collared Doves, which were unexpected. Spent the day around Indian Harbour Beach, and went to the coast. * = life tick Double-crested Cormorant Brown Pelican * Wood Stork * White Ibis * Green Heron Little Blue Heron * Great Blue Heron Snowy Egret Cattle Egret Turnstone Common Ringed Plover Gray (Black-bellied) Plover Least Sandpiper * Sanderling Willet Laughing Gull Turkey Vulture Osprey Great Horned Owl Red-bellied Woodpecker Mourning Dove Collared Dove Blue Jay Barn Swallow Starling House Sparrow I stalked another Great Horned Owl perched on the mast of a boat docked on the river. I ducked down behind bushes and approached it from behind, moving slowly, scared to look up in case I flushed it away. After spending ten minutes on my approach I decided it was time to feast my eyes on the best view of a Great Horned Owl that I would ever get- early morning sun behind me, the bird perched in the open- unbelievable luck! I lifted my binos and noticed a funny line on the bird- most probably caused when the owl was removed from it's mould, it was plastic!!!!! I had a quick look around to make sure no one had seen me and left the scene immediately. Plastic Great Horned Owls turned out to be fairly common- another Florida specialty? 6 September 1996 Tropical Trail, Merrit Island. (from 6.30am) Jane and I got up before dawn and walked over the bridge to Merrit Island. There where several Brown Pelicans perched on the wooden supports below the bridge, and a Great Blue Heron. Flocks of pelicans flew up and down the river in V formations constantly . We could hear a high pitched call coming from several locations around the bay. It turned out to be from the Ospreys, which were perched on the masts of the yachts docked around the Indian River. The call seemed quite pathetic, coming from such an impressive bird. I have never seen so many Ospreys together before, up to five could be seen at one time in front of the condo'. We walked north along Tropical Trail for about 2 miles. The road followed the coast, with houses to the right and the Indian River to the left. The trail was mainly tree lined, with an occasional scrubby patch. Plenty of birds down by the water, very few in the trees. On the way back, we watched Black Terns fishing around the bridge. Brown Pelican Double-crested Cormorant Cattle Egret Great Blue Heron * Osprey Turnstone Laughing Gull Sandwich Tern Black Tern * Chimney Swift Belted Kingfisher Northern Rough-winged Swallow * Eastern Kingbird Barn Swallow Northern Mockingbird Starling Fish Crow Blue Jay Northern Cardinal Saw several dolphins out in the Indian River Drive to Captiva Island (11am) Drove across Florida via Okeechobee, birds seen along State Highway 70. Turkey Vulture Black Vulture * Crested Caracara * Black vultures seemed to be more common away from the east coast, usually seen mixed with groups of Turkey Vultures. Vulture flocks of up to 100 birds were seen occasionally over the fields, circling in thermals. The Crested Caracara's were seen perched on fence posts just to the side of the road- just like they were supposed to be! We saw up to three birds together. A number of times we saw them picking over the carcasses of armadillos, which seem to be fairly common judging by the number of dead ones along the roads. 7 September 1996 Captiva Island Sanibel and Captiva Islands lie off the Gulf coast of Florida, near Fort Myers. We stayed at the Tween Waters Inn on Captiva Island. The Inn has a marina on one side of the island and a large beach on the other. Apparently, otters can be seen in and around the marina (and they must be tame, as there are signs up asking you not to feed them!), we didn't see any there but did see Anhingas, Pelicans, Great Egret, Little Blue Heron, Great Blue Heron and Yellow-crowned Night-heron and Laughing Gull. Lots of small lizards running around the hotel during the day, and many House Geckoes catching insects around the lights at night. Ding Darling Reserve, Sanibel Island (7am) Had the first lifer of the morning as we crossed the causeway between Captiva and Sanibel, a Magnificent Frigatebird was circling fairly low over the beach. Saw about three Red-Shouldered Hawks perched on telegraph poles along the main road. The reserve is fairly large and we took the car around it. The dirt road is very wide and is one way so you can safely pull over and hop out anywhere. It was too hot to walk through when we were there, but I imagine in the winter it would be better to walk, there is a trail through the mangroves which looked very good. We drove into the reserve and pulled over at the first lagoon on the left. It was a very still, muggy morning, with no cloud cover at all. We immediately saw an Alligator about 8 feet long swim across slowly towards the mangrove. We set up the 'scope and scanned across the lagoon. There were plenty of birds about, a large flock of egrets on the far end of the lagoon, a Red-shouldered Hawk perched on a dead tree close to the road, and several Anhingas in their classic wingspread pose sitting on limbs overhanging the water. Unfortunately, we were not prepared for the voracious appetites of the local insects. We were both wearing long-sleeved tops and trousers but only had a mild insect repellent on our hands, neck and face. Jane was wearing a dark blue hat which became covered (literally) with mosquitoes and no-see-ums. In the five minutes we were out of the car Jane received over 120 bites around her neck! I was bitten too, but didn't react as badly. Be warned! Wear the strongest repellent you can get your hands on. We used "Off! Deep Woods" spray from then on and wore light coloured clothing, a neck scarf also helped. It's worth spraying your clothes as well. It isn't pleasant reeking of the repellent but after one unprotected day you will welcome it! That said, we managed to see a good few birds before being forced into submission. by the bugs, then rushed away and bought some calamine lotion and super-strength repellent. Magnificent Frigatebird * Brown Pelican Double-crested Cormorant Anhinga White Ibis Wood Stork Reddish Egret Great Egret Tricolored (Louisiana) Heron * Great Blue Heron Yellow-crowned Night Heron * Red Shouldered Hawk * Osprey Long-billed Dowitcher * Short-billed Dowitcher * Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs * Belted Kingfisher Northern Mockingbird Gray Kingbird * American Crow Yellow-throated Warbler * Prairie Warbler Northern Cardinal Alligator Racoon, very tame, it was eating fruit below a tree on the road and didn't move when we drove past. Unidentified brown snake (between 3 and 4 feet long) with thin fawn-coloured stripe running down its body. 7 September 1996 Ding Darling Reserve, Sanibel Island Visited the reserve in the early morning and again in the evening. It was much less buggy but had the birding cut short in the evening by a spectacular thunderstorm. Pied Billed Grebe * Brown Pelican Anhinga Roseate Spoonbill White Ibis Little Blue Heron Great Blue Heron Black-crowned Night-heron Yellow-crowned Night-heron Tricolored Heron Snowy Egret Great Egret Florida (Mottled) Duck * Bald Eagle * Red-shouldered Hawk Osprey Least Sandpiper * Spotted Sandpiper Sandwich Tern Mourning Dove Northern Flicker Red-bellied Woodpecker Pileated Woodpecker Belted Kingfisher White-eyed Vireo * Great Crested Flycatcher * Blue Gray Gnatcatcher Yellow-throated Warbler Prairie Warbler Ovenbird Louisiana Waterthrush American Crow Northern Cardinal The smaller birds are more easily seen early in the morning, and the warblers reacted very strongly to "pishing". As we drove around, I would stop the car every so often and make the required noises, waiting to see if anything would appear. One Prairie Warbler hovered in front of the windscreen of the car, and then flew around to my open window and hovered inches from my face, unbelievable! The Yellow-throated Warblers also appear everywhere at the noise. The Pileated Woodpeckers were easily seen, they have a nest/roost in a large dead tree on the right very close to the road. They have an unusual call, which can be heard fairly often around the two islands. We returned to the reserve in the evening for the low tide (which was the best time for birding- the birds are all much closer), and were watching Roseate Spoonbills and waders. A major thunderstorm was approaching and the wind was beginning to pick up. The birds suddenly became very agitated and the small waders lifted and flew. A Black Vulture soared over our heads, and as we turned to watch it a Bald Eagle swept low over the water, banked, circled past us and dropped down to the lagoon and caught a fish. We really couldn't have asked for a better view. 9 September 1996 Captiva Island, beach opposite Tween Waters Inn Took an early morning walk along the shore, Willets are fairly common, as are the Sanderlings which will walk to within 6 feet of you. Lots of terns fishing just offshore. Brown Pelican Great Egret Royal Tern * Sandwich Tern Sanderling Willet Turnstone Ding Darling Reserve, Sanibel Island (12pm) Had a quick drive through the reserve before we left Sanibel. It was extremely hot so there weren't many birds in evidence. Had a look in the reserve headquarters, the staff are very helpful and there are numerous free pamphlets about the reserve and a good book shop. There was a small walk behind the headquarters which was worth doing. Bald Eagle Pileated Woodpecker Blue-gray Gnatcatcher White-eyed Vireo Yellow-throated Warbler Common Grackle Northern Cardinal Near Okeechobee On the drive back we again went via State Highway 70. Two Sandhill Cranes were seen in a field with cattle. Had excellent views through the 'scope. Saw several Loggerhead Shrikes perched on the wires along the road, I was pleased that these turned out to be fairly common. Sandhill Crane * Black Vulture Turkey Vulture Crested Caracara Loggerhead Shrike * 10 September, Melbourne Had a day of rest and went shopping at Melbourne Square Mall. Luckily, still had the 'scope and binos with us because the large flock of birds passing over the mall carpark turned out to be about 100 Common Nighthawks. They look very like swifts in flight, I almost passed them off for Chimney Swifts until I saw the flashes of white in the wings. 11 September, Merrit Island National Reserve. Followed the instructions in the "A birders guide to Florida" by Bill Pranty and took the first right off the SR-406 as you come of the bridge. This road winds around a series of lagoons. The road is fairly narrow and was quite boggy when we were there, I wasn't all together sure the car would make it at times. There is just enough room for another car to squeeze past, and there were a few fishermen in large four wheel drive trucks about. I was really looking forward to this area and wasn't disappointed. The first time I stopped the car and got out I flushed a small flock of Florida Duck and a White-cheeked Pintail! Apparently this bird had been hanging around the reserve for most of the summer. Whether it was a genuine vagrant or an escape, I don't know, but it was in perfect condition and very pretty. Had another close encounter with Florida bugs, this time what appeared to be one inch long, very intimidating looking horse flies, slavering at the jaws at the prospect of some virgin European flesh. I bailed out of the car more than once due to these! I'm not sure if they were after us or the car but we were hassled by them all around the reserve, they were doing up to thirty miles an hour chasing the car! (sounds silly I know) We were very disappointed to find that the Black Point Wildlife Drive was closed for repairs. If you want to be better prepared than we were, the Reserve Headquarters number is 407/ 861-0667. The staff in the Reserve headquarters were extremely helpful, we were given directions to a viewing area for manatees along SR-3 Apparently, fresh water flows into brackish at this point and the manatees tend to congregate. We hung around for a few minutes and were rewarded with three manatees swimming below us, not 15 feet away. There is a polarised glass viewer on the platform to allow you to see the manatees more clearly. Anhinga Double-crested Cormorant Brown Pelican Pied-billed Grebe Wood Stork Glossy Ibis White Ibis Great Blue Heron Little Blue Heron Tricolored Heron Reddish Egret Snowy Egret Great Egret Florida Duck White-cheeked Pintail * Laughing Gull Caspian Tern Black Tern Moorhen Willet Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs * Sanderling Least Sandpiper Killdeer Grey (Black-bellied) Plover Turnstone Black-necked Stilt * Turkey Vulture Osprey Common Ground Dove * Belted Kingfisher Barn Swallow Loggerhead Shrike American Crow Common Grackle Boat-tailed Grackle Red-winged Blackbird Eastern Meadowlark Northern Cardinal Alligator (5 or 6) Manatee (3) Tortoise sp. Turtles sp (freshwater, behind the reserve headquarters, some at least 2 feet long) 12 September, drive to Orlando We drove to Orlando from Melbourne along the US-192, saw three more Caracaras feeding on an Armadillo carcass along the road. We tried very hard to see the Snail Kites at East Lake Tohopekaliga, near St. Cloud, but had no luck. We saw a couple of other birders who obviously had followed the same instructions in Prantys' book who were equally disappointed. However, I was very impressed at having to stop the car to allow Sandhill Cranes to walk across the road! There were about fifteen altogether in the Kaliga Park area of the lake. Snowy Egret Great Blue Heron Sandhill Crane Black Vulture Turkey Vulture Crested Caracara Yellow Warbler Common Yellowthroat Loggerhead Shrike Common Grackle We attempted to see the Burrowing Owls at Round Lake Road, off US Highway 441. We spent a couple of hours in the area and despite looking very hard, we didn't see any. Not even a hint of an owl, but Loggerhead Shrike, Blue Jay, Northern Mockingbird, and Mourning Dove were seen. 14 September, Indian Harbour Beach Had a relaxing day at the beach, but went with binos just in case. I was very glad I did, I had all but given up on seeing Scrub Jays, but as I was walking along the beach I noticed an unusual bird sitting on a telephone line. I didn't get a good look at it because the sun was behind it. I approached very carefully only to find that the bird wasn't the least bit bothered by my presence. It dropped down and started to scrabble around on the ground were it was joined by a second bird. They were incredibly tame, and spent as much time watching me as I did watching them. Both of these birds were colour ringed (typically, I had no note book and can't remember what colours). Brown Pelican Snowy Egret Willet Sanderling Turnstone Grey Plover Forsters Tern * Sandwich Tern Common Tern Royal Tern Laughing Gull Florida Scrub Jay * Boat-tailed Grackle 16 September, Merrit Island Started off at 4am, watching a shuttle launch. We were a long way off but it was still spectacular- the whole sky lit up. We decided to visit the Kennedy Space Center, so combined it with an early morning trip to the Merritt Island reserve. The Black Point Wildlife Reserve was open this time. We saw two birders along the road peering through their 'scopes and pulled over to see what was about.. They were watching the male White-cheeked Pintail, which had been joined by female! Had a quick look through their 'scope before the birds were scared off by a passing fisherman. As we drove over the bridge back to Titusville we had to wait for the bridge to close. I watched what I thought were odd loo.king Black Terns flying over the car. Realisation dawned and I scrabbled for the bino's and had excellent views of Sooty Tern Anhinga Double-crested Cormorant Brown Pelican Pied-billed Grebe Wood Stork Glossy Ibis White Ibis Great Blue Heron Little Blue Heron Tricolored Heron Reddish Egret Snowy Egret Great Egret Florida Duck White-cheeked Pintail * Laughing Gull Black Skimmer Royal Tern Black Tern Sooty Tern * Moorhen Willet Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Sanderling Least Sandpiper Killdeer Turnstone Turkey Vulture Black Vulture Osprey Bald Eagle (imm) Belted Kingfisher Mourning Dove Red-bellied Woodpecker Barn Swallow Loggerhead Shrike American Crow Eastern Kingbird Common Grackle Boat-tailed Grackle Red-winged Blackbird Eastern Meadowlark Northern Cardinal Alligator Turtle Tortoise Saw quite a few birds when we did the tour around the Space Center, we saw two adult Bald Eagles perched along the road, Glossy Ibis, White Ibis, Common Grackle, and Royal Tern. In all, we had a great time but I don't think we had Florida birding at its best and it was incredibly hot some days. We were both impressed at how tame the birds were, and at the numbers of birds around. I would go in the winter next time, both for a greater variety of birds and the more moderate temperatures. I would recommend Florida to anyone, Sanibel and Captiva were beautiful and merit a longer stay than we had.
TRIP LIST
Pied-billed Grebe *
Brown Pelican *
Double-crested Cormorant
Anhinga*
Magnificent Frigatebird *
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron *
Tricolored Heron *
Reddish Egret *
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-heron
Yellow-crowned Night-heron
White Ibis *
Glossy Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill *
Wood Stork *
Mottled (Florida) Duck *
White-cheeked Pintail *
Northern Shoveler
Black Vulture *
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle *
Red-shouldered Hawk *
Crested Caracara *
Common Moorhen
American Coot
Sandhill Crane *
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Black-necked Stilt *
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs *
Willet
Spotted Sandpiper
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Least Sandpiper *
Short-billed Dowitcher *
Long-billed Dowitcher *
Laughing Gull
Caspian Tern
Royal Tern *
Sandwich Tern
Forster's Tern *
Sooty Tern *
Black Tern *
Black Skimmer
Eurasian Collared Dove
Mourning Dove
Common Ground-Dove*
Smooth-billed Ani *
Great Horned Owl
Common Nighthawk
Chimney Swift
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker *
Great Crested Flycatcher *
Eastern Kingbird
Gray Kingbird *
Northern Rough-winged Swallow *
Barn Swallow
Blue Jay
Florida Scrub-Jay *
American Crow
Fish Crow
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher *
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
Loggerhead Shrike *
European Starling
White-eyed Vireo *
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler *
Prairie Warbler
Ovenbird
Louisiana Waterthrush *
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Boat-tailed Grackle
Common Grackle
House Sparrow
90 species 38 lifers