FLORIDA: Return Journey from the Dry Tortugas

In the early hours of the morning the winds picked up and what had begun as a calm night slowly became more rocky. There was another wonderful orange glow over the tern colony as the sun rose. Shortly after daybreak we took the zodiac into Garden Key for a final check of the fort. Art soon had a large nightjar flying around the campsite (above) but in spite of many eyes searching we were unable to find what was in all likelihood a Chuck-will’s-widow.

Those that checked the fountain and trees within the fort found that most of the birds that we had seen yesterday had not taken off during the night – in spite of favorable conditions. The Warbling Vireo was seen again, the Worm-eating (above) and Chestnut-sided Warblers showed well, and the only new bird was a female Rose-breasted Grosbeak that Bob found.

We had a final look at the Magnificent Frigatebirds (above) that hung in the air over the fort before heading back on board the “Tiburon.”  By 9AM the zodiac had been tied up, and we began our return journey to the mainland. At Hospital Key we slowed down to view the Masked Boobies, many of whom were flying around the sand island. The marine forecast was spot on and the ride back was rough as we cut through steady 4 to 6 foot seas. There were a few Brown Boobies around the park boundary and little else for the first 3 and a half hours. As we cleared Rebecca Channel there was a period of 15 minutes during which we encountered a total of 5 Audubon Shearwaters crossing the bow of the boat along with a Bridled Tern. For Bob and John, who are doing a “Big Year”, the shearwater was number 514. Shortly after this the seas became too rough for us to be outside and most of us retired to rest inside.

Following 9 hours on the boat we disembarked at Stock Island, said our goodbyes to Ron, Katharine, Bob, John, Nancy and the wonderful crew, and began our road trip back up the Keys.

Looking for a good shorebird spot along the way we picked the eastern end of Ohio Key and were rewarded with a White-rumped Sandpiper amongst many Least and a few Semi-palmated. We reached Marathon in time to make a stop for dinner at Subway and then proceeded the short distance to the airport at dusk. Here, three Antillean Nighthawks put on an outstanding show, calling, displaying and flying over our heads. This bird made it ABA number 600 for Jim – congratulations. There was still an hour and a half of driving to go to get to Florida City for our last nights stay.