FLORIDA: Quality not Quantity

Anyone that has ever done a ‘Big Day” of birding will tell you the importance of getting your birds as quickly as possible and moving on to the next one. Not only do you have to know where to go one also has to have a great deal of luck along the way. Our luck began yesterday when we got the Short-tailed Hawk, which freed up this morning….to move onto the next one.

In no time at all Bill spotted a Florida Scrub Jay (above) perched along a roadside fence post. Reversing the van we positioned ourselves opposite it and soon had a second bird join us. This was obviously not the first time that these US endemics had had an audience. A few unsalted peanuts-in-a-shell as treats and we were soon on our way.

There were many miles to cover as well left the pinewoods and prairies (above) of Central Florida and worked our way south to the Tamiami Trail, then eastwards into Miami, and finally well south into the Everglades.

Any bird with a plumage of black, white and red is stunning, but is there a smarter one than the Red-headed Woodpecker? This morning three Red-heads put on a wonderful show for us, flying back and forth between snags drumming at every possible opportunity. As we watched the woodpeckers there a pair of very cooperative Eastern Towhees (above) cavorting along the hedgerow. We picked up a few more warblers with male Black-throated Blue and Cape May showing well.

Scanning the endless River of Grass, better known as the “Everglades”,  Jim spotted a female Snail Kite (below).

She slowly flew in towards us and quartered the sawgrass that paralleled the canal, that was infront of us Stalling, twisting and dropping down successfully, twice, to pick up an apple snail and fly into a small pond apple barely a hundred yards away.

On our first day we missed our first attempt at seeing the Red-footed Booby (above) that has been hanging out around the Pelican Harbor Seabird Station. Early this afternoon following 40 minutes of scanning the inland waterway and mangrove islands for potential roosting sites, the booby flew onto its favorite perch atop of the main rehabilitation cage. For twenty minutes we watched it within close proximity as it decided whether it should stay or go. It did indeed leave, and flew out over a multitude of docked yachts before landing on the calm open water.

I would like to thank the staff at the Pelican Harbor Seabird Station for being so accommodating in allowing so many birders to come and see this bird. It had been bought in an emaciated condition, and it responded well to their care and was released two months ago. As one can see from the photo the bird looks in great shape now.

Three down, one to go! We encountered heavy traffic as we worked our way down US 1 and through South Miami, but we had enough time to stop and look at the Caribbean race of Cave Swallow at the traditional nesting spot under the 216th Turnpike bridge!

After checking into our motel we headed the 11 miles to the main entrance to the Everglades National Park. The agricultural fields along the way were full of migrant workers picking the produce that will undoubtedly be in our supermarkets by weeks end. The first stop on the long journey down the only road in the Everglades is only a short distance from the entrance. This is called Royal Palm, and it was here that we walked the Anhinga Trail, dodging Alligators (above) that ambled across our pathway, and others that opened their mouths wide as we walked by!

Our target was a lone Smooth-billed Ani (above) that had been reported for several months. A quarter of the way around the trail the ani could be heard making a low barking chatter which gave us an indication to its location. Before we knew it it was perched up in full view. This is only one of two remaining accessible sites where one has a chance to see this rapidly vanishing species from Southern Florida. It remains common in the Caribbean.

Luck was certainly on our side. It made today a very special one and we celebrated with a delicious meal at the casual El Toro Taco, in downtown historic Homestead. The owner Hector, was proud to tell us that he would be closed for a couple of days as his restaurant was being used for an episode in a TV show. No it is not Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares!