[Astrotomicus]

I was wondering if there were some hot spots on either coast for catching flocks of birds migrating north, and when the best times might be.

Thank you,

Tom

[csanchez7]

Fort Zachary Taylor State Park in Key West and Fort De Soto in the Tampa-St Petersburg area are two of the best coastal hotspots in the spring for migration.

Fort Zachary Taylor regular records not only most of the eastern breeding warblers and neotropical passerines every spring, but also specialties such as Gray Kingbird, Black-whiskered Vireo, Mangrove Cuckoo, and Short-tailed Hawk. Rarities annually show up on any given day (one year had Loggerhead Kingbird, Yellow-faced Grassquit, Western Spindalis, Bahama Mockingbird, Thick-billed Vireo, Fork-tailed Flycatcher, and White-tipped Dove all show up within a span of a couple weeks). Indigenous Park and the Key West Botanical Gardens nearby are always worth a check.

Fort De Soto is more reliable for good numbers of bread and butter migrants, including most of the eastern warblers, tanagers, orioles, flycatchers, and thrushes.

Bill Baggs State Park in Miami-Dade can also be very good if Caribbean migrants are your cup of tea -- large numbers of Cape May, Blackpoll, Black-throated Blue, and Prairie Warblers pass through, along with American Redstart, Ovenbird, Northern Parula, Common Yellowthroat, and others. The second week of migration sees a significant slow down in both numbers and diversity, but it is also within the narrow window when Connecticut Warblers pass through.

The last week of April is generally the best week for spring migration in Florida -- a state where fall migration is usually much better. It's not Texas or SW Louisiana, but it can be good.

Carlos

[Astrotomicus]

Thank you so much, Carlos. great info.

I just found out we may be going down earlier than the Spring. We may be going the 1st week of March. Are these spots still active at this time?

I am also interest in year round/ migrating shore birds.

Tom

[csanchez7]

Tom,

You would actually get very good overall diversity of wintering passerines in the first week of March, as many warbler species (~20-22) species annually winter in the state. In Miami-Dade county, a visit to A.D. Barnes Park and Matheson Hammock would likely turn up ~15-16 warbler species in a day, with annual wintering species including Cape May, Magnolia, Wilson's, Palm, Pine, Prairie, Yellow-rumped, Black-and-white, Orange-crowned, Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green, and Yellow-throated Warblers, plus Northern Parula, Ovenbird, Common Yellowthroat, and American Redstart. White-eyed, Yellow-throated, and Blue-headed Vireos, Summer Tanager, and Great Crested Flycatcher are also regular wintering species.

Fort De Soto, Merritt Island NWR, Bunche Beach, Tigertail Beach (Marco Island), Cutler Wetlands (Miami-Dade), and Crandon Beach (Key Biscayne) are all good bets for seeing a good diversity of shorebirds.

Carlos

[Cervus]

The Cedar Key area (Levy County) on the west coast has always been a fantastic place to catch spring migrants. A few years ago along the road to the Indian shell mound I stumbled across a fallout that included, among the usual warblers: Indigo Buntings, Blue Grosbeaks, Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks, Black-Throated Green Warblers, and a Scarlet Tanager.