RFI Late May-Early June: South Florida (1 Viewer)

[Mysticete]

So this year has been a bit of a turbulent year for trip planning. Originally, the goal had been to visit Hawaii around this time, only for that trip to run afoul of logistical hurdles and budget hurdles. Than there was a potential for going to Ecuador, but that fell through. Then I thought about Maine and the Acadian Birding festival, but I think I am now settling on South Florida, especially the Florida keys. Yes, I know migration will be done, and it will probably be hot as hell, but after Hawaii it's the next state with the most potential lifers. This will be my second visit, the last being at the end of November, when some of my targets just were not around. I am also interested in seeing herps and mammals, although I doubt I will get much diversity of the latter.

I haven't figured out the full trip details, so hopefully some folks here might give me ideas. Tentatively my idea is to perhaps spend a day in the Palm Beach area, a day in Miami, preferably using a guide, and then base myself for several days each out of Homestead and Marathon.

In addition to any potentially lingering Caribbean vagrants that could still be around, here are my target species:

Red Junglefowl
White-crowned Pigeon
Mangrove Cuckoo
Smooth-billed Ani: Spent time on this last time and dipped
Antillean Nighthawk
King Rail (I'm guessing this will be difficult)
Gray-headed Swamphen (nemesis: dipped on it multiple times on my first trip)
"Eastern" Willet
Brown Noddy, Sooty Tern, Bridled Tern, Masked Booby: I assume Dry Tortugas access is still possible this late in the year
Roseate Tern
Brown Booby
Magnificent Frigatebird
"Florida" Burrowing Owl
White-winged Parakeet
Nanday Parakeet
Other exotic parrots: On my last trip, the only parakeets/parrots I got were Mitred, so some improvement here would be nice
Gray Kingbird
Black-whiskered Vireo
"Caribbean" Cave Swallow
Common Hill Myna
"Cape Sable" Seaside Sparrow
"White-eyed" Eastern Towhee
Shiny Cowbird
Mangrove Warbler

Any thoughts and comments would be welcome!

 

[lgonz1008]

If you need a guide, I'd be glad to offer my services, but I can also give you the information for most of your targets:

• Red Junglefowl: Only around Key West it's countable and the birds with greenish legs are the ones that ABA counts as wild, but eBird rejects all of these birds so keep that in mind.
• White-crowned Pigeon: They are wire birds in the Keys, I've seen them pushing ECDO and ROPI off the wires in Key West. Bit harder in Miami, but they are definitely urban birds year round
• Mangrove Cuckoo: Can be difficult because of the mosquito levels but possible. Black Point Marina or the Keys
• Smooth-billed Ani: The one bird at L31W has been there for nearly 2 years now, but early morning seems to be the best time for it
• Antillean Nighthawk: Tough to find unless you are at the Marathon Airport in the evening
• King Rail: Possible in a few sites but 9/10 it will be heard only
• Gray-headed Swamphen: I don't like to say guarantee but in Miami you can find them easily in Dolphin Mall and they are even more common in A1 FEB in Palm Beach
• "Eastern" Willet: I don't think I've seen them in South Florida outside of early migration
• Brown Noddy, Sooty Tern, Bridled Tern, Masked Booby: April and early May is already booked for Dry Tortugas, so you might want to book a ticket soon. If you take the boat ride, make sure you ask the captain to go close to Hospital Key, otherwise he doesn't do the stop after peak migrations since the birders don't take the boat as often
• Roseate Tern: Marathon Government Center has a breeding colony in the roof and you can see them foraging in the water behind it
• Brown Booby: only in the buoys going to Dry Tortugas, my one bird is only because I took a shot and the white blur of the belly showed the bird was there
• Magnificent Frigatebird: easy anywhere close to the sea from Key Biscayne down to Dry Tortugas
• "Florida" Burrowing Owl: Miami Executive Airport has cones where the burrows are
• White-winged Parakeet: rare, I've been unable to connect with this bird since the last possible flock is in a private golf course/condominium
• Nanday Parakeet: very rare in the Miami area, more likely in Loxahatchee NWR in the morning
• Other exotic parrots: On my last trip, the only parakeets/parrots I got were Mitred, so some improvement here would be nice: easy to find if you know the roost sites or the Biltmore Hotel/Golf Course
• Gray Kingbird: Any parking lot in South Florida should have at least one pair at this time
• Black-whiskered Vireo: Biscayne National Park and the Keys
• "Caribbean" Cave Swallow: There's a few roosting colonies that are best seen early morning when the birds fly out
• Common Hill Myna: rare, but seen in Fairchild Botanical Gardens/Mathenson Hammock Park
• "Cape Sable" Seaside Sparrow: very rare, usually only seen when signing in April and most birds are no longer singing close to the main park road like in the past
• "White-eyed" Eastern Towhee: Long Pine Key in Everglades NP
• Shiny Cowbird: difficult to predict, only stable location is in the Flamingo Area in Everglades NP, but sometimes they go to feeders in the Homestead area
• Mangrove Warbler: Florida Keys but usually offshore islands

 

[raymie]

If you need a guide, I'd be glad to offer my services, but I can also give you the information for most of your targets:

• Red Junglefowl: Only around Key West it's countable and the birds with greenish legs are the ones that ABA counts as wild, but eBird rejects all of these birds so keep that in mind.
• White-crowned Pigeon: They are wire birds in the Keys, I've seen them pushing ECDO and ROPI off the wires in Key West. Bit harder in Miami, but they are definitely urban birds year round
• Mangrove Cuckoo: Can be difficult because of the mosquito levels but possible. Black Point Marina or the Keys
• Smooth-billed Ani: The one bird at L31W has been there for nearly 2 years now, but early morning seems to be the best time for it
• Antillean Nighthawk: Tough to find unless you are at the Marathon Airport in the evening
• King Rail: Possible in a few sites but 9/10 it will be heard only
• Gray-headed Swamphen: I don't like to say guarantee but in Miami you can find them easily in Dolphin Mall and they are even more common in A1 FEB in Palm Beach
• "Eastern" Willet: I don't think I've seen them in South Florida outside of early migration
• Brown Noddy, Sooty Tern, Bridled Tern, Masked Booby: April and early May is already booked for Dry Tortugas, so you might want to book a ticket soon. If you take the boat ride, make sure you ask the captain to go close to Hospital Key, otherwise he doesn't do the stop after peak migrations since the birders don't take the boat as often
• Roseate Tern: Marathon Government Center has a breeding colony in the roof and you can see them foraging in the water behind it
• Brown Booby: only in the buoys going to Dry Tortugas, my one bird is only because I took a shot and the white blur of the belly showed the bird was there
• Magnificent Frigatebird: easy anywhere close to the sea from Key Biscayne down to Dry Tortugas
• "Florida" Burrowing Owl: Miami Executive Airport has cones where the burrows are
• White-winged Parakeet: rare, I've been unable to connect with this bird since the last possible flock is in a private golf course/condominium
• Nanday Parakeet: very rare in the Miami area, more likely in Loxahatchee NWR in the morning
• Other exotic parrots: On my last trip, the only parakeets/parrots I got were Mitred, so some improvement here would be nice: easy to find if you know the roost sites or the Biltmore Hotel/Golf Course
• Gray Kingbird: Any parking lot in South Florida should have at least one pair at this time
• Black-whiskered Vireo: Biscayne National Park and the Keys
• "Caribbean" Cave Swallow: There's a few roosting colonies that are best seen early morning when the birds fly out
• Common Hill Myna: rare, but seen in Fairchild Botanical Gardens/Mathenson Hammock Park
• "Cape Sable" Seaside Sparrow: very rare, usually only seen when signing in April and most birds are no longer singing close to the main park road like in the past
• "White-eyed" Eastern Towhee: Long Pine Key in Everglades NP
• Shiny Cowbird: difficult to predict, only stable location is in the Flamingo Area in Everglades NP, but sometimes they go to feeders in the Homestead area
• Mangrove Warbler: Florida Keys but usually offshore islands

I know the junglefowl are only countable at Key West, but I've heard there are populations on other keys and and on the south Florida mainland too. Is that correct?

 

[lgonz1008]

I know the junglefowl are only countable at Key West, but I've heard there are populations on other keys and and on the south Florida mainland too. Is that correct?

We count those are escaped birds for the most parts, a lot of Latinos keep these birds for eggs, food and a bit of ornamental, this leads to the birds escaping or foraging around, but even the Key West birds are fed by people, so not sure if I'd count them like ABA does...

 

[Mysticete]

I am really only concerned with getting a guide for Miami, as urban driving can be somewhat confusing and stressful, and in the case of Miami kind of necessary for some of the specialities. I'd love an opportunity to bird with you...I'll need to figure out the exact dates first. Still hatching out how many days I should spend in different areas (Miami vs Palm Beach vs Everglades/Homestead vs Keys). Would there be much difference in going in the last week of May vs the first week of June.

Thanks for the details on the targets. Wasn't aware Nanday Parakeets were gettable at Loxahatchee, and some of those I figured were longshots, like the Cape Sable Sparrow. I take it that the White-winged Parakeet is on its way out?

What is your general sense on the chances of vagrants? Is it too late to expect much?

 

[Mysticete]

Oh one important bird that I forgot to RFI about I'd like to see:

Swallow-tailed Kite.

 

[lgonz1008]

I am really only concerned with getting a guide for Miami, as urban driving can be somewhat confusing and stressful, and in the case of Miami kind of necessary for some of the specialities. I'd love an opportunity to bird with you...I'll need to figure out the exact dates first. Still hatching out how many days I should spend in different areas (Miami vs Palm Beach vs Everglades/Homestead vs Keys). Would there be much difference in going in the last week of May vs the first week of June.

Thanks for the details on the targets. Wasn't aware Nanday Parakeets were gettable at Loxahatchee, and some of those I figured were longshots, like the Cape Sable Sparrow. I take it that the White-winged Parakeet is on its way out?

What is your general sense on the chances of vagrants? Is it too late to expect much?

I guide around Miami, so driving between sites is normal for me. As for days I'd allocate, if you want to get all the possible targets, I'd do something like this:

• 1-2 days in Palm Beach (most targets are gettable in one morning if you get lucky but an extra day can let you drive around the agricultural areas can give you a chance of King Rail crossing the roads)
• 2-3 days in Miami (many more exotics, and parrots are impossible to predict, one day I can get all both macaws, both parrots and 5 parakeet species, only for the next day only connect with 1 parrot and 2 parakeet species. Plus, you need to do a day around Miami Beach for Blue-crowned and White-eyed Parakeet which you will not get in the Kendall/Coral Gables area where the other species are more common)
• 1-1.5 days in Everglades/Homestead (most of your targets are not in the park unless you wish to donate your blood supply to the mosquitoes in Snake Bight Trail, so just one day to enjoy the park and try for Smooth-billed Ani early morning might be the best option)
• 2-3 days (if you do get the trip to Dry Tortugas, then make it 3, otherwise, you have plenty with making one day to drive down and make stops along the way and just pick up the missing targets on the way back)

Between the two periods, not much changes bird wise, you might get to see some straggling migrants like American Redstart in Late May, but in exchange you have to deal with Memorial Day holiday. The birds are already breeding here (March) with most resident songbirds already setting up territories, so by May or June, your main targets will be the Caribbean specialties that start coming in mid to late April.

Vagrants are a mixed lot, sometimes we get lucky with Bahama Mockingbird or La Sagra's Flycatcher in May or a Spindalis in June, but the last 2-3 years we've had very little in the way of Caribbean vagrants (with our best birds being Yellow-green Vireo that tried to breed with a Black-whiskered Vireo and a Purple Sandpiper in the summer).

White-winged Parakeet is well on its way out, many local birders are thinking the bird was never common to being with, instead that most sightings of when they were lumped as Canary-winged Parakeet was actually of Yellow-chevroned Parakeet, which is a bird you can find almost anywhere in South Miami. White-winged is flagged as rare on eBird and outside of that flock in the private property, the only birds seen are part of mixed flocks with Yellow-chevroned and only after taking pictures and seeing the blueish-white on the face, which is really hard with just binoculars...

Oh one important bird that I forgot to RFI about I'd like to see:

Swallow-tailed Kite.

This one is possible anywhere in South Florida, they breed in the Everglades so you could see them flying on your day there, but there's also a few breeding sites close to the parrot roosts in the Coral Gables area, so chances for the bird is high.