Hamhed
Well-known member
Tired of a lingering winter, my Mom and I made a short birding trip to the Miami, Florida, area in the second week of April. I researched the birding potential by following the TAS site (http://www.tropicalaudubon.org/tasboard/tasbb.html), Bill Pranty’s “A Birder’s Guide to Florida” and, of course, Birdforum. The resulting list of hotspots to visit was overwhelmingly long for the time we had. Deciding where to go and when was a bit of a logistical nightmare. But go we did and here is an account of our days there.
Day One was Thursday the 10th when we arrived on a late flight, picked up our rental car from E-Z Rental (really!) and drove a short distance to our reserved lodging at OrigamiHaus, arranged through Airbnb (https://www.airbnb.com/). Our only birds that day were balanced towards the exotic, being European Starlings, Eurasian-collared Doves, Boat-tailed Grackles, English Sparrows and a Mourning Dove.
Day Two started late; the rush and rigors of traveling took its toll on my mother, now in her 87th year. While she caught up on sleep, I found Blue Jay, Northern Mockingbird, Catbird, Northern Cardinal and one urban raccoon in the mature vegetation surrounding the house.
Our choice of destinations that day was the Everglades National Park, via the Florida City Burger King, rumored to have Common Mynas. The Mynas were there, competing with the Starlings in cleaning up discarded french fries. Mid morning arrived by the time we parked at the Royal Palm Visitor Center. Another few minutes was spent tarping our car as protection from the rubber-destroying Black Vultures. The day was already warming up on the Anhinga Trail, alligators basking by the dozens. Our list here includes mainly common birds:
Fish Crow
Turkey Vulture
Black Vulture
Great Egret
Blue Jay
Anhinga
Double-crested Cormorant
Red-shouldered Hawk
Great Blue Heron
Green Heron
Red-winged Blackbird
Cattle Egret
The birding highlight came when we tried a section of the Gumbo Limbo trail and found a pair of fledgling Barred Owls.
Day One was Thursday the 10th when we arrived on a late flight, picked up our rental car from E-Z Rental (really!) and drove a short distance to our reserved lodging at OrigamiHaus, arranged through Airbnb (https://www.airbnb.com/). Our only birds that day were balanced towards the exotic, being European Starlings, Eurasian-collared Doves, Boat-tailed Grackles, English Sparrows and a Mourning Dove.
Day Two started late; the rush and rigors of traveling took its toll on my mother, now in her 87th year. While she caught up on sleep, I found Blue Jay, Northern Mockingbird, Catbird, Northern Cardinal and one urban raccoon in the mature vegetation surrounding the house.
Our choice of destinations that day was the Everglades National Park, via the Florida City Burger King, rumored to have Common Mynas. The Mynas were there, competing with the Starlings in cleaning up discarded french fries. Mid morning arrived by the time we parked at the Royal Palm Visitor Center. Another few minutes was spent tarping our car as protection from the rubber-destroying Black Vultures. The day was already warming up on the Anhinga Trail, alligators basking by the dozens. Our list here includes mainly common birds:
Fish Crow
Turkey Vulture
Black Vulture
Great Egret
Blue Jay
Anhinga
Double-crested Cormorant
Red-shouldered Hawk
Great Blue Heron
Green Heron
Red-winged Blackbird
Cattle Egret
The birding highlight came when we tried a section of the Gumbo Limbo trail and found a pair of fledgling Barred Owls.