This was essentially a family holiday but with some time for birding. My fatal "mistake" was having too many lie-ins and latish starts. Guess I'll just have to take another holiday in Florida.
Florida. 19th March – 2nd April
Landed at Orlando late afternoon but it was dark by the time we got to our hotel on International Drive. Left the family to see Pat Metheny at the House of Blues in Downtime Disney.
Woke up on the Sunday (20th) feeling shattered after a great night and a terrific concert and left the hotel with binoculars in hand, Every bird was going to be a US first as this was my first trip to the USA. I look around and the first bird I see is a ……………….Starling. Crossing I-Drive, the next is a House Sparrow. Then a crow flies by. There’s something very familiar and British about these birds. Returning to the hotel - at last, a very vocal Mockingbird. We depart for Seaworld. Both Boat-tailed and Common Grackles are everywhere. A White Ibis flies by. My son goes for a ride so I sit in shade scanning the skies. A couple of Turkey Vultures are circling. Things are definitely looking up. A Fish Crow softly caws and Ring-billed Gulls and feral, Collared and Mourning Doves are everywhere. A couple of Wood Storks spiral overhead. Mallard are common and a few American Coots are seen. A Great Blue Heron languidly flaps across the sky. A Double-crested Cormorant flies across the lake.
Taking a late lunch at one of the open air restaurants, we’re gently harassed by half a dozen White Ibises that take a liking to our fajitas, Then a surprise, around the corner are about 150 White Ibises roosting in a couple of trees. There’s an even bigger surprise a few minutes later – an adult Bald Eagle flies across the park, legs dangling. A few Yellow-rumped Warblers are in trees and a splash of colour as a Northern Cardinal joins them. We watch the Killer Whale show – there are a few distractions in the form of 4 Great White Egrets, a Wood Stork, 2 Tricoloured Herons and a Snowy Egret. One of the egrets does it’s best to steal the show by taking the Orca’s fish. Eventually heading back to the carpark, I spot a Palm Warbler.
Following day (21st), we went to Universal Studios. The usual Grackles are present but a fantastic surprise in a flyover Swallow-tailed Kite. The deep fork in the tail and characteristic black and white colouring are clearly seen. A few Palm Warblers are in a bottlebrush tree. A Blue Jay appears and several more heard around the Jaws boat ride.
On 22nd, we visit Universal Islands of Adventure. Few opportunities for birding but a White-winged Pigeon is sitting on top of a small tree late in the afternoon. We visit the North end of I-Drive at Van’s Skate Park (my 14 year old son is the skater – not me). I notice a Black Vulture on top of a pylon and an Anhinga is drying its wings on wires. 2 Killdeers fly overhead calling and 2 Great Blue Herons fly by. Not bad for a carpark. Behind another car park are half a dozen Red-winged Blackbirds. 4 American Crows fly over our hotel.
Wednesday (23rd) is a hot day and Wet N Wild. Nothing of note seen. Returning to the hotel, several YR Warblers and a Northern Parula are in trees behind our hotel.
Thursday (24th) is a visit to Busch Gardens. Ring-billed gulls are replaced by Laughing Gulls. Inside the park, Cattle Egrets in breeding plumage fulfil the scavenging role around the restaurants. Several Moorhens seen. Collared Doves and a single Cedar Waxwing perched in a tree. Several Monk Parakeets are seen in palms around the park.
Friday (25th) was my day to drive to the Space Centre at Cape Canaveral and MINWR. However an incipient sore throat was trying to develop into bronchitis and I wasn’t up to the drive. Feeling better by the afternoon, I drive out to East Lake Tohopekaliga. Parking is difficult but I find a layby as a thunderstorm breaks out across the lake. A juvenile Bald Eagle flies overhead. Nearby is a Sandhill Crane and a Greater Yellowlegs. A Glossy Ibis is foraging in a ditch. Several Purple Martins are flying around and settling to gather nesting material. A pair of woodpeckers fly from garden to garden and only seen briefly in silhouette. One seems to have a lot of red on its head and gives a distinctive 2 syllable cry – quieee-eerr which suggests Red-headed Woodpecker.
Saturday (26th), we drive from Orlando to Miami Beach, As usual, we’re not too early getting away but eventually get onto Canoe Creek Road near St. Cloud. Various raptors seen but nowhere to stop easily. I take the turnoff at Joe Overstreet Landing and follow the road to Lake Kissimmee. It is very hot. The first of several Eastern Meadowlark are seen, singing on top of fence posts. Also the first of 4 Loggerhead Shrikes are seen on telegraph wires. A Broad-winged Hawk is seen in flight followed by a Red-shouldered Hawk perching on some broken pines. Several Bald Eagles are around including a group of 3 (1 adult, 2 juvenile) who appear to pass an object to each other in flight and a fantastic view of an adult perched on a telegraph pole being mobbed by 2 crows. By a pond, a Belted Kingfisher is perched along with an Anhinga drying its wings. A 5 foot long, dark brown snake rears up as it crosses the road in front of us but retreats as we go back to look. A pair of Sandhill Cranes with a single youngster are in fields near buildings near the end of the road. At Lake Kissimmee, Ring-billed gulls and 6 Skimmers are resting in grass. A sparrow appears briefly but god knows which one it is. On the return, a Lesser Yellowlegs and a number of small sandpipers are gathered on an area of ploughed field with surface water. Back on Canoe Creek Road, 2 Wild Turkeys are walking along the verge and further down, about 20 vultures are feeding on a deer carcass. We eventually rejoin the Turnpike and make it to Miami Beach via the madness known as the Interstate. The M25 on a bad day doesn’t come close.
On Sunday (27th), we head for Key Largo. A Brown Pelican and Osprey are seen at Dolphin Plus. The dolphin experience is simply amazing. A very late lunch at the Fish House (recommended). At J. Pennecamp Coral Reef Park, I go for a wander in the mangroves and find a single White-crowned Pigeon on the treetops. By the boardwalk, in mangroves is a Gray Kingbird which flies off strongly. A flight of 6 White Pelicans are overhead. 2 Great Crested Flycatchers are in smaller trees away from the Mangroves. On the return journey via Card Sound Road in the twilight, an Eastern Screech Owl is perched on a telegraph pole.
Monday (28th) – a walk along the Miami Beach Boardwalk – Laughing Gulls, Brown Pelicans and 5 Royal Terns are on the beach. In the afternoon, I visit to AD Barnes Park covering the area by the boardwalk which holds a small mobile flock - Tufted Titmouse, YR warbler, Black and White Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Prairie Warbler, American Redstart (female). Catbird and Brown Thrasher are seen in bushes nearby.
On Tuesday (29th), we travel to Key West. Nothing of note on the road except lots of Double-crested Cormorants drying their wings (and a live Pat Metheny interview on the radio). We stop over at Long Key. Nothing around the nature trail but the shore shows a few Willet and Greater Yellowlegs. Overnight in Key West and then an early morning visit to Indigenous Park (30th). The Spindalis is not present – hasn’t been seen for 3 days and thought to have moved on. A Broad-winged Hawk is around the pond area. A Hermit Thrush is in undergrowth as are several Catbirds. A fruit laden tree is a draw for number of birds - Baltimore Oriole, YR warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Black-throated Green Warbler, Northern Parula, Palm Warblers, Red-eyed Vireo. While watching these warblers, a Great White Egret approachs to within a couple of feet, takes a bright green lizard off a tree trunk and swallows it headfirst. 3 White-crowned Pigeons sit in the treetops. A walk down to the quayside on the North side of Key West has a Caspian Tern flying by, a few Brown Pelicans then the sight of what appears to be a raptor spiralling upwards. Thinking it will be yet another vulture, the bins reveal it as a female Magnificent Frigatebird. I watch gobsmacked for a few minutes and rejoin my family. Returning half an hour later, it is still out there circling.
We return to Miami and stop off at the Botanical Gardens on Stock Island but nothing seen except for vultures. Any hopes of visiting a key are dashed as we get stuck in a traffic jam, 40 vehicles back from a head on collision.
Thursday 31st March – my birthday. I take off with my son for the Everglades. Research Road is first. Looping past the research buildings, I find a White-tailed Kite sitting on top of brush. Returning past the research building, a Western Kingbird is perched in a tree. The Anhinga trail is well named with lots of Anhingas as well as turtles and alligators. 2 Green Herons show well from only a few feet away. Gumbo Limbo trail has no birds. Mahogany Hammock is the next stop. 6 Wood Storks circle overhead. In the hammock, 2 Red-shouldered Hawks fly overhead. A Downy Woodpecker calls and perches briefly on a bough.
At Paurotis Pond, there are White Ibises and 2 Roseate Spoonbills. Mrazek Lake contains a Green Heron and a Blue-winged teal. Eco pond had a nice selection of birds. A juvenile and adult Little Blue Heron, Tricoloured Heron, 2 Glossy Ibis, Coots, Moorhen, Cattle Egrets and White Ibises roosting, A Red-bellied Woodpecker flies into a nearby tree. In Flamingo, there are at least 6 Ospreys (2 nests) including one eating a large fish in a tree. We go for a bite to eat in the restaurant by the waterside in what looks like a characterless concrete block. Inside, it has a terrific panoramic view of the keys and some delicious seafood. Then it’s back to Miami Beach.
Friday (1st April) is a drive along Calle Ocho then out along the Tamiami Trail. I stop off at the disused airboat stand looking northwards looking for Snail Kites. Nothing apart from Moorhen. Then after 10 minutes, one Snail Kite, followed by a couple more appear in the distance, giving reasonable views of female/juvenile birds. There’s not much around the Shark Valley visitor centre nor at Water Control Structure S-333 but at Water Control Structure S-334 a Purple Gallinule shows well.
Saturday (2nd) return to Heathrow via Miami after a lazy day.
So a great holiday with equally great birding and a great Pat Metheny gig. Apart from the odd rainstorm (and tornado) weather was 70’s and 80’s. I was hoping for 100 plus species but didn’t quite reach it. The only comments are to have a pair of bins wherever you go as interesting birds can turn up anywhere. Also the best birding seems to be early and late in the day as the birds seem to avoid the worst of the heat.
Florida. 19th March – 2nd April
Landed at Orlando late afternoon but it was dark by the time we got to our hotel on International Drive. Left the family to see Pat Metheny at the House of Blues in Downtime Disney.
Woke up on the Sunday (20th) feeling shattered after a great night and a terrific concert and left the hotel with binoculars in hand, Every bird was going to be a US first as this was my first trip to the USA. I look around and the first bird I see is a ……………….Starling. Crossing I-Drive, the next is a House Sparrow. Then a crow flies by. There’s something very familiar and British about these birds. Returning to the hotel - at last, a very vocal Mockingbird. We depart for Seaworld. Both Boat-tailed and Common Grackles are everywhere. A White Ibis flies by. My son goes for a ride so I sit in shade scanning the skies. A couple of Turkey Vultures are circling. Things are definitely looking up. A Fish Crow softly caws and Ring-billed Gulls and feral, Collared and Mourning Doves are everywhere. A couple of Wood Storks spiral overhead. Mallard are common and a few American Coots are seen. A Great Blue Heron languidly flaps across the sky. A Double-crested Cormorant flies across the lake.
Taking a late lunch at one of the open air restaurants, we’re gently harassed by half a dozen White Ibises that take a liking to our fajitas, Then a surprise, around the corner are about 150 White Ibises roosting in a couple of trees. There’s an even bigger surprise a few minutes later – an adult Bald Eagle flies across the park, legs dangling. A few Yellow-rumped Warblers are in trees and a splash of colour as a Northern Cardinal joins them. We watch the Killer Whale show – there are a few distractions in the form of 4 Great White Egrets, a Wood Stork, 2 Tricoloured Herons and a Snowy Egret. One of the egrets does it’s best to steal the show by taking the Orca’s fish. Eventually heading back to the carpark, I spot a Palm Warbler.
Following day (21st), we went to Universal Studios. The usual Grackles are present but a fantastic surprise in a flyover Swallow-tailed Kite. The deep fork in the tail and characteristic black and white colouring are clearly seen. A few Palm Warblers are in a bottlebrush tree. A Blue Jay appears and several more heard around the Jaws boat ride.
On 22nd, we visit Universal Islands of Adventure. Few opportunities for birding but a White-winged Pigeon is sitting on top of a small tree late in the afternoon. We visit the North end of I-Drive at Van’s Skate Park (my 14 year old son is the skater – not me). I notice a Black Vulture on top of a pylon and an Anhinga is drying its wings on wires. 2 Killdeers fly overhead calling and 2 Great Blue Herons fly by. Not bad for a carpark. Behind another car park are half a dozen Red-winged Blackbirds. 4 American Crows fly over our hotel.
Wednesday (23rd) is a hot day and Wet N Wild. Nothing of note seen. Returning to the hotel, several YR Warblers and a Northern Parula are in trees behind our hotel.
Thursday (24th) is a visit to Busch Gardens. Ring-billed gulls are replaced by Laughing Gulls. Inside the park, Cattle Egrets in breeding plumage fulfil the scavenging role around the restaurants. Several Moorhens seen. Collared Doves and a single Cedar Waxwing perched in a tree. Several Monk Parakeets are seen in palms around the park.
Friday (25th) was my day to drive to the Space Centre at Cape Canaveral and MINWR. However an incipient sore throat was trying to develop into bronchitis and I wasn’t up to the drive. Feeling better by the afternoon, I drive out to East Lake Tohopekaliga. Parking is difficult but I find a layby as a thunderstorm breaks out across the lake. A juvenile Bald Eagle flies overhead. Nearby is a Sandhill Crane and a Greater Yellowlegs. A Glossy Ibis is foraging in a ditch. Several Purple Martins are flying around and settling to gather nesting material. A pair of woodpeckers fly from garden to garden and only seen briefly in silhouette. One seems to have a lot of red on its head and gives a distinctive 2 syllable cry – quieee-eerr which suggests Red-headed Woodpecker.
Saturday (26th), we drive from Orlando to Miami Beach, As usual, we’re not too early getting away but eventually get onto Canoe Creek Road near St. Cloud. Various raptors seen but nowhere to stop easily. I take the turnoff at Joe Overstreet Landing and follow the road to Lake Kissimmee. It is very hot. The first of several Eastern Meadowlark are seen, singing on top of fence posts. Also the first of 4 Loggerhead Shrikes are seen on telegraph wires. A Broad-winged Hawk is seen in flight followed by a Red-shouldered Hawk perching on some broken pines. Several Bald Eagles are around including a group of 3 (1 adult, 2 juvenile) who appear to pass an object to each other in flight and a fantastic view of an adult perched on a telegraph pole being mobbed by 2 crows. By a pond, a Belted Kingfisher is perched along with an Anhinga drying its wings. A 5 foot long, dark brown snake rears up as it crosses the road in front of us but retreats as we go back to look. A pair of Sandhill Cranes with a single youngster are in fields near buildings near the end of the road. At Lake Kissimmee, Ring-billed gulls and 6 Skimmers are resting in grass. A sparrow appears briefly but god knows which one it is. On the return, a Lesser Yellowlegs and a number of small sandpipers are gathered on an area of ploughed field with surface water. Back on Canoe Creek Road, 2 Wild Turkeys are walking along the verge and further down, about 20 vultures are feeding on a deer carcass. We eventually rejoin the Turnpike and make it to Miami Beach via the madness known as the Interstate. The M25 on a bad day doesn’t come close.
On Sunday (27th), we head for Key Largo. A Brown Pelican and Osprey are seen at Dolphin Plus. The dolphin experience is simply amazing. A very late lunch at the Fish House (recommended). At J. Pennecamp Coral Reef Park, I go for a wander in the mangroves and find a single White-crowned Pigeon on the treetops. By the boardwalk, in mangroves is a Gray Kingbird which flies off strongly. A flight of 6 White Pelicans are overhead. 2 Great Crested Flycatchers are in smaller trees away from the Mangroves. On the return journey via Card Sound Road in the twilight, an Eastern Screech Owl is perched on a telegraph pole.
Monday (28th) – a walk along the Miami Beach Boardwalk – Laughing Gulls, Brown Pelicans and 5 Royal Terns are on the beach. In the afternoon, I visit to AD Barnes Park covering the area by the boardwalk which holds a small mobile flock - Tufted Titmouse, YR warbler, Black and White Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Prairie Warbler, American Redstart (female). Catbird and Brown Thrasher are seen in bushes nearby.
On Tuesday (29th), we travel to Key West. Nothing of note on the road except lots of Double-crested Cormorants drying their wings (and a live Pat Metheny interview on the radio). We stop over at Long Key. Nothing around the nature trail but the shore shows a few Willet and Greater Yellowlegs. Overnight in Key West and then an early morning visit to Indigenous Park (30th). The Spindalis is not present – hasn’t been seen for 3 days and thought to have moved on. A Broad-winged Hawk is around the pond area. A Hermit Thrush is in undergrowth as are several Catbirds. A fruit laden tree is a draw for number of birds - Baltimore Oriole, YR warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Black-throated Green Warbler, Northern Parula, Palm Warblers, Red-eyed Vireo. While watching these warblers, a Great White Egret approachs to within a couple of feet, takes a bright green lizard off a tree trunk and swallows it headfirst. 3 White-crowned Pigeons sit in the treetops. A walk down to the quayside on the North side of Key West has a Caspian Tern flying by, a few Brown Pelicans then the sight of what appears to be a raptor spiralling upwards. Thinking it will be yet another vulture, the bins reveal it as a female Magnificent Frigatebird. I watch gobsmacked for a few minutes and rejoin my family. Returning half an hour later, it is still out there circling.
We return to Miami and stop off at the Botanical Gardens on Stock Island but nothing seen except for vultures. Any hopes of visiting a key are dashed as we get stuck in a traffic jam, 40 vehicles back from a head on collision.
Thursday 31st March – my birthday. I take off with my son for the Everglades. Research Road is first. Looping past the research buildings, I find a White-tailed Kite sitting on top of brush. Returning past the research building, a Western Kingbird is perched in a tree. The Anhinga trail is well named with lots of Anhingas as well as turtles and alligators. 2 Green Herons show well from only a few feet away. Gumbo Limbo trail has no birds. Mahogany Hammock is the next stop. 6 Wood Storks circle overhead. In the hammock, 2 Red-shouldered Hawks fly overhead. A Downy Woodpecker calls and perches briefly on a bough.
At Paurotis Pond, there are White Ibises and 2 Roseate Spoonbills. Mrazek Lake contains a Green Heron and a Blue-winged teal. Eco pond had a nice selection of birds. A juvenile and adult Little Blue Heron, Tricoloured Heron, 2 Glossy Ibis, Coots, Moorhen, Cattle Egrets and White Ibises roosting, A Red-bellied Woodpecker flies into a nearby tree. In Flamingo, there are at least 6 Ospreys (2 nests) including one eating a large fish in a tree. We go for a bite to eat in the restaurant by the waterside in what looks like a characterless concrete block. Inside, it has a terrific panoramic view of the keys and some delicious seafood. Then it’s back to Miami Beach.
Friday (1st April) is a drive along Calle Ocho then out along the Tamiami Trail. I stop off at the disused airboat stand looking northwards looking for Snail Kites. Nothing apart from Moorhen. Then after 10 minutes, one Snail Kite, followed by a couple more appear in the distance, giving reasonable views of female/juvenile birds. There’s not much around the Shark Valley visitor centre nor at Water Control Structure S-333 but at Water Control Structure S-334 a Purple Gallinule shows well.
Saturday (2nd) return to Heathrow via Miami after a lazy day.
So a great holiday with equally great birding and a great Pat Metheny gig. Apart from the odd rainstorm (and tornado) weather was 70’s and 80’s. I was hoping for 100 plus species but didn’t quite reach it. The only comments are to have a pair of bins wherever you go as interesting birds can turn up anywhere. Also the best birding seems to be early and late in the day as the birds seem to avoid the worst of the heat.
