This is a trip report from the tour above. On this tour we had the following participants.
J.S. Futcher from Roseville, Minnesota.
Mel and Beverly Henderson from Arlington, Texas.
Roger Tess and Elizabeth Evanson from Sheboygan,
Wisconsin.
Day one April 10, 1999
The weather was great and the participants were lots of fun. We started our first day looking for our target birds, Miami exotics and other South Florida specialties. These are the birds we had our first day birding.
Pied-billed Grebe
YELLOW-CHEVRONED PARAKEET
Double-crested Cormorant
RED-MASKED PARAKEET
Anhinga
SMOOTH-BILLED ANI
Great Egret
Barn Owl
Cattle Egret
Eastern Screech-Owl
Green Heron
Chimney Swift
White Ibis
Red-billed Woodpecker
Mottled Duck
Purple Martin
Turkey Vulture
Tree Swallow
Osprey
CAVE SWALLOW ( West Indies race)
Swallow-tailed Kite
Blue Jay
SNAIL KITE
Fish Crow
Red-shouldered Hawk
RED-WHISKERED BULBUL
BLACK RAIL Yes,
we had good looks!!! Gray Catbird
Common Moorhen
Northern Mockingbird
American Coot
Cedar Waxing
Killdeer
Loggerhead Shrike
Ring-billed Gull
European Starling
Rock Dove
COMMON MYNA, The next A.B.A. bird?
WHITE-CROWNED PIGEON
HILL MYNA
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Palm Warbler
Mourning Dove
Common Yellowthroat
Common Ground-Dove
Northern Cardinal
MONK PARAKEET
Red-winged Blackbird
YELLOW-CHEVRONED PARAKEET
Boat-tailed Grackle
Common Grackle
PURPLE SWAMPHEN
SPOT-BREASTED ORIOLE
House Sparrow
Again on this day, great weather and excellent birds. Today we birded Homestead and Everglades National Park. Below are the birds that we had this day.
Pied-billed Grebe
Eastern Kingbird
American Pelican
GRAY KINGBIRD
Brown Pelican
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Double-crested Cormorant
Purple Martin
Anhinga
Tree Swallow
Least Bittern
N. Rough-winged Swallow
Great Blue Heron (and white form)
Bank Swallow
Great Egret
Barn Swallow
Snowy Egret
Blue Jay
Little Blue Heron
American Crow
Tricolored Heron
Carolina Wren
Cattle Egret
Gray Catbird
Green Heron
Northern Mockingbird
White Ibis
Brown Thrasher
Glossy Ibis
Loggerhead Shrike
Roseate Spoonbill
European Starling
Wood Stork
Common Myna
Black Vulture
White-eyed Vireo
Turkey Vulture
Solitary Vireo
Osprey
BLACK-WHISKERED VIREO
Swallow-tailed Kite
Cape May Warbler
Bald Eagle
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Red-shouldered Hawk
Pine Warbler
American Kestrel
Prairie Warbler
Sora
Palm Warbler
Common Moorhen
Common Yellowthroat
American Coot
Northern Cardinal
Solitary Sandpiper
Painted Bunting
Willet
Eastern Towhee
Laughing Gull
Seaside Sparrow (cape sable race)
Rock Dove
Red-winged Blackbird
Eurasian Collared-dove
Eastern Meadowlark
White-winged Dove
Boat-tailed Grackle
Mourning Dove
Common Grackle
MANGROVE CUCKOO
SHINY COWBIRD
Belted Kingfisher
Brown-headed Cowbird
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Baltimore Oriole
Downy Woodpecker
House Sparrow
Northern Flicker
Great Crested Flycatcher
Western Kingbird
Day three April 12, 1999
Today we head down to the Florida Keys and bird our way to Key West. Everyone on this tour will continue on to the Dry Tortugas. Below are the birds we had this day.
Pied-billed Grebe
Tree Swallow
Brown Pelican
N. Rough-winged Swallow
Magnificent Frigatebird
Barn Swallow
Great Blue Heron (white form and Wurdemann’s)
Blue Jay
Great Egret
Northern Mockingbird
Snowy Egret
European Starling
Little Blue Heron
Common Myna
Tricolored Heron
White-eyed Vireo
Reddish Egret (and white form)
Northern Parula
Cattle Egret
Yellow Warbler (Cuban Race)
Green Heron
Cape May Warbler
Blue-winged Teal
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Red-breasted Merganser
Prairie Warbler
Turkey Vulture
Northern Waterthrush
Osprey
Northern Cardinal
Swallow-tailed Kite
Red-winged Blackbird
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Boat-tailed Grackle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Common Grackle
American Kestrel
House Sparrow
Common Moorhen
Black-necked Stilt
Greater Yellowlegs
Spotted Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Laughing Gull
Herring Gull
Royal Tern
Rock Dove
WHITE-CROWNED PIGEON
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Monk Parakeet
Burrowing Owl
Chuck-will’s widow
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Great Crested Flycatcher
Western Kingbird
Purple Martin
We had excellent birds (120 species) and some unique animals including, American Crocodile, American Alligator, Key Deer and Brown-banded Water snake.
Check for the "new
dates for 2000", these new tours should be just as exciting as last
years!!!
THE DRY TORTUGAS, APRIL 12-15, 1999
On this tour we had the participants from the South Florida and the Florida Keys Tour, plus some new participants.
Paul and Kay Downing from Tallahassee, Florida.
Dale and Evelyn Jensen from Langley British Columbia,
Canada.
George Wenzelburger from Freehold, New Jersey.
April 12-15, 1999
We left Key West for The Dry Tortugas onboard the M/V Playmate at around 12 a.m. and arrived at Fort Jefferson around 5 a.m. We woke up at sunrise to the chorus of thousands of Sooty Terns and Brown Noddys. After a nice breakfast onboard. We docked at 7:00 a.m. and begin birding the fort.
During our 3 day stay we travel over to Fort Jefferson, which is on Garden Key, Loggerhead Key, Bush Key, Hospital Key and enjoyed the birds at these locations. On the last day of our tour, we birded Fort Jefferson in the morning and left before noon for pelagic birding on our way back to Key West, arriving around 4:00 p.m.
The birds listed below were found during our 3 day visit.
MASKED BOOBY
Black Skimmer
BROWN BOOBY
White-winged Dove
Northern Gannet
Mourning Dove
Brown Pelican
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Double-crested Cormorant
Common Nighthawk
Magnificent Frigatebird
Chuck-will's-widow
Least Bittern
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Great Blue Heron (white form)
Belted Kingfisher
Great Egret
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Snowy Egret
Eastern Kingbird
Tricolored Heron
GRAY KINGBIRD
Cattle Egret
Tree Swallow
Green-backed Heron
N. Rough-winged Swallow
Black-crowned Night Heron
Cave Swallow (west indies race)
Osprey
Barn Swallow
Northern Harrier
Gray Catbird
Broad-winged Hawk
Northern Mockingbird
American Kestrel
Red-eyed Vireo
Merlin
BLACK-WISKERED VIREO
Peregrine Falcon
Northern Parula
Sora
Cape May Warbler
Black-bellied Plover
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Spotted Sandpiper
Prairie Warbler
Upland sandpiper
Palm Warbler
Ruddy Turnstone
Blackpoll Warbler
Laughing Gull
Black-and-white Warbler
Herring Gull
American Redstart
Royal Tern
Worm-eating Warbler
Sandwich Tern
Ovenbird
Common Tern
Northern Waterthrush
SOOTY TERN
Common Yellowthroat
BROWN NODDY
Hooded Warbler
Summer Tanager
Indigo Bunting
Savannah Sparrow
Orchard Oriole
These tours went very well and everybody had a great time. We
ended up with 68 species on this tour
and a total of 145 species with the
combined tours ( South Florida and the Florida Keys and The Dry Tortugas).
The crew members were great, the food was excellent and the accommodations
and small groups make this trip very enjoyable.
Be sure to check out the "new
dates for 2000".
SOUTH FLORIDA AND THE FLORIDA KEYS TOUR
APRIL 23-26, 1999
This is a trip report from the tour above.
On this tour we had the following participants.
Bob Brandow from Cape
Elizabeth, Maine
Roy and Barb Houser from
Prescott, Arizona
And joining us on the 3rd. day of the tour, Bob Fox,
Dana Dexbury and Allen Leggett.
Day One April 24, 1999
Like the tour before this one the weather was great and the birds did not give us a hard time. I met the group in the Motel lobby, we all had a nice breakfast and hit the road by 7 a.m. Our first areas to bird were the Miami area and an area about an hour and a half north of Miami, we had the following species on that day.
Pied-billed Grebe
Mourning Dove
Brown Pelican
KEY WEST QUAIL DOVE
Double-crested Cormorant
YELLOW-CHEVERONED PARAKEET
Anhinga
WHITE-WINGED PARAKEET
Great Egret
Orange-winged Amazon
Little Blue Heron
Red-masked Parakeet
Cattle Egret
SMOOTH-BILLED ANI
Green Heron
Chimney Swift
Whit Ibis
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Glossy Ibis
Purple Martin
Wood Stork
Tree Swallow
Black Vulture
Blue Jay
Turkey Vulture
Fish Crow
Osprey
RED-WHISKERED BULBUL
Swallow-tailed Kite
Northern Mockingbird
SNAIL KITE
Cedar Waxwing
Red-shouldered Hawk
Loggerhead Shrike
Merlin
European Starling
BLACK RAIL (like
the trip before, great looks!!!) HILL
MYNA
Purple Gallinule
COMMON MYNA
PURPLE SWAMPHEN
White-eyed Vireo
Common Moorhen
Northern Waterthrush
American Coot
Common Yellowthroat
LIMPKIN
Yellow-breasted Chat
Killdeer
Northern Cardinal
Ruddy Turnstone
Eastern Towhee
Royal Tern
Red-winged Blackbird
Rock Dove
Boat-tailed Grackle
WHITE-CROWNED PIGEON
Common Grackle
EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE
SPOT-BREASTED ORIOLE
White-winged Dove
House Sparrow
Today we birded in Everglades National Park and in the
Homestead area. Great weather this day and more good birds.
The following birds were seen today.
Pied-billed Grebe
Downy Woodpecker
American White Pelican
Northern Flicker
Brown Pelican
Great-crested Flycatcher
Double-crested Cormorant
Eastern Kingbird
Anhinga
GRAY KINGBIRD
Great Blue Heron (white and Wurdemans form)
Purple Martin
Snowy Egret
CAVE SWALLOW (West Indies race)
Little Blue Heron
Barn Swallow
Tricolored Heron
Blue Jay
Cattle Egret
American Crow
Green Heron
Carolina Wren
White Ibis
Gray Catbird
Glossy Ibis
Northern Mockingbird
Roseate Spoonbill
Loggerhead Shrike
Wood Stork
European Starling
Black Vulture
Common Myna
Turkey Vulture
White-eyed Vireo
Osprey
Northern Parula
Swallow-tailed Kite
Cape May Warbler
Bald Eagle
Pine Warbler
Red-shouldered Hawk
Prairie Warbler
Common Moorhen
Palm Warbler
American Coot
Black-and-white Warbler
Killdeer
American Redstart
Black-necked Stilt
Common Yellowthroat
Spotted Sandpiper
Northern Cardinal
Laughing Gull
Blue Grosbeak
Ring-billed Gull
Indigo Bunting
Rock Dove
Painted Bunting
WHITE-CROWNED PIGEON
Eastern Towhee
EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE
Seaside Sparrow ( Cape Sable race)
White-winged Dove
Red-winged Blackbird
Mourning Dove
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Ground-Dove
Boat-tailed Grackle
MANGROVE CUCKOO
Common Grackle
Barn Owl
SHINY COWBIRD
Common Nighthawk
Brown-headed Cowbird
Red-bellied Woodpecker
House Sparrow
Today we traveled down into the Florida Keys and birded our way to Key West. At the end of the day, we will join our other participants for our Dry Tortugas Tour.
Bob Fox, Dana Dexbury and Allen Leggett joined us this day in hopes of seeing Mangrove Cuckoo. We were lucky and had great views of one. This was the second day that we had seen a Mangrove Cuckoo!! We saw the following birds this day.
Brown Pelican
Common Nighthawk
Double-crested Cormorant
Antillean Nighthawk
Magnificent Frigatebird
Belted Kingfisher
Great Blue Heron (white and Wurdemann's form)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Great Egret
Great Crested Flycatcher
Little Blue Heron
GRAY KINGBIRD
Tricolored Heron
CAVE SWALLOW (West Indies Race)
Reddish Egret
Gray Catbird
Cattle Egret
Northern Mockingbird
White Ibis
European Starling
Turkey Vulture
BLACK-WHISKERED VIREO
Common Moorhen
Northern Parula
Black-bellied Plover
YELLOW WARBLER ( Cuban Race)
Black-necked Stilt
Cape May Warbler
Greater Yellowlegs
Black-and-white Warbler
Willet
American Redstart
Least Sandpiper
Ovenbird
Short-billed Dowitcher
Northern Cardinal
Laughing Gull
Boat-tailed Grackle
Least Tern
Common Grackle
Rock Dove
House Sparrow
WHITE-CROWNED PIGEON
EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE
Mourning Dove
Common Ground-Dove
MANGROVE CUCKOO
Burrowing Owl
On this tour we ended up with 115 species, everyone got life birds. We also were treated to good looks of American Crocodile, American Alligator and Key Deer.
Be sure to check out the "new dates for 2000"
THE DRY TORTUGAS, APRIL 26-29
On this tour we had the same participants as the South Florida and The Florida Keys Tour plus the following other people.
John Boyd from Miami, Florida
Hammond and Joan Robertson from Cleverdale,
New York
Terry and Christa Williams from Plant City,
Florida
Richard Joos from Toronto, Canada
J.J. O'Maley from Homestead, Florida
APRIL 26-29, 1999
On this tour we did things a little different than the last. We left at 4 a.m. as opposed to 12 a.m. from the last tour. This allowed for a quite night at the dock. Also we were able to do some pelagic birding on the way to the Dry Tortugas.
We visited Fort Jefferson, which is on Garden Key, Loggerhead Key, Bush Key, Long Key, Hospital Key and a first for a Dry Tortugas Tour, East Key. On our last day, we birded Fort Jefferson and looked for any new arrivals and then head back to Key West. We arrive in Key West around 4 p.m.
These are the birds we had during our 3 day visit.
AUDUBON SHEARWATER
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
MASKED BOOBY
Belted Kingfisher
BROWN BOOBY
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Northern Gannet
GRAY KINGBIRD
Brown Pelican
Purple Martin
Double-crested Cormorant
Tree Swallow
Magnificent Frigatebird
Bank Swallow
Great Blue Heron ( white form and Wurdemann's )
Cliff Swallow
Great Egret
Barn Swallow
Cattle Egret
Veery
Green Heron
Gray Catbird
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
BLACK-WHISKERED VIREO
Opsrey
Blue-winged Warbler
Broad-winged Hawk
Tennessee Warbler
Merlin
Northern Parula
Peregrine Falcon
Yellow Warbler
Sora
Magnolia Warbler
Black-bellied Plover
Cape May Warbler
Semipalmated Plover
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-necked Stilt
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Greater Yellowlegs
Prairie Warbler
Lesser Yellowlegs
Palm Warbler
Ruddy Turnstone
Blackpoll Warbler
Sanderling
Black-and-white Warbler
Semipalmated Sandpiper
American Redstart
Least Sandpiper
Prothonotary Warbler
Short-billed Dowitcher
Ovenbird
Pomarine Jaeger
Northern Waterthrush
Laughing Gull
Louisiana Waterthrush
Herring Gull
Common Yellowthroat
Royal Tern
Hooded Warbler
Sandwich Tern
Summer Tanager
ROSEATE TERN
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Least Tern
Indigo Bunting
BRIDLED TERN
PAINTED BUNTING
SOOTY TERN
Dickcissel
BROWN NODDY
Lark Sparrow
EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE
Bobolink
White-winged Dove
SHINY COWBIRD
Mourning Dove
Orchard Oriole
Black-billed Cuckoo
Baltimore
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
SHORT-EARED OWL ( West Indies Race)
Chuck-will's-widow
Chimney Swift
We ended this tour with 87 species and a total of 158 species with the combined tours ( South Florida and the Keys Tour and The Dry Tortugas.
The big miss, which no other groups had in 1999 was Black Noddy. This is the first time in many years that one has not shown up!! In April 1998 there were around 6 Black Noddys.
Again, the crew was great, the food excellent and the small groups, keep things more personalized.
Please be sure to check out the "new
dates for 2000".