I started this tour with two participants Mike Higgston from New York and L. Hartsell Cash from North Carolina, being a new tour this was expected.
Day one January 8, 1999.
I met Mike Higgston and L. Hartsell Cash at the Best Western
Gateway to the Florida Keys in Florida City. We were greeted this
day with beautiful sunny skies and cool temperatures. Today we birded Everglades
National Park and had the following species:
Pied-billed Grebe
King Rail
American White Pelican
Sora Rail
Brown Pelican
Common Moorhen
Double-crested Cormorant
American Coot
Anhinga
LIMPKIN
Least Bittern
Killdeer
Great Blue Heron, and Great White Heron
Spotted Sandpiper
Great Egret
Laughing Gull
Snowy Egret
Caspian Tern
Little Blue Heron
White-Winged Dove
Tri-colored Heron
Mourning Dove
Cattle Egret
Belted Kingfisher
Green Heron
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Eastern Phoebe
White Ibis
Tree Swallow
Glossy Ibis
American Crow
Roseate Spoonbill
Marsh Wren
Wood Stork
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
GREATER FLAMINGO
American Robin
Blue-winged Teal
Gray Catbird
Black Vulture
Northern Mockingbird
Turkey Vulture
Loggerhead Shrike
Osprey
European Starling
Bald Eagle
White-eyed Vireo
Northern Harrier
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Red-shouldered Hawk
Palm Warbler
SHORT-TAILED HAWK
Northern Waterthrush
American Kestrel
Common Yellowthroat
Western Kingbird
Northern Cardinal
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Red-winged Blackbird
COMMON MYNA
Boat-tailed Blackbird
Black Skimmer
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Sparrow
Day two January 9, 1999
Today we birded Kendall and the Shark Valley area of the Everglades. We also birded a small portion of west Broward County on our way north for our next days birding. We were in search of exotics and specialties and added the following new species:
SNAIL KITE
Red-tailed Hawk
Crested Caracara
Sandhill Crane
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Dove
WHITE-CROWNED PIGEON
Common Ground Dove
Monk Parakeet
WHITE-WINGED PARAKEET
YELLOW-CHEVRONED PARAKEET
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
RED-COCKADED WOODPECKER
Fish Crow
American Pipit
Cedar Waxwing
HILL MYNA
Pine Warbler
Eastern Meadowlark
SPOT-BREASTED ORIOLE
RED-WISKERED BULBUL
PURPLE SWAMPHEN
Day three January 10, 1999
Today we birded the Old Venus area, worked our way to Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge and Wakodahatchee wetlands before heading for the Miami International Airport. We had the following new species for this day:
American Bittern
Wood Duck
Green Winged Teal
Mottled Duck
Ring-necked Duck
Purple Gallinule
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Long-billed Dowitcher
Common Snipe
SMOOTH-BILLED ANI
Barn Owl
Red-headed Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
VERMILLION FLYCATCHER
Great Crested Flycatcher
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
FLORIDA SCRUB JAY
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Towhee
Savannah Sparrow
At the end of this great tour we had a total of 112 species including
several lifers for Mike Higgston and L. Hartsell Cash. We found most
of the specialties plus some neat exotics.
Next years tour should been even better, look for dates for the year
2000 tour coming soon!!!