Today I birded with my wife Christine and a good friend Brian Rapoza. We heard about a Hudsonian Godwit that was first seen about a five days ago. We found out about it in the late afternoon of September 3. This bird was being found in the small town of Mims, Florida, on private property. Mims is located just north of Titusville, Florida.
The person who found it was Doug Stuckey. He was gracious enough to tell other birders and to meet us and others at the locked gate of this property and let us in to look for the bird. After about 10 minutes of searching Christine spotted the bird at the far end of this property where everybody had scope looks at the bird. This would be a lifer for Christine and a state bird for Brian and I. This was a real nice bird to see in Florida. The last one that I remember was around 1991. I think it was just north of Orlando. We also had a nice assortment of other shorebirds located here.
Also reported from Port Canaveral just South of Titusville was a Common Eider. This would be a lifer for Christine and a Florida tick for Brian. We ended the day with 66 species.
Below is a list of what we saw for this day, plus some of the animals
we saw.
| Brown Pelican | Wilson's Phalarope |
| Double Crested Cormorant | Laughing Gull |
| Anhinga | Ring-billed Gull |
| Great Blue Heron | GREAT BLACKED- BACKED GULL |
| Great Egret | Caspian Tern |
| Snowy Egret | Royal Tern |
| Little Blue Heron | Sandwich Tern |
| Reddish Egret | Least Tern |
| Cattle Egret | Black Skimmer |
| White Ibis | Rock Dove |
| Glossy Ibis | Eurasian Collared-Dove |
| Woodstork | White-winged Dove |
| Mottled Duck | Mourning Dove |
| COMMON EIDER | Common Ground-Dove |
| Black Vulture | MONK PARAKEET |
| Turkey Vulture | Orange-winged Amazon |
| Osprey | Barn Owl |
| Cooper's Hawk | Belted Kingfisher |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | Red-bellied Woodpecker |
| Red-tailed Hawk | CAVE SWALLOW |
| Moorhen | Barn Swallow |
| Black-bellied Plover | Common Nighthawk |
| Killdeer | Blue Jay |
| American Avocet | Fish Crow |
| Greater Yellowlegs | Blue-gray Gnatcatcher |
| Lesser Yellowlegs | Northern Mockingbird |
| Willet | Loggerhead Shrike |
| HUDSONIAN GODWIT | European Starling |
| Ruddy Turnstone | Northern Cardinal |
| Sanderling | Eastern Towhee |
| Semi-palmated Sandpiper | Red-winged Blackbird |
| Least Sandpiper | Boat-tailed Grackle |
| Stilt Sandpiper | House Sparrow |
| Animals seen: MANATEE, White-tailed Deer, Gopher Tortoise. |
September 5, 1999
Today I birded with W.D. Williams from Texas. W.D. needed some of the usual South Florida specialties such as; Red-whiskered Bulbul, Spot-breasted Oriole, White-winged Parakeet, Yellow-cheveroned Parakeet, White-crowned Pigeon, Smooth-billed Ani, Snail Kite, Hill Myna, Common Myna and a few other species. We started the day at 7 a.m. and ended at around 4 p.m. We birded from the Kendall area, south of Miami, north to Pembroke Pines in Broward County.
We ended the day with 54 species. Out of these 54, W.D. got 11 lifers!! 8 of these are counted on the A.B.A. checklist. The other 3 should be on the list and probably will be in the future.
Below is a list of what we saw this day.
| Anihinga | Great Crested Flycatcher |
| Great Blue Heron | Eastern Kingbird |
| Great Egret | GRAY KINGBIRD |
| Snowy Egret | Barn Swallow |
| Little Blue Heron | Blue Jay |
| Cattle Egret | American Crow |
| Green Heron | RED-WHISKERED BULBUL * |
| Black Vulture | Blue-gray Gnatcher |
| Turkey Vulture | Northern Mockingbird |
| Osprey | Brown Thrasher |
| SNAIL KITE * | European Starling |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | HILL MYNA * |
| Laughing Gull | COMMON MYNA * |
| Rock Dove | Red-eyed Vireo |
| WHITE-CROWNED PIGEON * | Northern Parula |
| Eurasian Collared Dove | Prairie Warbler |
| Mourning Dove | American Redstart |
| White-winged Dove | Worm-eating Warbler |
| MONK PARAKEET | Ovenbird |
| WHITE-WINGED PARAKEET * | Common Yellowthroat |
| YELLOW-CHEVERONED PARAKEET * | Northern Cardinal |
| SMOOTH-BILLED ANI * | Red-winged Blackbird |
| Common Nighthawk | Boat-tailed Grackle |
| CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOW | Common Grackle |
| Chimney Swift | SPOT-BREASTED ORIOLE * |
| Belted Kingfisher | House Sparrow |
| Red-bellied Woodpecker | PURPLE SWAMPHEN * |
September 17, 1999
Today I birded by myself in A.D. Doug Barnes County Park. This park is located in West Miami at s.w. 40 st. (also know as Bird Road) and s.w. 72 nd. ave. I only birded for about 2 hours and was interested in what migrants might have shown up.
These are the birds that I had below.
| WHITE-CROWNED PIGEON | Yellow-throated Warbler |
| CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOW | Prairie Warbler |
| Great Crested Flycatcher | Black-and-white Warbler |
| Eastern Kingbird | American Redstart |
| Veery | Worm-eating Warbler |
| Red-eyed Vireo | Ovenbird |
| Tennessee Warbler | Common Yellowthroat |
| Northern Parula | Chipping Sparrow |
| Magnolia Warbler | Brown-headed Cowbird |
| Black-throated-Blue Warbler | SPOT-BREASTED ORIOLE |
| Blackburnian Warbler |
September 18, 1999
Today Christine and I participated in the Migration Bird Count. We birded from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. Our area would be around Homestead. This area includes a couple of parks and lots of agricultural areas.
We birded first at Mary Krome Park, located at Krome ave. (s.w. 177 ave.) and s.w. 296 st. We then checked some of the agricultural areas west of here. Then we went about 5 miles down Card Sound road.
We then came back Card Sound Road to US1. We then went east on s.w. 344 st. from US1 all the way to Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant. From here we went to Homestead Motor Sports Park and then east to Homestead Bayfront Park. From Bayfront Park we traveled north to Blackpoint Marina and then to the Turnpike and s.w. 216 st. to end our day.
Below is a list of species seen along with the estimated numbers.
| Pied-billed Grebe 2 | Common Ground-Dove 4 |
| Double-crested Cormorant 22 | MONK PARAKEET 26 |
| Anhinga 2 | SMOOTH-BILLED ANI 10 |
| Great Blue Heron 9 | Barn Owl 1 |
| Great Egret 17 | Common Nighthawk 1 |
| Snowy Egret 26 | Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1 |
| Little Blue Heron 11 | RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD 1 |
| Triclored Heron 10 | Belted Kingfisher 15 |
| Cattle Egret 418 | Red-bellied Woodpecker 5 |
| Green Heron 16 | Northern Flicker 1 |
| Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 8 | Bank Swallow 3 |
| White Ibis 156 | Cliff Swallow 15 |
| Roseate Spoonbill 1 | CAVE SWALLOW 24 |
| Mottled Duck 2 | Barn Swallow 17 |
| Blue-winged Teal 18 | Blue Jay 17 |
| BlackVulture 46 | American Crow 1 |
| Turkey Vulture 21 | Blue-gray Gnatcher 10 |
| Osprey 10 | Northern Mockingbird 5 |
| Bald Eagle 1 | Brown Thrasher 1 |
| Northern Harrier 1 | Loggerhead Shrike 15 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk 10 | European Starling 70 |
| American Kestrel 10 | COMMON MYNA 5 |
| Merlin 1 | White-eyed Vireo 1 |
| Common Moorhen 15 | Red-eyed Vireo 3 |
| Killdeer 17 | Northern Parula 2 |
| GreaterYellowlegs 2 | Black-throated Blue Warbler 3 |
| Solitary Sandpiper 1 | PrairieWarbler 1 |
| Willet 1 | AmericanRedstart 1 |
| Spotted Sandpiper 2 | Ovenbird 4 |
| Ruddy Turnstone 3 | Northern Waterthrush 1 |
| Laughing Gull 231 | Common Yellowthroat 4 |
| Royal Tern 22 | Northern Cardinal 2 |
| Forster's Tern 1 | Red-winged Blackbird 29 |
| Black Tern 11 | Eastern Meadowlark 14 |
| Rock Dove 112 | Boat-tailed Grackle 306 |
| WHITE-CROWNED PIGEON 1 | Common Grackle 6 |
| Eurasian Collared-Dove 50 | Baltimore Oriole 3 |
| White-winged Dove 8 | House Sparrow 18 |
| Mourning Dove 51 |
We ended the day with 77 species.
September 25, 1999
Today I birded Bill Baggs State Recreation area on Key Biscayne. I birded together with John Boyd of Miami and Robin Diaz also of Miami. The weather was beautiful, no sun and lots of rain. This weather helped keep birds down overnight to create an excellent day of birding. At least it was not cold. We started around 8:30 a.m. and I continued birding until 6:00 p.m.
Below is a what we ended up with for the day.
| Brown Pelican | Loggerhead Shrike |
| Osprey | European Starling |
| Cooper's Hawk | White-eyed Vireo |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | Yellow-throated Vireo |
| American Kestrel | Red-eyed Vireo |
| Merlin | Tennessee Warbler |
| Peregrine Falcon | Northern Parula |
| Common Moorhen | Chestnut-sided Warbler |
| Killdeer | Magnolia Warbler |
| Sanderling | Cape May Warbler |
| Laughing Gull | Black-throated Blue Warbler |
| Caspian Tern | Yellow-throated Warbler |
| Royal Tern | Prairie Warbler |
| Common Tern | Palm Warbler |
| Rock Dove | Black-and-white Warbler |
| WHITE-CROWNED PIGEON | American Redstart |
| Eurasian Collared-Dove | Worm-eating Warbler |
| Mourning Dove | SWAINSON'S WARBLER 6 Total!!! |
| Common Ground-Dove | Ovenbird |
| Chuck-will's-widow | Northern Waterthrush |
| Red-bellied Woodpecker | Common Yellowthroat |
| GRAY KINGBIRD | Hooded Warbler |
| Barn Swallow | Scarlet Tanager |
| Blue Jay | Northern Cardinal |
| House Wren | Blue Grosbeak |
| Blue-gray Gnatcatcher | Boat-tailed Grackle |
| Veery | Common Grackle |
| Swainson's Thrush | Baltimore Oriole |
| Northern Mockingbird | House Sparrow |
September 26, 1999
Today Jill Rosenfield and I lead a Tropical Audubon Society Field Trip
to A.D. Doug Barnes Park in west Miami. We had a nice turnout with
about 25 people for the walk. No hugh amounts of rain today with
pretty good birding. Some of us went to Mary Krome park in Homestead
after the walk. Here is what we saw.
| Great Blue Heron | Brown Thrasher |
| Snowy Egret | Loggerhead Shrike |
| Black Vulture | European Starling |
| Turkey Vulture | Red-eyed Vireo |
| Osprey | Northern Parula |
| American Kestrel | Chestnut-sided Warbler |
| Merlin | Magnolia Warbler |
| Common Moorhen | Cape May Warbler |
| Killdeer | Black-throated Blue Warbler |
| Laughing Gull | Prairie Warbler |
| Eurasian Collared-Dove | Black-and-white Warbler |
| Mourning Dove | American Redstart |
| Yellow-cheveroned Parakeet | Worm-eating Warbler |
| Common Nighthawk | SWAINSON'S WARBLER |
| Chuck-will's-widow | Ovenbird |
| Ruby-throated Hummingbird | Common Yellowthroat |
| RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD | Summer Tanager |
| Red-bellied Woodpecker | Northern Cardinal |
| Downy Woodpecker | Blue Grosbeak |
| Eastern Kingbird | Red-winged Blackbird |
| GRAY KINGBIRD | Boat-tailed Grackle |
| CAVE SWALLOW | Common Grackle |
| Barn Swallow | SPOT-BREASTED ORIOLE |
| Blue Jay | House Sparrow |
| Northern Mockingbird |
September 28,1999
I birded with Caralisa Hughs from San Jose California for a day of birding. Caralisa was to meet me in the Kendall area and then look for Miami exotics. The traffic was so bad coming south from Hallandale where Caralisa was staying, that we decided to meet at the F.I.U. campus in west Miami and then bird the North Everglades. We started out by going on the Shark Valley Tram ride, and then birding Loop Road which is at the 40 mile bend on Tamiami Trail. Loop road can have some pretty good birding, but can be flooded which a lot of it was this day.
Here is a total list of what we saw this day.
| Pied-billed Grebe | Pileated Woodpecker |
| Double-crested Cormorant | Acadian Flycatcher |
| Anhinga | Great Crested Flycatcher |
| Great Blue Heron | Eastern Kingbird |
| Great Egret | Blue Jay |
| Little Blue Heron | American Crow |
| Tricolored Heron | Tufted Titmouse |
| Cattle Heron | Carolina Wren |
| White Ibis | Blue-gray Gnatcatcher |
| Black Vulture | Northern Mockingbird |
| Turkey Vulture | Brown Thrasher |
| Osprey | European Starling |
| SNAIL KITE | Red-eyed Vireo |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | Yellow Warbler |
| American Kestrel | Magnolia Warbler |
| Merlin | American Redstart |
| King Rail | Prothonotary Warbler |
| Purple Gallinule | Ovenbird |
| Common Moorhen | Northern Waterthrush |
| LIMPKIN | Common Yellowthroat |
| Rock Dove | Northern Cardinal |
| Eurasian Collared-Dove | Eastern Towhee |
| Mourning Dove | Red-winged Blackbird |
| Monk Parakeet | Boat-tailed Grackle |
| Barn Owl | Common Grackle |
| Belted Kingfisher | |
| Red-bellied Woodpecker |
Other Animals seen: American Alligator, White-tailed Deer, Palamedes Swallowtail, Zebra Longwing, White Peacock, Black Witchmoth.
We had 54 species for the day.
September 29, 1999
Last night I got the message about a Bananaquit seen in Hugh
Taylor Birch Park in Ft. Lauderdale. This bird was found by Wally
George who birds this park on a regular basis, this is one of many rarities
that he has found there. I have seen Bananaquit before in
the U.S. but always like to see more. I was at the park which opens
a 8 a.m. a little after 8 a.m. I got to see the Bananaquit after
about 30 minutes feeding among the flowers of a Coconut Palm. I spent
a few hours birding the rest of the park and had these birds. Also
included are birds that I saw the rest of the day.
| Brown Pelican | Swainson's Thrush |
| Anhinga | Northern Mockingbird |
| Cattle Egret | European Starling |
| Osprey | Yellow-throated Vireo |
| Merlin | Red-eyed Vireo |
| Peregrine Falcon | Blue-winged Warbler |
| Common Moorhen | Northern Parula |
| Killdeer | Chestnut-sided Warbler |
| Ruddy Turnstone | Magnolia Warbler |
| Sanderling | Cape May Warbler |
| Laughing Gull | Black-throated Blue Warbler |
| Ring-billed Gull | Yellow-throated Warbler |
| Rock Dove | Prairie Warbler |
| Eurasian Collared-Dove | Bay-breasted Warbler |
| Mourning Dove | Black-and-white Warbler |
| MONK PARAKEET | American Redstart |
| YELLOW-CHEVRONED PARAKEET | Prothonotary Warbler |
| SMOOTH-BILLED ANI | Worm-eating Warbler |
| Barn Owl | Ovenbird |
| CHUCK-WILL'S WIDOW | Northern Waterthrush |
| Belted Kingfisher | Common Yellowthroat |
| Red-bellied Woodpecker | BANANAQUIT |
| Downy Woodpecker | Summer Tanager |
| Pileated Woodpecker | Northern Cardinal |
| Eastern Kingbird | Red-winged Blackbird |
| GRAY KINGBIRD | Boat-tailed Grackle |
| CAVE SWALLOW | Common Grackle |
| Blue Jay | Baltimore Oriole |
| Blue-gray Gnatcatcher | House Sparrow |
I had 58 total species today with 16 Warbler species.
September 30,1999
Today I went back up to Hugh Taylor Birch Park in Ft. Lauderdale to find the Bananaquit for my wife Christine. Christine has been talking to me about wanting to see a Bananaquit for the last month and here this bird shows up. It's hard to believe but that's how it happened. We were able to find the bird after about 45 minutes, not as easy to find as yesterday. We had good looks at it with and without a scope.
Also today we went to look for a reported Stripe-headed Tanager
in A.D. Doug Barnes Park in West Miami. Not only did we see the Bananaquit
but
we also got to see a nice Male Stripe-headed Tanager. We can
thank a friend of ours who paged me about finding this bird while we were
looking at the Bananaquit. It's not often that you get to
see 2 different rarities in one day!! Here is a total list of birds
that we saw this day.
| Anhinga | European Starling |
| Great Blue Heron | White-eyed Vireo |
| Tricolored Heron | Red-eyed Vireo |
| Cattle Egret | Chestnut-sided Warbler |
| Northern Harrier | Magnolia Warbler |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | Cape May Warbler |
| Merlin | Black-throated Blue Warbler |
| Common Moorhen | Black-and-white Warbler |
| Laughing Gull | American Redstart |
| Rock Dove | Worm-eating Warbler |
| Mourning Dove | BANANAQUIT |
| Red-bellied Woodpecker | STRIPE-HEADED TANAGER |
| Blue Jay | Summer Tanager |
| Fish Crow | Northern Cardinal |
| Blue-gray Gnatcatcher | Boat-tailed Grackle |
| Northern Mockingbird | House Sparrow |
For a half day of birding we had 32 species. The Bananaquit
was a lifer for Christine, this is her 3rd Stripe-headed Tanager in 3 years
of birding!!