SOUTHERN FLORIDA 12-23 AUGUST 2004

Matti J. Koivula

GENERAL

I made an 11-day birding/holiday trip to Miami, Florida, on 12-23 August. The period was very warm (daily temperatures exceeded +30 C) and humid. Afternoon thunderstorms and heavy rains occurred daily. Hurricane Charley hit the peninsula on 13 August, but missed Miami. Overall, I observed 124 bird species, and among the other highlights were a Bobcat (Lynx rufus), 20+ Alligators and three Key Deers (an endemic race of White-tailed deer). The avian highlights were Florida scrub-jay, Burrowing owl, Snail kite, Antillean nighthawk and Wilson's plover. Generally, I would say that 10-14 days is enough to visit the major birding sites of southern Florida, including Venus and Lake Placid and a 1-3-days visit to Dry Tortugas.

Trip costs: flights (Edmonton-Miami) and hotel 1440 CAD (ca. 1080 EUR), car rental 120 USD/week (Kia Optima, E-Z Rent-a-car), car insurance over 200 USD/week (!), petrol ca. 1.82 USD/gallon i.e. less than 0.5 EUR/liter. Total driving kms ca. 3800.

Best birding sites were the Keys (especially Lower), Lake Placid and Venus area (in southern Central Florida) and Everglades. Also Brown's Farm Road at Belle Glade was very productive. Because of Charley I could not visit Dry Tortugas that would possibly have produced some good species as well (prepare for 2-3-days visit there). Other sites were usually bird poor (for site names, see Table below). Birding was good only at 7-10 AM and again, if it did not rain heavily, at 4-7:30 PM. I birded usually from 7 AM to 19 PM, and longer during trips to Keys and up north, with no mercy at noons. At Everglades, mosquitoes were superabundant -- indeed, I have never experienced such a buzzing hell anywhere, not even in Finnish Lapland in June-July! Thus, apart from a cap and sun lotion, insect repellent is highly recommended. Necessary are also decent road map books (maps provided by gas stations and car rental companies generally suck), Sibley, D. (2003): Field guide to birds of Eastern North America, Pranty, B. (1996): A birder's guide to Florida, a general travel guide (e.g. Lonely Planet) and books of specific groups of birds (warblers, waders, gulls & terns, sparrows etc.). Remember also that Peterson's CD-set "Eastern/Central Bird Songs" includes songs and calls of several of Florida's specialties!

Cities should be avoided while birding, as city driving takes much valuable time. If you are forced to city driving, use only highways with 55-65 mph limits and no traffic lights. For birding purposes it might be ideal to book a motel from Keys (Key Largo, Marathon, Key West) or Homestead instead of the "Mega City", as from Miami good birding sites are usually far away (those inside the city were bird poor during my visit). Miami region is "advertised" as being dangerous in criminal sense, but I faced no problems. Normal cautiousness -- hiding optics and cameras -- is still recommended. (Finns should be aware that Americans cook watery coffee and that cafeterias are scarce.)

For other U.S. travel tips, see Cape May report (click here).

Abbreviations used below: BG = Belle Glade; EV = Everglades; FL= Flamingo (in the Everglades park); FLA = Fort Lauderdale; FM = Fort Myers; HO = Homestead; HS = Hobe Sound; KB = Key Biscayne; KE = Keys; LP = Lake Placid; MA = Marco Island; MB = Miami Beach; MI = Miami city area; PE = Pembroke; SWA = Sewage Waste Manag. Area near Wellington; VE = Venus; WE = Wellington. Conserning observations, + = the species was observed frequently (and often abundantly); a7 = a flock of seven individuals, ad = adult, juv = juvenile, sp = species (identified to genus level), subad = sub-adult, 1/- = male seen, -/1 = female seen, 2/1 = two males and one female seen, 30+ = over 30 individuals seen. The "best" observations, with some subjectivity, are marked with bold.

TARGETS

Date	Place
12.8.	Edmonton-Denver-Miami
13.8.	Miami (MB, Int'l Airp.), Boca Raton, Wellington (SWA, city)
14.8.	Keys (Key West, Sugarloaf Key, Marathon, Key Largo)
15.8.	Key Biscayne, Miami city
16.8.	Everglades (main entrance-Flamingo, incl. Royal Palm, Paurotis, West Lk., Eco Pond etc.), Homestead fields (SW from the city)
17.8.	Belle Glade (Marina & Campgr., fields of South Bay, BG & along roads 827 & 880)
18.8.	Hobe Sound (Nat. Center, Dickinson Park), LP
19.8.	LP area (Lorida, LP city), VE area (Archbold, Flatwoods Res.), FM (Beaches, Marco Island)
20.8.	Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Pembroke
21.8.	Homestead (Castellow, Camp Owaissa, M. Krome, Mt. Trashmore, Biscayne Nat. Pk., Bayfront Pk., fields SW from city)
22.8.	Keys (Key West, Boca Chica, Sugarloaf, Big Pine Key, Bahia Honda, Marathon, Curry Hammocks)
23.8.	Miami-Denver-Edmonton

BIRD OBSERVATIONS

Nr	Species	Scientific	Notes
1	Pied-billed grebe	Podilymbus podiceps	17.8. BG 1
2	Brown pelican	Pelecanus occidentalis	Trip total 56
3	Magnificent frigatebird	Fregata magnificens	Trip total ca 155
4	Double-crested cormorant	Phalacrocorax auritus	+
5	Anhinga	Anhinga anhinga	Trip total ca 90 (common along rivers & canals, and standing water)
6	Great blue heron	Ardea herodias	Trip total 14 (of which 4 white morph)
7	Great egret	Egretta alba	+
8	Snowy egret	Egretta thula	+
9	Reddish egret	Egretta rufescens	Trip total 4 (all in Keys)
10	Little blue heron	Egreta caerulea	Trip total 15
11	Tricolored heron	Egretta tricolor	Trip total ca 60
12	Cattle egret	Bubulcus ibis	+
13	Green heron	Butorides virescens	Trip total 21
14	Yellow-crowned night heron	Nyctanassa violacea	Trip total 8-9
15	Glossy ibis	Plegadis falcinellus	Trip total 20
16	White ibis	Eudocimus albus	Common, especially at dump sites and water treatment plants
17	Roseate spoonbill	Platalea ajaja	17.8. BG 7, 19.8. FM a26 and 22.8. Sugarloaf Key 1
18	Wood stork	Mycteria americana	17.8. BG 340 (Brown's Farm Road)
19	Egyptian goose	Alopochen aegyptiacus	20.8. Pembroke a2 local (origin?)
20	Muscovy duck	Cairina moschata	Common, origin?
21	Mottled duck	Anas fulvigula	The only Anas seen; 16.8. EV 1, 17.8. BG 2, 19.8. VE a7 (Anas sp)
22	Turkey vulture	Cathartes aura	+
23	Black vulture	Coragyps atratus	+
24	Osprey	Pandion haliaetus	Trip total ca 30
25	Snail kite	Rostrhamus sociabilis	16.8. EV 1 female
26	Cooper's hawk	Accipiter cooperi	19.8. VE 1 juv (+ 2 Accipiter sp)
27	Red-shouldered hawk	Buteo lineatus	Trip total ca 20
28	Broad-winged hawk	Buteo platypterus	18.8. HS 1
29	Red-tailed hawk	Buteo jamaicensis	19.8. VE 2
30	Bald eagle	Haliaeetus leucocephalus	16.8. EV 1 ad 1 juv, 21.8. HO 1 subad (Mt. Trashmore)
31	Crested caracara	Caracara cheriway	19.8. LP 3 (Lorida)
32	Moorhen	Gallinula chloropus	+
33	American coot	Fulica americana	17.8. BG 2 ad
34	Sandhill crane	Grus canadensis	18.8. HS 2, LP 2, 19.8. VE ca 10
35	Limpkin	Aramus guarauna	16.8. EV 1
36	Black-bellied plover	Pluvialis squatarola	+
37	Killdeer	Charadrius vociferus	Trip total ca 130 (of which 21.8. fields SW from HO 100)
38	Semipalmated plover	Charadrius semipalmatus	+
39	Piping plover	Charadrius melodus	15.8. KB 3-4 (North Beach)
40	Wilson's plover	Charadrius wilsonia	19.8. FM 2 (Beach)
41	Snowy plover	Charadrius alexandrinus	19.8. FM 1 (Beach)
42	American oystercatcher	Haematopus palliatus	19.8. FM 2 (Beach)
43	Black-necked stilt	Himantopus mexicanus	Trip total ca 60
44	Greater yellowlegs	Tringa melanoleuca	+
45	Lesser yellowlegs	Tringa flavipes	+
46	Solitary sandpiper	Tringa solitaria	21.8. HO 1
47	Spotted sandpiper	Actitis macularia	+
48	Willet	Catopthroptorus semipalmatus	+
49	Ruddy turnstone	Arenaria interpres	+
50	Sanderling	Calidris alba	+
51	Red knot	Calidris canutus	19.8. FM a36+a30 (Beach)
52	Semipalmated sandpiper	Calidris pusilla	+
53	Least sandpiper	Calidris minutilla	+
54	Western sandpiper	Calidris mauri	Trip total 7 (sites BG, KB & KE)
55	Stilt sandpiper	Calidris himantopus	17.8. BG ca 10
56	Short-billed dowitcher	Limnodromus griseus	Trip total ca 50 (includes sco/gri)
57	Laughing gull	Larus atricilla	+
58	"Gray-backed" gull	Larus sp	The only non-atricilla Larus: 16.8. EV 1 subad (smithsonianus?)
59	Black tern	Chlidonias niger	17.8. BG 6
60	Royal tern	Thalasseus maximus	Trip total ca 150
61	Common tern	Sterna hirundo	Trip total 23
62	Forster's tern	Sterna forsteri	Trip total ca 20
63	Least tern	Sterna antillarum	Trip total ca 85
64	Sandwich tern	Sterna sandvicensis	Trip total ca 70 (of which 19.8. FM 50)
65	Black skimmer	Rynchops niger	+
66	Rock dove	Columba livia	+
67	White-crowned pigeon	Columba leucocephala	Common only in Keys
68	Mourning dove	Zenaida macroura	+
69	White-winged pigeon	Zenaida asiatica	Trip total ca 45 (common SW from HO)
70	Common ground-dove	Columbina passerina	Trip total 11 (generally distributed but scarce)
71	Collared dove	Streptopelia decaocto	+
72	Blue-crowned parakeet	Aratinga acuticaudata	13.8. Miami Beach a4
73	Monk parakeet	Myiopsitta monachus	Trip total ca 30 (includes parakeet sp)
74	Common nighthawk	Chordeiles minor	+
75	Antillean nighthawk	Chordeiles gundlachii	22.8. Big Pine Key 1
76	Chimney swift	Chaetura pelagica	15.8. Miami 3, 19.8. FM 1
77	Belted kingfisher	Ceryle alcyon	+
78	Barred owl	Strix varia	19.8. VE 2 found dead on roadsides
79	Burrowing owl	Athene cunicularia	19.8. LP 7 (Lorida)
80	Red-bellied woodpecker	Melanerpes carolinus	+
81	Red-headed wodpecker	Melanerpes erythrocephalus	19.8. VE 1 ad 1 juv (Venus Flatwoods Res.)
82	Downy woodpecker	Picoides pubescens	+
83	Pileated woodpecker	Dryocopus pileatus	19.8. VE 1 (Venus Flatwoods Res.)
84	Northern flicker	Colaptes auratus	+
85	Great crested flycatcher	Myiarchus crinitus	Trip total 5
86	Gray kingbird	Tyrannus dominicensis	Trip total 15 (+ ca 30 dom/tyr)
87	Eastern kingbird	Tyrannus tyrannus	Trip total 7 (see also dominicensis)
88	Loggerhead shrike	Lanius ludovicianus	Trip total 63 (abundant in BG, HO & VE)
89	White-eyed vireo	Vireo griseus	16.8. EV 2 (Anhinga Trail), 22.8. Big Pine Key 2
90	Black-whiskered vireo	Vireo altiloquus	Total 7 in Keys (14. & 22.8.)
91	Blue jay	Cyanocitta cristata	+
92	Florida scrub-jay	Aphelocoma coerulescens	19.8. VE 3 (near Archbold biol. st.); rapidly declining? Many advertised sites were empty (e.g. HS; local officials' comm. and pers. obs.)
93	American crow	Corvus brachyrhynchus	+
94	Fish crow	Corvus ossifragus	+
95	Barn swallow	Hirundo rustica	+
96	Bank swallow	Riparia riparia	16.8. EV 2
97	Cave swallow	Petrochelidon fulva	16.8. HO ca 30 (SW 216 x Turnpike), 17.8. BG 1 and 21.8. HO 1 (both ful/pyr)
98	Northern rough-winged swallow	Stelgidopteryx serripennis	+
99	Purple martin	Progne subis	+
100	Carolina wren	Thryothorus ludovicianus	+
101	Blue-gray gnatcatcher	Polioptila caerulea	+
102	Eastern bluebird	Sialia sialis	19.8. VE 2/2 ad 2 juv
103	Northern mockingbird	Mimus polyglottos	+
104	Common myna	Acridotheres tristis	+
105	Hill myna	Gracula religiosa	15.8. MI a3 (Kendall area)
106	Starling	Sturnus vulgaris	+
107	Northern parula	Parula americana	22.8. Key West 2, Big Pine Key 9
108	Yellow-throated warbler	Dendroica dominica	18.8. J. Dickinson Park 1, 22.8. Sugarloaf Key 1
109	Yellow warbler	Dendroica petechia	20.8. FLA 1, 21.8. HO 1
110	Pine warbler	Dendroica pinus	19.8. VE 4 (Venus Flatwoods Res.)
111	Prairie warbler	Dendroica discolor	+
112	Black-and-white warbler	Mniotilta varia	22.8. Big Pine Key 1
113	American redstart	Setophaga ruticilla	15.8. MI 1, 22.8. Big Pine Key 1
114	Prothonotary warbler	Protonotaria citrea	14.8. Sugarloaf Key 1 ad, 22.8. Key West 1
115	Worm-eating warbler	Helmitheros vermivora	22.8. Big Pine Key 1
116	Waterthrush sp	Seiurus noveboracensis / motacilla	14.8. Sugarloaf Key 1, 22.8. Sugarloaf Key 2
117	Northern cardinal	Cardinalis cardinalis	+
118	Eastern towhee	Pipilo erythrophthalmus	+
119	Eastern meadowlark	Sturnella magna	16.8. EV 5, 17.8. BG 1
120	Red-winged blackbird	Agelaius phoeniceus	+
121	Common grackle	Quiscalus quiscula	+
122	Boat-tailed grackle	Quiscalus major	+
123	Brown-headed cowbird	Molothrus ater	+
124	House sparrow	Passer domesticus	+