Sue and I travelled to Key West back in 94, for our first trip to the Dry Tortugas.   We drove on the Hwy. 1 into the Keys and from Manatee Bay a Flamingo flew in front of the car.  Little did I know it would be 22 years til I saw another one in Florida.

I was tired and had been driving for 30 hours at the time and their were many escapee’s in the area so I never counted that Flamingo.

Well this year in Fort Myer’s, Bunche Beach, Richard Killen and I found the Flamingo.

A new ABA bird, the American Flamingo:  Taken from extreme distance.

Richard and I had a great 5 days of birding, seeing 137 species, below are some of the better photos, taken with my Nikon D7200 and P900 point and shoot cameras.

American Avocet – Bunche Beach, Fort Myers

American Coot – Baptist Hospital

Anhinga – Everywhere

Black-bellied Whistling Duck – Wakodahatchee Wetlands, a must visit if your nearby – free admission

Black Skimmer – Flamingo, Everglades

Burrowing Owl

Common Gallinule – Brewer Park Roost, no Macaws but lots of birds

Crested Caracara, 3 Lakes WMA, while searching for the Whooping Crane

Eastern Meadowlark, many

Florida Scrub-Jay – Archbold Biological Station, Venus, Florida

Great Egret – any water will have an Egret…

Green Heron – Wakodahatchee Wetlands

Little Blue Heron Immature – Loxahatchee NWR

Limpkin- Loxahatchee NWR

Little Blue Heron Adult – Loxahatchee NWR

Loggerhead Shrike – Homestead Airport

Monk Parakeet – entrance of Loxahatchee NWR

Muscovy Duck – Brewer Park

Nelson’s Sparrow – Coastal Trail, Everglades – tons of mosquitos, water, bring boots.

Osprey – Flamingo, Everglades

Palm Warbler – Sanibel Island, most common warbler we saw

Pied-billed Grebe – Wakodahatchee Wetlands

Piping Plover – Bunche Beach, shorebird heaven

Prairie Warbler – Flamingo, Everglades

Purple Gallinule – Wakodahatchee Wetlands

Reddish Egret – Ding Darling, Sanibel Island

Red-headed Woodpecker – Archbold Biological Station, Venus, Florida

Red Knot – Ding Darling, Sanibel Island

Roseate Spoonbill – 3 Lakes WMA

Royal Tern – Flamingo, Everglades

Saltmarsh Sparrow – Coastal Trail, Flamingo, Everglades

Semi-palmated Plover – Bunche Beach, Fort Myers

Short-tailed Hawk – Loxahatchee NWR

Smooth-billed Ani – Loxahatchee NWR

Adult Snail Kite – Loxahatchee NWR

Juvenile Snail Kite – Loxahatchee NWR

Snowy Egret – Ding Darling, Sanibel Island

Spot-breasted Oriole – Markham Park, Fort Lauderdale

Grey-headed Swamphen (formerly Purple Swamphen) – Wakodahatchee Wetlands

White Ibis – Loxahatchee NWR

White-winged Parakeet – Ocean Bank, 42nd Avenue

Wilson’s Plover – Bunche Beach, Fort Myers

Wood Stork – Entrance to Bunche Beach in ditch

Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron – Ding Darling, Sanibel Island

Yellow-throated Warbler – Flamingo, Everglades

We did miss a few birds but not for lack of trying.

We also found a small lake in Sunrise, Florida with a bunch of exotic Ducks.  Nothing countable but lovely to see.

Common Shelduck

Red-crested Pochard

White-cheeked Pintail

American Alligator

Baby Alligator

American Crocodile – First one I’ve ever seen

Iguana – not many seen due to cool temperturess

The Flamingo was my last normally occurring bird in Florida that I needed.  I love Florida.

Ciao for now