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
BIRDQUEST2004 