Townsend’s Warbler, Charlotte, North Carolina, March 14, 2025

On the morning of March 7 a text came across the local Blue Ridge Birders text group that a Townsend’s Warbler was coming to a feeder in Charlotte.  Although it was first being reported on the 7th, there was a rumor that it had been present for a couple weeks.  So it certainly seemed to be reliable.  That would be a great bird to chase after and try to add to my NC state list.  It was within my self-imposed 2-hour driving limit to chase rarities – well sort of.  And the homeowner was quite accommodating, allowing birders to watch his feeders from inside his house.

Now it just needed to stick around until I was free.  Unfortunately, I had commitments for each day over the next week and wasn’t free until the 14th.  And even on that day I needed to be home by about Noon.  I kept watching the reports and the Townsend’s Warbler continued to be seen quite regularly at the feeder.  That is until the 13th when it wasn’t seen until the afternoon.  That was more than a bit troubling, but I decided to go for the chase after all, though giving it maybe just a 50/50 chance of success.

After an early 6 AM departure I arrived at the Warbler site just after 8 and the homeowner met me at the door.  He said he hadn’t seen it yet that morning but I was welcome to come inside to watch the feeders.  That sounded inviting, but instead I opted to watch for it in the backyard.  Not only are the feeders visible from the yard, but the bird was also sometimes being seen from the yard both before coming to the feeder and after leaving it. 

The yard was quite birdy, with nearly constant activity at the nice feeding station.  Here is a picture of the backyard deck – the Warbler was coming to the suet feeder toward the left.

The homeowner pointed out the trees in which the Warbler was most often seen, including a nice cedar that looked like one that a Townsend’s might visit in its natural habitat.  So I was all set and ready to wait it out.  At least for a couple hours anyway. 

Just after I arrived a bright yellow Pine Warbler dropped in to eat mealworms – that got my heart racing momentarily but it wasn’t the target bird.  Then no more than 5 minutes later a small bird flew into a deciduous tree overhead.  I got a glimpse of yellow on the bird as it landed, but was it just another Pine?  I got it in my binoculars and it was instead the target Townsend’s Warbler!  It then flew to the feeder where I got these “digi-bin” pictures.

Over the next 90 minutes the bird visited the feeder roughly every 30 minutes, each time pausing in several different trees in the back yard, including the juniper.  And a couple times it even sang softly.  What a great show, especially after its limited visits the day before.

I can’t thank the homeowner enough for his hospitality!

My state bird map for this species is inserted below.  The light blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen it in its regular range.  The cross-hatched states are those where I’ve yet to see it in that range.  And the 4 dark blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen Townsend’s Warbler as a rarity – one I found on my own in NH, at feeders in MA, as a woodland stakeout in RI, and now at feeders in NC.  Townsend’s Warbler was #327 for my NC list.  (Interestingly, Townsend's Warbler was #327 for my RI list as well.)

Tundra Bean-Goose - Life Bird, Portsmouth, RI, February 22, 2025

In mid-February I started hearing about reports of a Tundra Bean-Goose being seen in Rhode Island.  That would be a life bird for me, but it would require a 2-day one-way drive, or a lengthy plane flight, so I didn’t put it on my radar screen.  But then a local western NC birding friend sent me a text that he went up there and saw the Goose with only limited effort.  With just a bit of research I found out that the bird had been seen nearly daily for almost a month in a reasonably small area in Portsmouth, RI.  In other words, the Goose seemed to be pretty reliable.  And since my daughter lives in Providence just a half hour away, I could make it into a little visit with her as well.  The die was cast – I made my plane and rental car reservations to arrive in just 4 days and hoped that the bird would continue in the region.

Now it was time to do more detailed research.  The Bean-Goose was being seen during the day with Canada Geese feeding in a number of different corn fields and pastures throughout the northern end of Aquidneck Island near Portsmouth.  (I birded that area numerous times during my days in New England and remember large flocks of wintering geese using the area.)  In the evening the goose flocks would come into Lawton Valley Reservoir to roost overnight, providing viewing opportunities both in the evening and the following morning.  At least that was its M.O. early in its stay.  It was actually last seen during the day nearly 2 weeks before my trip, though there weren’t too many people searching.  And the target bird was sometimes missed in the evenings if the goose flocks didn’t arrive early enough for an ID in the waning light.  As a result, the most likely time to see the bird now appeared to be in the early morning at the reservoir.  Luckily, I set up my trip to be on the ground in RI for 3 evenings and 3 mornings.  So even if it was no longer being seen during the day feeding, I figured I’d still have plenty of chances to find the Bean-Goose at its overnight roost.

I flew into the Providence airport mid-morning on February 21, and had a quick visit with my daughter before heading off to Portsmouth.  My plan was to first check the fields where the Bean-Goose used to be seen foraging, though I didn’t like my chances.  Then by 4 PM or so I’d head to the reservoir to wait for the geese to start coming to roost.  And if I missed my target that evening, there was always the next morning. 

As expected, I found few geese in the fields: just 50 at the local high school ball fields, and 125 at the car museum parking lot across from the reservoir.  As a result, I was done checking the fields by 1 PM, so I headed over to the reservoir just in case my target came in early that day.  To my surprise there were 250 Canada Geese already swimming on the reservoir – certainly critical mass to find my target.  But despite lots of scans, the Bean-Goose just wasn’t there.  Within 30 minutes all of these birds had left.  And at 2:30 a bigger flock flew in.  This group numbered 380, but again no target bird, though a Cackling Goose was a nice find.  And within a half hour these birds flew off too. 

The reservoir was nearly devoid of geese from 3 through 5 PM, though I continued my vigil scanning the reservoir in the single-digit wind chills.  I started to wonder if the geese coming in to roost that night.  And worse yet, I worried that since I didn’t see large flocks that afternoon, had all the gese moved out of the area.  But then finally at 5:15, after the sun had already set on the reservoir, a flock of at least 1,000 geese descended on the lake.  Another birder was there with me at that point, and we were only able to make 3 or 4 hurried scans of the geese before we called it quits due to the failing light.  If only they had come in earlier we would have had more time to look for the Bean-Goose.  Then again, maybe the flock of Canadas it was with wasn’t even there yet.  After 6 hours of searching, as I expected, I’d have to come back the next morning to find out.

Sometimes roosting waterfowl will leave their overnight roost at first light.  But recent morning reports from the Lawton reservoir generally suggested the roosting geese stuck around the lake well into the morning.  As I drove to the site on the 22nd I hoped that would be the case.  I arrived just after 7 to see 2 birders already there.  And this was the view of the geese below us – at least 1,000 birds roosting on the edge of the ice near the southern end of the reservoir.

The “closest” geese were still at least 100 yards away, and the farther birds to the right in the picture were at least triple that distance.  And they were all sleeping in a dense flock, which meant it was tough to see field marks. 

And then I noticed even more geese on the ice at the far northern end of the reservoir.  There were perhaps another 1,000 geese in that distant flock, more than 300 yards away.  Even with my scope on 50 power it was nearly impossible to see field marks on the tightly packed birds.  But at least it seemed that all the geese were still there.

Here’s a screenshot from Google Maps showing where we were standing – the red X, where the close geese were sleeping on the ice – at the number 1, and the distant geese on the ice – at the number 2.

Now it was time to get to work.  I first scanned the closest sleeping birds hoping to pick out a bird that had a brown head and neck instead of the black neck and white cheek patch of a Canada.  Then I started looking at the geese farther to the right and soon picked out a possible candidate.  It seemed to have a brown head, and the chest was not nearly as pale as the Canadas.  I got the other birders on this bird and we all thought it was a possibility.  But we couldn’t see the horizontal white stripe on the flank that others noted on the Bean-Goose when it was sleeping.  We all focused on this bird for a while before it briefly lifted its head and it was indeed black – it was just a Canada.  Later I found a similar candidate on the ice, and I stared at this one for a while too.  But without the white flank stripe, it too was going to be a Canada.  We were just trying too hard.  I scanned the close flock numerous times, and even tried scanning the farther flock a bit, but just kept coming up with Canadas, or geese on which I could see no field marks at all.

At about 9 AM a number of the close geese started to stir, and some walked off the ice into the water.  Now that I had good views, I quickly scanned these birds but still only came up with Canadas.  Perhaps 500 geese were now swimming, and maybe the other half of the close flock was still sleeping on the ice.  But I really felt like I had good views of the birds in the water, and reasonable views of the sleeping birds now that the flock wasn’t as densely packed.  So I was pretty sure that our target just wasn’t in the close flock. 

It was now 9:30, and since I had pretty much given up on the close flock, I started to strategize a way to get closer to the farther flock.  I could hike up to the top of the dam of the reservoir and walk to the north which would actually get me quite close, assuming that was legal to do of course.  But I decided to do just a couple more scans of the close flock before changing my location.  And just then I noticed 2 geese swimming by the edge of the ice.  One had a brown head without the white cheek patch – I instantly knew I had the Tundra Bean-Goose!  With closer views I quickly ticked off all the other salient field marks – a bit smaller and shorter necked than the Canadas, horizontal white flank patch, pale streaks in the mantle and tail, and orange tip to the bill. 

We watched if for the next half hour as it swam mostly out in the open among Canadas.  Here are my two best phone-scoped shots of the bird more than 200 yards away.

After 10 hours of searching over 2 days in single-digit wind chills, it was most satisfying to finally find my target Tundra Bean-Goose.  It was one of my longest ever searches for a life bird (first place goes to a Blue Bunting requiring 4 separate trips to south TX).  Though this was the first life bird chase that also afforded me a nice visit with my daughter.

By my records (following ABA’s countability rules), the Tundra Bean-Goose was #774 for my ABA Continental list, and #754 for my Lower 48 list.  By eBird’s count it was #778 in the ABA Continental region and #757 for the Lower 48.  (Someday I’ll have to figure out the source of those differences.)  And it was #336 for my RI state list. 

South Florida and Southeastern US Trip, January 6-16, 2025, Part 3 of 3

In November 2024 I started planning a mid-winter trip to south FL trip focused on specialties, exotics, and rarities.  And speaking of rarities, there were 3 mega rarities being seen – Bananaquit, Yellow-headed Caracara and Large-billed Tern.  I mentioned the upcoming trip to my good birding friend Bill Hooker, and he expressed interest in coming along.  Soon we were thinking about a trip for 4 of us –including Bill and his wife Anita, plus Bill’s friend Bob Cowan.  Not only were all of us looking for lifebirds and statebirds, but Bill was also working on his county lists, and Bob was embarking on a 2025 big year.  Plus, Anita was great at photographing our target birds.  So there were lots of potential targets for all of us.  And speaking of state and county birds, we decided to drive to south FL instead of flying so we could work on our lists along the way.

After perhaps 200 hours of research, I mapped out a route that would take us down the coast of SC and GA, through inland northern and central FL, then onto south FL.  Then we would return along the Atlantic coast of FL and back through GA and SC.  We tentatively planned it as an 11-day trip including 5 days in south FL.  Though we included more than enough flexibility to pursue any newly reported target birds.  With this itinerary I hoped for 4 new statebirds in SC, 2 in GA, and 10 new statebirds in FL.  And perhaps 2 of those new FL birds would be lifebirds as well.  Though unfortunately one of the initial triggers for our trip, the Bananaquit, was no longer being seen.

See my previous 2 blog posts for summaries of the first two thirds of the trip.

1/13 – Central Florida

With our south FL birding complete, we started our long drive home.  Though of course we would have some birding stops along the way.  Our next set of stops would be at the Merritt Island NWR, first to look for a long-staying Eurasian Wigeon.  This bird was first discovered back in November, and had been seen nearly daily ever since.  Although it was enticing to look for it on our way south through the state, I decided to skip the search for this bird as we headed south so we could use a more inland route through FL for other targets.  Instead, we would look for the Wigeon several days later as we took a more coastal route on the way back north.  That strategy was a bit risky, but I was betting that the bird would stick around at least until we made our return.  And the bird was indeed still being seen daily when we got to the refuge so my gamble paid off.  Many of the eBird reports provided good details on the location of our bird (between stops #2 and #3 of the Black Point Wildlife Drive).  Now we just needed to find that one bird in a large American Wigeon flock.

We finally arrived at the refuge mid afternoon and headed straight for the Wildlife Drive.  There were quite a number of waders near the beginning of the Drive, but there were next to no waterfowl.  Just after we passed stop #2 we got to a lake on the left with good numbers of dabbling ducks in the eastern end, including quite a few Wigeon.  Now the pressure was on.  I started a slow scan of the closer ducks, then the ones a bit farther out, and finally the dabblers in the distance.  There were 50 or more American Wigeon but I couldn’t find the Eurasian.  There were a couple small mangrove islands in the middle of the lake that blocked my view of part of the lake, so I changed my vantage point a couple times but still couldn’t find our target.  I was getting worried.  I tried to tell myself that I wasn’t overlooking the bird; instead it was just in a different location.

We drove a short distance farther along to check the western end of the lake and came upon some more Wigeon.  Did we have the right location now?  Sure enough, within just a minute I had picked out the Eurasian Wigeon.  It was backlit a bit, but the orangey-red head and gray sides really stood out.

That was my 16th state where I’ve seen Eurasian Wigeon, mostly along both ocean coasts.

Our last targets of the day were a pair of American Flamingos wintering in the northern part of the Merritt Island refuge.  Initial eBird reports seemed to suggest that the birds were being seen in multiple locations, but that mostly turned out to be erroneous locations for the checklists.  Instead, a bit of research indicated that they were principally being seen at the south end of the Haulover Canal, most often on a small island called Bird Island.  All the photos showed the birds were quite far away, roosting with Cormorants and Pelicans.  So some distant searching might be necessary.

When we pulled up to the canoe launch area at the south end of the canal we quickly spotted Bird Island about a half mile away, along with the roosting flock of Cormorants and Pelicans.  And even with just binoculars you could see pink dots among the flock.  Scope views confirmed we had the 2 Flamingos.  Good thing they are such large and colorful birds.

Flamingo wasn’t a life bird or even a state bird for any of us, but it was great to see these beautiful birds again for our year lists.  And it sure was easier than my last FL Flamingos in the Everglades at the end of Snake Bight Trail.

1/14 – Central and Northern Florida

As we continued to head north, our first stop of the day was at Blue Spring SP for Florida Scrub-Jays.  The park is in the heart of Scrub-Jay habitat, and that part of central Florida has lots of Scrub-Jay reports in eBird.  But these birds are often in isolated spots, or move through the habitat in small family groups. So you often have to be lucky to run into one of those small wandering flocks.  In any case, it’s not a sure thing to find them on any given trip, even in good habitat. 

In doing my research I found multiple recent reports from Blue Spring, some concentrated near the campground and others from the Scrub-Jay Loop trail.  We asked for advice from the ranger at the entrance booth and he said the best spot was the Scrub-Jay Loop trail.  With a name like that how could you go wrong?  We started a slow walk down the trail in nice habitat but didn’t encounter any Jays.  We turned a curve in the trail and Bob spotted a bird foraging in the trail in the distance – we had our first Florida Scrub-Jay.  When we got closer we found 3 birds at this spot.  And a bit farther down the road we ran into another group of 4.  This one perched in the open affording nice, albeit backlit, views.

Later we took a short side trip to the spring and got great views of numerous manatees lounging in the relatively warm waters of the spring. 

Next we headed back to the Ocala Wetland Recharge Park for another try for the Swifts and Ash-throated Fly.  The Swifts had been reported several times since our last trip there, but they continued to be seen only sporadically.  The Ash-throated had been reported a couple times too, so we tried to stay optimistic.  But despite nearly an hour of waiting near the southern impoundments the Swifts were once again a no show.  Then we walked to the northwest part of the park where the Flycatcher is typically seen but had only Phoebes.  Rather than doubling back as we did on our first visit, we continued on the loop around the northern impoundment and came back on the eastern side.  We had only walked perhaps 50 yards when we spotted some movement at the edge of the low brush – it was the Ash-throated Flycatcher, nicely captured by Anita in this picture.  (FL statebird #11) 

We were lucky we saw it when we did because it soon slipped down further into the vegetation mostly out of view.  FL was my 8th east coast state (along with KS) where I’ve seen this species as a vagrant.

Our next stop was a home in Gainesville where a female Western Tanager was coming to a feeder.  It took a bit of effort but I was finally able to obtain contact information for the homeowner.  With a quick call it turned out that he was very willing to have us come by his home and watch for his Tanager which had returned for its 3rd consecutive winter.  We watched his feeders through his kitchen window, and after a 30-minute wait, the Tanager dropped in to feed (FL statebird #12), along with several of his Baltimore Orioles.  Once again, here is one of Anita’s pictures of the Tanager.

My statebird map for Western Tanager is actually quite similar to the Ash-throated map.

Many thanks to the homeowner for his hospitality!  He also told us about a pair of rare Common Goldeneyes in a nearby pond, which made for a most successful last birding stop in FL. 

1/14 – Coastal Georgia

We had just enough time before sunset for 2 quick stops in southern GA for unusual waterfowl.  The first was a male Common Goldeneye in a small lake along Queens Court just outside of Brunswick.  Unfortunately, we weren’t successful in finding it, though we had at least 150 Ruddy Ducks on the lake.  The bird was last seen a couple days earlier, with a photo showing it sitting on the shore, and the birder commented that it had a bad eye.  It sure didn’t look healthy in that picture; perhaps it passed before our visit on the 14^th.

Our last GA stop was at Blythe Island Park where a White-fronted Goose was hanging out with a small Canada Goose flock.  As we arrived at the park gate it was 5:45 and we all noticed the sign that the gate would close at 6.  But it was a small park so we hoped we would have just enough time to find our target and get out by 6.  We pulled up to the park lake and heard some geese calling in the distance.  It was starting to get pretty dark, but I was able to pick out the White-front in the distance.  We quickly drove over to the campground where we last saw the bird, re-spotted it in with the Canadas (Anita was able to snap this one picture) and got back out just 2 minutes before 6. 

 Can’t get any more efficient than that!

1/15 – Coastal Georgia

Our last full birding day of the trip was focused on several of our targets along the GA coast.  First we headed just a couple miles inland from Brunswick to Paulks Pasture WMA where Henslow’s Sparrows had been seen recently.  I had reached out to a local birder and got precise locations for the birds lurking in wet grasses along a powerline cut.  I donned my boots and rainpants and trudged through the tall grass but came up empty, finding just a Sedge Wren, despite what looked like ideal habitat.  It was nice to find this large patch of pitcher plants that measured at least 3 feet across.

Our next stop was in the Spartina marshes along the causeway to St. Simons for the 3 “marsh sparrows”.  We timed our visit to be close to high tide to aid in flushing them out, but we only had one Seaside Sparrow respond to tape.  A Clapper Rail in flight was a nice bonus bird.

Once onto St. Simons we headed to Sandcastle Drive near the airport.  A ditch and small riparian area continued where the road stopped, and a Lincoln’s Sparrow had been seen there recently near a railroad tie retention wall.  This area was quite birdy, and we found birds like Painted Buntings and an Orange-crowned Warbler.  Eventually we found the retaining wall and spotted the Lincoln’s Sparrow skulking in the low brush just below the wall.  (GA statebird #1)  I now just need this species in 4 more states (the cross-hatched states in my statebird map below).

Our next targets were a pair of Western Kingbirds near the south end of the St. Simons airport, just a 5-minute walk from the Lincoln’s Sparrow spot.  They were typically seen perched in a large brush pile, and along the airport fences.  But even though they had been seen in the area for some time, they were only seen infrequently.  In fact, my local contact told me that he had recently spent 3 days looking for them with no luck.  And then the day before we arrived there was a report that they were seen perched on a relatively hidden back side of the brush pile.  Luckily I got directions to reach that portion of the pile, and we headed straight to that spot.  And within a couple minutes I was able to get distant scope views of one of the birds.  (GA statebird #2)  Western Kingbird is another of those typically “western” species that is a regular vagrant to the east coast.

Our last stop on the island was a shorebird hotspot named Gould’s Inlet.  A Snowy Plover had been spotted there recently, but not reported in the most recent couple checklists.  So I wasn’t too hopeful, though looking forward to seeing some big numbers and variety of shorebirds.  As we arrived there were already good numbers of shorebirds on the flats, and more continued to fly in as the tide dropped.  We were able to find 9 species of shorebirds including the only Piping and Wilson’s Plovers of the trip.  And wild estimates of numbers were dominated by 500 Dunlin, 100 Semi Plovers, and 75 Least Sandpipers.  An estimated 300 Black Skimmers were notable as well.  But as expected, we could not find the Snowy Plover.  A flyby flock of Black Scoters were nice as well.

We continued up the GA coast and headed for yet another try for Purple Sandpipers at the Tybee Island North Jetty.  Two had been reported and photographed there on the 13th, so we were actually more hopeful this time than on our first try.  But once again we only found Turnstones and Sanderlings.

1/16 – South Carolina

We made 2 final stops in SC on our last day on the road.  The first was at the Savannah NWR Visitor Center where Bill hoped to find Purple Finch as a new SC statebird.  I wasn’t too hopeful since the last time a Purple Finch was reported there was 12 days earlier at the feeding station.  But I liked Bill’s optimism.  We arrived at dawn and only found squirrels at the feeder.  We started talking about how wintering Purple Finches like to eat tree seeds, especially tulip, sweet gum, and sycamore seeds.  I started looking around and spotted a large gum tree nearby loaded with seed balls.  Sure enough there were 4 birds near the top of the tree that turned out to be Purple Finches.  Like I said, I like Bill’s optimism.

Our last stop was at the Orangeburg Sod Farm where we hoped for Ground Doves, especially around the maintenance buildings.  We found numerous MODOs, but alas no Ground Doves.

Summary of Trip Results

We amassed 213 species on the trip.  When the trip was over we were all briefly in eBird’s top 20 for the ABA Region for the year, and top 5 in FL.  And speaking of FL, we saw 43 of 53 south FL targets. 

Other highlights among our 213 species were:

- South FL Specialties - Short-tailed Hawk, Snail Kite, White-crowned Pigeon, "Great White" Heron, Burrowing Owl, Lesser Nighthawk, Florida Scrub Jay, Vermilion Flycatcher, Whooping Crane, "Golden/Carribean" Yellow Warbler, 15 species of wintering warblers

- Exotics - Spot-breasted Oriole, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Common Myna, Indian Peafowl, Egyptian Goose, 6 species of parakeets/amazons/macaws

- Rarities - 4 Tropical Kingbirds, Ruff, Brown-crested Flycatcher, 10 Shiny Cowbirds, 2 American Flamingos, Eurasian Wigeon, 2nd record of Gray-headed Swamphen for SC, 5 Cave Swallows, 2 Ash-throated Flycatchers, 2 Western Tanagers, Black-throated Gray Warbler, and a remarkable 18 Western Kingbirds

I ended up with 2 new Lifebirds – Blue-and-yellow Macaw and Orange-winged Amazon - bringing my ABA Continental list to 776 per eBird’s countability rules.  Plus I added 20 new statebirds, much better than the 16 I hoped for:

- SC – added 6 bringing my total to 312

- GA – added 2 with a new state total of 272

- FL – added 12 raising my total to 343

The eBird Trip Report can be found at – ebird.org/tripreport/318837

It sure was a nice break from winter birding in western NC!

South Florida and Southeastern US Trip, January 6-16, 2025, Part 2 of 3

In November 2024 I started planning a mid-winter trip to south FL trip focused on specialties, exotics, and rarities.  And speaking of rarities, there were 3 mega rarities being seen – Bananaquit, Yellow-headed Caracara and Large-billed Tern.  I mentioned the upcoming trip to my good birding friend Bill Hooker, and he expressed interest in coming along.  Soon we were thinking about a trip for 4 of us –including Bill and his wife Anita, plus Bill’s friend Bob Cowan.  Not only were all of us looking for lifebirds and statebirds, but Bill was also working on his county lists, and Bob was embarking on a 2025 big year.  Plus, Anita was great at photographing our target birds.  So there were lots of potential targets for all of us.  And speaking of state and county birds, we decided to drive to south FL instead of flying so we could work on our lists along the way.

After perhaps 200 hours of research, I mapped out a route that would take us down the coast of SC and GA, through inland northern and central FL, then onto south FL.  Then we would return along the Atlantic coast of FL and back through GA and SC.  We tentatively planned it as an 11-day trip including 5 days in south FL.  Though we included more than enough flexibility to pursue any newly reported target birds.  With this itinerary I hoped for 4 new statebirds in SC, 2 in GA, and 10 new statebirds in FL.  And perhaps 2 of those new FL birds would be lifebirds as well.  Though unfortunately one of the initial triggers for our trip, the Bananaquit, was no longer being seen.

See my previous blogpost for a summary of the first part of the trip on January 6-9. 

1/10 – South Florida

After 1,000 miles of driving and 4 days of birding, we finally made it to south FL!  We left our Homestead hotel pre-dawn and made our way to Lucky Hammock in the Frog Pond WMA just outside Everglades NP.  I chose this spot for sunrise birding since recent checklists featured numerous passerine species including one checklist with 8 species of warblers.  Our walk to the hammock was along a paved road through grassy and brushy habitat that was full of birds.  Early on our walk we encountered a group of 4 Spizella sparrows that only gave fleeting views initially.  My first looks made me think of Chipping, but later we got much better views of the birds giving classic head patterns of Clay-colored Sparrows (FL statebird #3).  Here is one of Anita’s shots of one of the birds.

Although Clay-colored is typically a central continent bird, it is prone to vagrancy to both coasts. Florida was my 12th state where I’ve seen this species as a rarity. 

We continued to bird the brush along the way, and eventually made our way to the hammock.  One of the first birds we saw there was a Phoebe flushed out of the woods by another flycatcher.  This latter bird perched briefly in the open, and we quickly knew it was a Myiarchus flycatcher, but which species?  The yellow belly was not as bright as a Great Crested.  And its bill and head were large with a strong crested look eliminating Ash-throated.  We had a rare Brown-crested Flycatcher!  (FL statebird #4)  Although I still need it in 2 states in its regular range in the southwest, FL was my 2nd state for it as a rarity.

On our way back we not only re-found the Clay-colored Sparrows, but also found a quite cooperative Lincoln’s Sparrow and a beautiful female Painted Bunting.  This certainly was a good choice to start the day.

Next we headed to the trail along the L31W Canal a short distance away.  Just after we pulled into the parking lot we spotted a pair of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers as they flew to the wires.  These birds were joined by 3 others, and all 5 birds foraged together for some time, at one point all perched together on a small bush like Christmas tree ornaments.  A Tropical Kingbird was nearby as well.

As we walked up the trail we noticed quite a bit of activity in the adjacent tree line.  We started to pick up several warblers including a male Yellow Warbler which would be of the “Golden” or “Caribbean” subspecies.  Maybe that one will be split from the “Northern” group some day.  Later I spotted a large bird with a long tail fly into the thicket.  The view was brief but it gave me a cuckoo vibe with a buffy wash below.  It could well have been a Mangrove Cuckoo, but the look was far too brief and we couldn’t re-find it.

Then our focus turned toward to the sky as a flock of Turkey Vultures passed overhead.  Mixed in the flock were some smaller hawks, including 2 Swainson’s Hawks and a dark phase Short-tailed Hawk.  And in the distance, we spotted a White-tailed Kite hovering over a field.  That was a nice sweep of the hoped-for raptors in the area.

Our next stop was Snake Bight trail in the Everglades NP.  This is a mile and a half trail through excellent mangrove habitat that can be good for any number of warblers and White-crowned Pigeons, with an outside chance for Mangrove Cuckoo.  And you can get lucky with waders from the boardwalk at the end.  The good news was that we had few if any mosquitoes.  The bad news was that the trail wasn’t particularly birdy, though we did have our only Black-throated Blue and Northern Waterthrushes of the trip, and a nice Blue-headed Vireo.  The bay at the end of the trail had numerous waders, but they were far out in the distance.  Though we were able to spot a Yellow-crowned Night Heron and a Lesser Black-backed Gull on the flats.  The bromeliads along the trail were also quite interesting, including this one in bloom.

A quick stop at Flamingo didn’t reveal very much, so we quickly headed off to our last stop in the Everglades - Mahogany Hammock.  Here we hoped for perhaps a perched Barred Owl or White-crowned Pigeon, and maybe some wintering warblers.  We ran into a small flock of warblers, including our first Black-throated Green.  And we briefly got excited about this perched bird.

But it turned out to be a Red-shouldered Hawk.

Just after leaving the Everglades we spotted a flock of White Ibis feeding in a small town park and decided to pull in.  Here we added our first of many Muscovy Ducks for the trip.  Anita captured them in this picture as they waddled by.

And a short distance down the road I spotted a pair of Common Mynas sitting on the pavement at a gas station.  We pulled in allowing Anita to get this shot of one of the tame birds.

Nice to end the day with 2 of our south FL targets, even though they are introduced species.

1/11 – South Florida

Our first stop of the day was at Larry Manfredi’s house in Homestead where his feeding station is well-known for its Shiny Cowbirds.  Although we had them 2 days earlier at the rice mill, we weren’t allowed to take any photos there, so we hoped for more opportunities at the feeders.  We also would be on the lookout for a Bell’s Vireo that frequently comes to the yard.  Soon after our arrival the Shiny Cowbirds started coming in, nicely captured in these photos by Anita.

Several male and female Painted Buntings provided nice eye candy as well.  But alas, we couldn’t locate the Vireo.

When the feeder activity slowed we started to share our birding plans for the next few days with Larry.  After leaving his yard, we planned to spend the day on the Keys for targets like Junglefowl, Frigatebird, Great White Heron and White-crowned Pigeon.  Then the next 2 days, the 12th and 13th, would be in and around Miami for parrots and parakeets and other landbirds.  Larry is an accomplished guide and we started to entertain whether we should hire him to help with our Miami searches.  Unfortunately, he wasn’t available on the 12th and 13th, but was available for the rest of the day on the 11th.  So we decided to change our itinerary, and hired Larry to show us around in south Miami that day.  Unfortunately, we ended up not getting to the Keys – countable Red Junglefowl will have to wait until a later trip. 

Our first stop was Coral Reef Park where quite a number of Psittacids had been reported.  The park was full of people watching soccer games, so not exactly a quiet environment.  But soon after we pulled in we heard and saw a small group of Blue-and-yellow Macaws, captured by Anita in these shots.  (Lifebird #1, FL statebird #5) 

Soon thereafter Larry put us on a Limpkin, which would surprisingly be our only one of the trip.  And there were several Egyptian Geese in the park, including this one on a nest in a planter right along one of the paths.

With no other parrots or parakeets to be heard (or at least loud enough to be heard over the soccer games), we moved on to Pine Woods Park.  My research had shown that this was the best spot for Scaly-breasted Munias, but despite lots of time combing through the tall grasses we were unsuccessful.  But all was not lost, as we found a pair of beautiful Spot-breasted Orioles, which posed most cooperatively for us.

Next we were on to the Biltmore Hotel (no, not related to Asheville’s Biltmore Estate) for its resident flock of Red-masked Parakeets.  Just as we arrived at the hotel a flock of about 25 parakeets flew by us.  (FL statebird #6)  A couple minutes later we found out what had spooked them – a Peregrine Falcon flew by and landed on the hotel.

With the Peregrine seemingly content on its perch, and the parakeets not likely to return anytime soon, we decided to head off to our next spot which was the parking lot for the Publix in Dadeland.  As soon as we pulled in we could hear a large group of parakeets calling nearby.  With a bit of searching we found a flock of maybe 30 Mitred Parakeets some 20 stories up in an apartment/condo building to the northeast.  (FL statebird #7)  Apparently, the noisy parakeets were being fed there, perhaps to the chagrin of those living nearby.

 Next we were onto King’s Creek Village in Kendall where Larry was especially hoping for Red-whiskered Bulbuls.  We wandered through the neighborhood a bit, finding some nice passerines like Yellow-throated Vireo and Yellow-throated and Prairie Warblers, but no Bulbuls.  We headed back toward the cars and played some tape and instantly got a response with up to 3 calling birds.  One bird was quite close and I eventually got brief but good views before it took off.

Then we were off to the Miami Executive Airport where we quickly found our key target – Burrowing Owl, with at least 4 right along the entrance road. 

Plus an unexpected flock of Monk Parakeets feeding on weed seeds right along the road as shown in this picture taken by Anita.

Our last planned stop of the day was at dusk just outside Everglades NP for Lesser Nighthawks.  But since we had some time to kill we headed back to Larry’s yard for a second chance at the Bell’s Vireo, but again struck out.  A consolation was watching small groups of Western Kingbirds flying by, totaling 11 birds.

As sunset neared we headed to the C111 canal and drove north a short distance on the dirt road along the canal to a location that give good views of the fields to the west to look for he Nighthawks.  While we waited we watched quite a nice White-tailed Kite show, with 5 in view at one time.  At sunset (5:50 PM that day) we started to watch in earnest for the Nighthawks.  And at 6 PM we saw the first Nighthawks flying low over the vegetation far in the distance.  On one scan of the horizon I counted 27 birds visible at one time – likely the total number of birds was well above that.  Eventually a few came reasonably close to us, giving much better views.  Then at 6:15 PM, when it was almost totally dark, Bill picked out a Barn Owl flying by low over the nearby fields.  Luckily, they look nearly white or otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to see it in the dim light.

What a great day we had with Larry!  We certainly wouldn’t have been nearly as successful finding so many of our targets without him.

1/12 – South Florida

One of the targets we missed when we were in the Everglades was White-crowned Pigeon.  And with no planned stops in the Keys, their isolated locations in the Miami area were our last chance for this south FL specialty.  Larry suggested that we drive through the neighborhood just west of AD Barnes Park at dawn to look for them.  Taking Larry’s suggestion, we arrived in the neighborhood at 7 and started to drive slowly through the neighborhood.  There were several canals lined with tall trees in the area, so we initially focused on roads along the canals thinking they might be perched in the trees.  Then we just started randomly driving the suburban streets.  At one point we found 3 Red Junglefowl, though eBird declared that these birds are non-countable “Escapees”.  After about 30 minutes my optimism was waning, but just then we spotted a group of large dark pigeons perched on an overhead wire.  With a quick binocular view we knew we had our target  – 5 birds cooperatively perched on utility wires.

Next we were onto nearby Brewer Park, aka the “Miller Drive Roost”.  The general guidance was to get there as early as possible to look for birds coming out of nearby roosts.  We arrived at 7:40 and quickly heard a group of 4 Blue-and-yellow Macaws, but no other Psittacids.  We took a short walk around the neighborhood, hearing our only Indian Peafowl of the trip, and finding some nice warblers including our only Cape May of the trip.

By the time we returned to the park it had warmed up and the sun had come out, and we wondered if that might result in more activity.  Sure enough, just minutes later we had small groups of Orange-winged Amazons totaling 8 birds fly overhead.  (Lifebird #2, FL statebird #8)  Then a group of 4 Red-masked Parakeets flew by.  Followed by 30 Monk Parakeets in 3 flocks.  Interestingly all birds were flying due north.

Next we were onto one of the least attractive eBird hotspots I’ve been to - Cortadito Cowbirds.  This was simply a shopping center parking lot, where Bronzed Cowbirds are often seen.  We wandered the lot for maybe 30 minutes, finding 2 Common Mynas, and a small flock of Monk Parakeets, but no Bronzed Cowbirds.  At one point I did have 2 cowbirds fly overhead but they disappeared behind the stores without IDs.  One consolation was seeing a flock of 6 Yellow-chevroned Parakeets fly by with their classic whirr of yellow and green wings.  (FL statebird #9)

We also made stops at AD Barnes Park and Matheson Hammock, but birding was slow as we approached mid-day.  However, we did have another Red Junglefowl at AD Barnes, but once again eBird declared it to be non-countable.

Our next stop was a return to Pine Woods Park for a second try for the Munias.  Unfortunately, we came up empty.  However, we did have one good bird there.  As we walked along on the trail through this dry grassy area we noticed a large white wading bird up ahead.  All of us initially thought it was a Great Egret, but upon closer review the bird had yellowish legs – it was a “Great White” Heron.  This bird should be down in the Keys feeding in saltwater mangrove swamps, not in a dry grassy field in south Miami.  As we watched it walking through the tall grasses the bird captured a large lizard and eventually was able to swallow it.  Yum…

The last stop was at the Oleta River SP for a long-shot try for a Yellow-headed Caracara.  This South American species has been seen in the area sporadically since 2022.  Although the bird has been seen by many, there have been many more unsuccessful attempts.  While doing my research I noticed reports by birders who took more than 10 tries to find it.  Those that have found it recently have often spotted it feeding either at dumpsters or trash cans.  And the bird is more likely in the evening at Oleta River SP, and in the morning across the river at Haulover Park.  So we thought we’d give this bird up to 2 tries – at Oleta River the evening of the 12th, and if we’re unsuccessful, again the morning of the 13th at Haulover Park.

We arrived at Oleta River SP late afternoon and started to get our bearings.  We quickly found the row of dumpsters where the bird was often seen, but all were covered, so there would be no meals there for the Caracara that day.  We then started walking around the pavilions and found open trash cans at most of them.  But the park was full of picnickers on that nice Sunday afternoon and there was a party going on at most every pavilion.  Not exactly likely to be attractive to our bird.  We ended our stay at the Panther Pavillion where the bird was often sighted, and began to see Turkey Vultures feeding at the charcoal grills as the partiers departed, but still no Caracara.  We gave up at 6 when the park closed, and crossed our fingers that our results tomorrow morning would be better.

1/13 – South Florida

We arrived at the southern end of Haulover Park at 6:50 just as it was starting to get light.  There was room for some optimism here since the Caracara had been seen 3 times over the last week in the morning around this southern end of the park.  We started at the bait shop, one of the places it was often seen at dawn, and continued to search the area until about 8.  Then we walked a short distance around the inlet checking the bridge overhead where it had been seen a few days earlier.  Finally, we walked to the picnic area where the bird had been spotted as well, and found a large group of Turkey Vultures and Crows picking at the charcoal grills.  Would the Caracara be mixed in with them?  Alas, it wasn’t to be.  We called it quits at 9, having given it the old college try. 

Now a postscript to the Caracara saga:  the bird was spotted a couple days later at the Panther Pavillion at Oleta River SP near sunset, but only after the birder baited the bird with a rotisserie chicken!  It was hi 11th try for the bird!

I decided to pass on additional possible stops for Psittacids given that we were now past the best early morning time to see them fly from their roosts.  Instead, we headed to a nearby runoff retention pond in Davie where a Neotropic Cormorant had been reported recently.  When we arrived our attention went right to the floating buoy where it liked to perch, and found 2 resting Cormorants, but both were Double-crested.  We found another Double-crested a short distance away but came up empty on the Neotropic.  Though 4 species of shorebirds was a small consolation.

See my next blogpost for a summary of the last third of the trip on January 13-16.