250 down... 50 to go!!

   Boy oh boy it's been a while since I've posted! Over the last six weeks I have not done much besides bird. Eating, sleeping and even showering (YES SHOWERING) have taken a back seat to the relentless pursuit of ticking off birds for my year list. The last time I blogged my total was 210 birds at the end of March and since then I have taken the advice of Dennis Atherton to make my next goal 250 birds by June. That would mean I needed to pick up 40 birds over the course of two months. I figured this would be easier said than done but took on the challenge anyway!

One of my top favorite Florida terns

  I hit the ground running in April. Right off the bat I picked up Northern Bobwhite, Least Tern, Chimney Swift and Eastern Kingbird during the first week and kept the ball moving with killer finds during the second week - Whimbrel and Razorbill on the same day!! Six species in eight days was a great confidence boost but things would slow down for a week. We were in a Spring migration rut and I figured this was the best time to go out of town... how foolish of me! The day after making it to Orlando I receive a text from Larry Manfredi that a BAHAMA MOCKINGBIRD had popped up at Bill Bagg's State Park. I have had a bittersweet history with this bird. I have dipped on everyone in the state the last couple years and when I finally found my lifer in the Bahamas it only gave fleeting views and now one pops up in my home county during my county big year and I was 5 hours away! Everyday I texted or called or posted inquiries hoping it would be dependable until the day I got home. Well that day finally came and I asked high school friend Nory Falcon to let me in a little early so I can make sure to get my fifth vagrant of the year. It was 7:45 am and I was slowing pacing up and down the road when I see Robin Diaz pull up and call me over to say, "It's singing right there!!". The bird never popped up but in the true fashion of the relationship I have with this species it would  be alright with me. I'd much rather just hear the whisper song than dip on the bird completely and let it get the best of me. The rest of the week was also productive with my first Common Nighthawk of the year and my county lifer Wood Duck flying over as I stacked canoes at Deering Estate. The last 10 days in April is when the more interesting birds started appearing in South Florida. Species like Blackpoll Warbler, Bobolink, Yellow-billed and Mangrove Cuckoo.

Best cuckoo angle ever!

  May had begun and I was beginning to think our Spring migration was going to be completely non existent but then the unbelievable happened... ANOTHER VAGRANT! I couldn't believe my eyes as I read a Black-faced Grassquit had appeared but not surprising was where it turned up. That's right, you guessed it, Bill Bagg's State Park. Key Biscayne and Virginia Key have been on fire this year producing all 6 vagrants in the county. I rushed over there the second I read the post and bumped into the group of European birders who had seen the bird the day before. They were staking out the road hoping the Thick-billed Vireo to show itself and instead found the grassquit! This road is also where the Bahama Mocker was and during the fall banding season last year I had a Smooth-billed Ani in the exact same area. After a couple hours it appeared! At first thought to be a female but after closer inspection it was actually a young male and he was feeding on Willow Bustick right along the road for everyone to appreciate!

A very handsome young male

  Right after getting my sixth Caribbean bird I received a phone call from Ezequiel Bugallo and not only did he find a reliable spot for me to get my year Brown Thrasher he actually found the nest! There was no way I would miss this bird now. I went right over to the zoo the following day and within a couple minutes had the bird perched right in front of me as it was bringing food back to the nest. If only it was always that easy! As if it couldn't get any better I ended the week with a real deal pelagic with Roberto "Toe" Torres - better known as a Toelagic. He is the man when it comes to tracking down pelagics and identifying them in less than optimal conditions. Lucky for us this trip was much calmer than the first we ran back in February. We ended with six pelagic species including his 357th county bird, Roseate Tern and my lifer Red-necked Phalarope! The icing on the cake were four Mahis caught as we trolled from one location to the next.

Northern Gannets and Brown Boobies were definitely in attendance

  With all the momentum I had built up I couldn't slow down now! I kept trucking through the second week in May and picked up six more year birds including my lifer Connecticut Warbler!! This elusive bird was a must if I wanted to even have a chance of getting close to 300 birds by the end of the year. They are a late migrant and there is a small 10-day window when they come through the southern portion of the state on their way north. At this point I am just four birds away from my goal and we are only half way done with May. I knew of a few birds I would be able to get easily but was really hoping for another rarity to really push me through the 250 mark and end with more than my original goal. With this in mind I started target birding hoping that if I kept going to certain spots frequent enough I would see something I really needed. First on my list was Red Knot at Black Point Marina. I got to the park at dawn and hiked the jetty all the way to the end and as I walked up two birds flushed off and never returned... they looked an awful lot like Red Knots... I immediately started cussing up a storm thinking I missed my one chance until Fall to see this bird and then something happened. Something incredible. Something so unbelievable I thought I yelled until I passed out and was hallucinating. Not one but TWO AMERICAN FLAMINGOS flew right over me!!!!! I didn't know what to do with myself. I got photos and began texting and posting wherever I could. I would be back the next day and again after but no sign of Red Knot or those flamingos again. It was a once in a lifetime sighting and I'm just happy I was able to get the crummy photos of #247!

Hands down coolest find so far this year

  With just three ticks left I focused my attention on a few birds that are available year round but I just hadn't gotten around to chasing. First on the list was Black-bellied Whistling-Duck and without any trouble I picked  it up on my way to work near the Homestead Speedway. Next would be Eastern Bluebird, Brown-headed Nuthatch and the super elusive Wild Turkey. These three birds are Everglades National Park specialties and are pretty much confined to the Pine Rockland habitat between the Ernest Coe Visitor Center and the Pay-hay-okee Overlook Trail. They were part of a reintroduction program and seem to be doing well with the exception of the turkeys. While planning out my strategy to hit the trifecta I noticed a crazy post on the Tropical Audubon Society's Birdboard (http://tropicalaudubon.org/tasboard/index.html). While out doing a nightjar survey Brian Rapoza found an Antillean Nighthawk on SR 9336 and sw 217th avenue on May 18th!! I went out the very next evening and sure enough the bird was actively feeding with the Common Nighthawks in the area and more importantly was continuously calling. I managed to record the call on my cell phone - even though a peacock in the area completely ruined the taping.  At this point I just need one more bird and the national park specialties are pretty much all I have left. My brother Mike and I decided to team up and head over to give it a go. A couple hours into the search we hit #250 - Brown-headed Nuthatch! These birds were so vocal and active it was hard to get away from them. It seemed that no matter where we were they were near by. As we made our way through the campground Eastern Towhees were singing and while admiring them an Eastern Bluebird popped up for #251!! We kept working and searching but unfortunately the Wild Turkey would elude us for the day. Luckily June is pretty slow so I have a whole month to try and track this bird down and keep the EPIC in the BIG YEAR!

  As of May 22nd I am at a grand total of 251 birds. The surpasses my original goal and gives me an opportunity to be ahead of schedule for fall migration. Now is when things are really going to start getting tricky!

#251 - Eastern Bluebird

Spring Forward

  Whattah month! I have been trying to keep at it and get as many birds as possible as quickly as possible. Early spring migrants have started making their way back to breeding grounds in North America and I have to make sure to be in the right place at the right time. After a fun Thursday spent birding for Ezequiel's birthday I decided I had to take a chance for some new birds. I contacted Biscayne National Park's contracted ferry company (Biscayne National Underwater Park) and booked a trip to Boca Chita. This little island has been known to get some killer Caribbean Vagrants in the past and due to the fact that it's under birded a lot can be going on with little to no one realizing it. Unfortunately the boat has a minimum amount of people needed for to go out, so morning trips are few and far between. I hopped aboard the afternoon expedition that goes from 1pm - 4 pm. Twenty minutes into the boat ride I began noticing Common Loons and Red-breasted Mergansers feeding directly in the middle of Biscayne Bay! They were so far out scopes would not even help with viewing these awesome birds. After a 45 minute ride we arrived at the island and I hopped out and began scouring the area right away. There is a historical tour that goes into a lighthouse but ain't nobody got time for that! The island was not exactly dripping birds but showed a lot of potential. As I was hiking the nature trail I looked up and noticed a graceful bird just gliding north against the winds. I didn't have to even think twice about it... Swallow-tailed Kite! This was my first of the year and it was way off the mainland without a care in the world. It continued north and eventually I was unable to see it anymore. What a great way to end the trip! The next day I received a call from Roberto "Toe" Torres about a Stilt Sandpiper. Now when we spoke I understood the bird was at Cutler Wetlands and immediately went and staked the area out. I scoped over the water multiple times but couldn't pick up the bird. Confused I called him back and asked where he saw it... that's when I realized he said Baypoint Wetlands NOT Cutler... OOPS! At least I found my year Black-necked Stilt. Well it was not just one but a large flock of 15 stilts hanging out together in the open. From here I zipped over to Baypoint where I thought I had the bird but the angle was off. I had a decision to make... find a better vantage point which meant jumping the fence of the school or dealing with the awful views. After 0.2 seconds I was over the fence confirming 100% the bird was a Stilt Sandpiper and gaining another tick for the year - while avoiding a trespassing charge!

Happy Birthday Ezik!

  The next few days would be pretty quiet but finally on March 20th my luck began to turn. I started the day off with Jared Guerra at Lucky Hammock. We scoped out the area before making our way over to The Annex. We opted to walk Aero Jet Road the whole way down and it paid off big time. Right when we crossed the yellow gates we heard a familiar sound. One not heard at all this year but in past years you couldn't get away from it. That ZEEEEE, ZEEEEEEEEET, ZEEEEEE sound that a flock of Cedar Waxwings make! What a complete surprise. I had not seen one this year and was expecting to completely miss them for 2013. They flew directly over us coming from Everglades National Park and continued making their way east without stopping. We continued birding The Annex but nothing new turned up. From there we tried a couple different spots including Castellow Hammock for the Rufuous Hummingbird but dipped on the bird again... I really hope it makes its annual appearance again in November! We ended the day at Crandon Park where we flushed a male Chuck-wills Widow while hiking the Tequesta Trail for my second year bird of the day but ONCE AGAIN THE REDDISH EGRET WAS NOWHERE TO BE SEEN. I was tired of dipping on this bird. The very next day I went back during an outgoing tide and drove up and down the beach until finally I got it! The bird was doing it's usual-very-unusual feeding dance and gave great views as it usually does. I was ecstatic to finally get this nemesis for the year and get the monkey off my back!

It was about time

  After another couple quiet days I saw an amazing post on the Tropical Audubon's Bird Board (http://tropicalaudubon.org/tasboard/index.html) by Steve Tennis. He had a first ever Miami-Dade record of Lazuli Bunting coming to his feeder on the 24th! I had contacted him earlier this year when he had a suspicious warbler hanging around that was very close in resembling a Canada Warbler. I missed the warbler but I was not going to miss this bunting. I gave him a ring and he graciously invited me over to check it out. He hadn't posted a photo yet but he had one ready for me when I got there. Sure enough it was a Lazuli Bunting and a male to boot! I sat in front of the feeder for an hour when finally the bird made an appearance! It was accompanied by several Indigo and Painted Buntings before a Red-winged Blackbird scared them all off. I got terrible photos since it was in a cage feeder and a good distance away from me but I was too excited about the trifecta I just saw to even care. I thanked him a million times and went on my way. Since then many people have seen the bird and gotten incredible photos... except me of course! The next day I was hoping to keep up the year bird streak. I started on Crandon's Beach but had no luck with year birds there so I went over to Bill Baggs State Park and hiked the nature trail north before taking the bike path back north to the lighthouse parking area. While on the nature trail I came across a Swainson's Warbler flying across the path. Another year bird! I kept on hiking and decided I would go back to Crandon and check the park again. While on the Tequesta Trail I came across another Swainson's Warbler! I figured with the way things were going I should hit the beach again and see if my luck would continue... and it did! While scanning through the birds feeding and bathing on the sandbars I found several Sandwich Terns! Now just to keep this pace going...

Gotta love terns

  Once again I hit a dry patch and didn't get any new years birds for a couple days. That's until I saw fellow Tropical Audubon member and trip leader Brian Rapoza had found a Ruby-crowned Kinglet at Kendall Indian Hammock Park. I had never birded this park and the only reason I had ever even set foot in the park was to take canoe and kayak trailers in for repair. I gave it a try after work on March 27th but apparently was in the complete wrong place - AGAIN. After emailing Brian I got the correct location and went right back the next day. I arrived at sunrise and after a little pishing had the bird calling back but never sitting still enough for a photo. Since I started my day off with a year bird I figured I'd go to Deering Estate and really work the natural areas for anything interesting that may be hiding in the 444-acre property. The Pine Rocklands were pretty quiet the the Tropical Hardwood Hammock was the place to be. Prairie Warblers were everywhere along with Northern Parulas and even a male Wilson's Wabler made it to the party. As I kept pishing a Black-whiskered Vireo appeared! What a great bird! This South Florida specialty only makes its way up during the summer months and definitely made my day. I kept hiking through the trails and all of a sudden a Red-eyed Vireo turned up! Two year vireos within half an hour! After almost six hours I was comfortable with my efforts in covering the whole park and called it a day. The vireos would be my last year birds in March giving me a grand total of 216 as we start April and migration really gets interesting! I am also looking forward to leading my first of several walks for the Leica Store Miami in Coral Gables. April 7th will be spent shorebirding for the endangered plovers of Crandon Park while getting a great digi-scoping workshop by none other than Leica Sport Optics expert Jeff Bouton. All the walks will be FREE FREE FREE but spaces are limited to please rsvp through them to make sure you have a seat for the inagural field trip here - http://www.leicastoremiami.com/ai1ec_event/getting-into-digiscoping-with-rangel-diaz/?instance_id=88

Come on migration!!

Two-thirds of the Way!

  FOUR DAYS! IT TOOK FOUR DAYS IN THE MECHANIC! FOUR DAYS OF NO BIRDING! It was completely understandable and no ones fault but that long without birding was really starting to get to me. Honestly Luis is a great technician and I actually stalled a couple times since I wasn't used to my car running so great! Either way I decided a great way to pass the time would be to go through photos and maybe come across something I had missed... unfortunately I did but not in a good way. On February 25th I thought I came across a White-crowned Sparrow. Everything seemed dead on but the photos were real fuzzy and not worth posting. As I sat at home looking at the photo it hit me that the bird wasn't a White-crowned Sparrow but a Clay-colored Sparrow. HOW EMBARRASSING! I immediately went and removed the tick from eBird and started thinking of how I would redeem my mistake.  

Don't even know how I screwed up this ID...

    That's when I remembered Larry "The Man" Manfredi had a White-crowned Sparrow visiting his backyard feeder! If you are unfamiliar with Larry and his great guided trips throughout South Florida and the Caribbean check out his site HERE for more information. I immediately gave him a call and he told me he just had it singing in the morning! I flew over after work and before I even sat down the bird popped out and began scratching the ground looking for fallen seed. Whattah cooperative bird! It continued perching in the open and even gave us a show chasing off a pair of Northern Cardinals that would try to feed on the ground with it. Now, Larry's yard is known for housing not only Brown-headed and Bronzed but also Shiny Cowbird. As we enjoyed the sparrow I noticed the cowbird out of the corner of my eye! Three cowbird species in a matter of half an hour - he doesn't get the nickname "The Man" for nothing!

King of the feeder

   On Saturday March 9th I led my monthly bird walk for Deering Estate at Cutler. A great group of people joined including Jim King who helped me out along the way. I didn't get any year birds but it was still lots of fun. The estate has a variety of of habitats from Tropical Hardwood Hammock and Pine Rockland to Mangrove Forest and Biscayne Bay all located on the 444-acre property. Highlights included multiple singing Northern Parulas and a White-crowned Pigeon. The next day I went out west on Tamiami Trail trying to find my Tufted Titmouse for the year. The last time I saw one in the county was when I worked at A.D. Barnes Park. That was several years ago and way overdue! I arrived at the Miami-Dade/Collier County line for dawn and parked on the side of the road. I began working my way east along US-41 birding the sides of the road. This started off pretty productive. I had singing Carolina Wrens, Northern Parulas, White-eyed Vireos and Northern Cardinals - along with just about every wading bird with the exception of that Reddish Egret!!!  

One of several egret species seen

  I kept working my way east and would stop whenever I came across a pullover. They were usually about half a mile apart and over a drain allowing water to pass from the north to the south side of the road. As I stopped at the last pullover before reaching Loop Road I heard them. The harsh scold call of the Tufted Titmouse! PSHHHH PSHHHH PSHHHH... I began pishing and the bird would reply but not show itself. PSHHHH PSHHHHH PSHHHHH... I kept trying. White-eyed Vireos, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Pine Warblers and Common Yellowthroats all came out but not the titmouse. PSHHHH PSHHH PSHHHHH... it finally the worked. Bird #200 for the year came up and all of a sudden so did a second one! They hung around for a bit before continuing west with the rest of the feeding flock. I hopped back in the car and headed for Shark Valley. I started on the east side of the parking lot and made my way south towards the Bobcat Trail. Right before I hit the trail I noticed a bird flying from west to east. As it was coming down I saw it was a Wilson's Snipe! Even though the habitat was perfect I had never seen one in this part of Eveglades National Park and it caught me completely off guard. I hiked the trail twice and the surrounding parking lot but did not get anything else for the year. On the way back home I came across a real interesting sighting. There were some Black Vultures hanging around on the ground just west of the abandoned Chief Osceola Airboat launch and one looked real funny. I made a u-turn to see what was going on with the bird and it ended up being tagged!  With a little research I found out old friend Anna Schanargl has been tagging then in the national park and tracking their movements.

I love projects like these

  Wednesday the 13th I had planned to stake out a life bird. I went half a mile south past Mahogany Hammock in Everglades National Park and pulled over. This area is the breeding grounds for the largest population of the "Cape Sable" race of Seaside Sparrow. There are several pvc pipes that give an idea of where to look for the bird between .5-1.5 miles south of the entrance to the Mahogany Hammock trail. As I got out of the car and set up my Leica APO-Televid 82 scope I quickly became aware of the frigid weather! I REALLY wish I had dressed better for the situation. As I stood there and the sparrows began singing all I could think about was survival... I didn't think I was going to make it back to my car. I want to say I was legally considered a female for a period of time due to the weather! After hanging around for almost an hour I couldn't take it anymore and left the park. On the way out I stopped at The Annex to try for the reported Pectoral Sandpiper. As soon as I walked up I saw a ton of shorebirds all feeding frantically to make up for lost fat reserves due to the cold weather overnight. Wilson's Snipe, Least Sandpiper, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs were all in attendance. Even Killdeer, Northern Waterthrush and Palm Warblers are active and not worried about me at all. Finally in the group of 30 or so Least Sandpipers I found the Pectoral! It gave great looks and allowed for some photo opportunities. Once I got the bird I got in the car and made my way to the warmest place possible before I got frostbite... As of the 13th I am at 204 birds for the year and looking forward to migration around the corner!

Can't ever get enough of shorebirds

A Fourth Vagrant!

  After the first weekend in March I have made some good strides in the direction of hitting the two-thirds mark. I was basically lucking out all over the place! Saturday March 2nd started at The annex with Ezequiel Bugallo. He's been getting me good birds all year so I'm making sure to stick with this stud. It was a frigid, windy morning that had us ready to earn every one of our birds. The second we started walking #192 - Barn Swallows zipped right passed us heading north. Things were already starting to look up! We hung out for an hour and a half for a total of 37 species including a Louisiana Waterthrush but nothing else was new. We made our way to Lucky Hammock but things were completely dead. The wind was brutal and not much was moving around. We stopped for gas and had a decision to make... tough it out and hope things turn around soon or call it quits for the day.  

The decision maker

  It was a pretty short conversation! Once we saw the Common Myna we geared up and went to the C-102 canal and rock quarry. The place was full of swallows! Most were Tree Swallows but we also had #193 - Northern Rough-winged and Cave along with a Purple Martin. That brought our count to 5 total swallow species for the day in early March! We arrived to the little hammock that runs along the quarry lake and canal and pished for a bit. Still not very much action but Ezik had noticed some ducks in the middle of the quarry lake so we went over to check them out. We drove to a central vantage point and saw a single Ring-necked Duck with six Northern Shovelers. Another year bird! 

Once in a lifetime photo opportunity

  With the way things were going we shot over to Black Point Marina in search of some bay ducks. The tide was high so most of the birds were in relatively close. Red-breasted Mergansers and Pied-billed Grebes were all over the place and even a white morph Great Blue Heron was present along the jetty. Once we got to the end we scanned over the bay and picked out a single Black Scoter! I had seen two birds earlier this year in the same location so it makes me think they have been wintering just off the jetty. We headed back to the car and decided to head north on 87th avenue once we left the park. Along the canal was an extremely early Gray Kingbird! We pulled over and watched the bird for a bit before making our way to a mini wetland that had been harboring a Solitary Sandpiper. We scanned through the grasses and found the bird working the shoreline. As soon as I grabbed my camera a Red-shouldered Hawk skimmed the water and flushed everything! The bird went wayyy to the southeastern corner of the wetland and made photos impossible.

Great bird for early March

  The next day, Sunday March 3rd was spent birding Matheson Hammock with close friend Jared Guerra. We were able to scope out the west trail along with the dog park, mangrove trail, atoll beach and picnic area hammock. It was still a bit chilly and with the exception of the Red-headed Woodpecker that has been hanging around since last year, real slow. As we packed up to leave, my car's clutch finally had it. I have no idea how we made it home... it was barely letting me change gears and I was convinced it was going to have to be towed. Luckily I made it home but of course as I am sitting around vehicle-less I get a phone call from Angel Abreu. He and Mariel Abreu found a Thick-billed Vireo at Bill Baggs State Park and there was nothing I would be able to do 'til the next afternoon! 

Preening and trying to warm up

  As soon as my car was left at the mechanic I found a ride and high-tailed it to Cape Florida. I arrived at 3 pm and hung out til 6pm. The bird made a brief showing right where Angel and Mariel had it the day before giving awesome looks before working it's way south along the restricted trail and disappearing for the day. Another great find by the Nature is Awesome duo and my fourth Caribbean vagrant for year bird #197!

FOURTH CARIBBEAN VAGRANT OF THE YEAR!

So Close Yet So Far!

  With 15 birds left to find in 15 days I figured it wouldv'e been easy as pie... well I was wrong! The next five days were incredibly slow. I think my mistake was spending too much time in the same areas instead of spreading out. I continued to frequent the sparrow fields hoping for the illusive White-crowned Sparrow and Dickcissel but had absolutely no luck. Another bird I continued striking out on was the Reddish Egret that I would see just about everyday in 2012 and now seems to only be around when I'm not. On Monday, February 18th I decided to change things up and head into the southern portion of Everglades National Park and work my way north. I was particularly hoping for ducks that may have made their way north into West Lake from Mrazek Pond but my streak of dipping was too strong. Over 200 American Coots and double digit singing Prairie Warblers welcomed me at dawn when I arrived but nothing out of the ordinary to start the day. I started making my way through the park stopping periodically to investigate but it wasn't until I reached Paroutis Pond that things started turning around. There was a lots of activity all over the place! Woodstorks were constantly flying back and forth looking for appropriate nesting materials as American Alligators basked on the banks and rails - YES RAILS worked the edges of the tall grasses. American Coot, Purple and Common Gallinule were seen easily but then a Sora poked out. This was a bird I had on the "Heard Only" list but now I was able to scratch it off! Of course right after a Clapper Rail called. One off the heard list and now one on. At least it was a year bird! I stayed in the park for a total of 13 hours working all the trails but only had 1 bird to show for it. MANNN THIS IS GETTING ROUGH!

Showing off why they get the name Red-bellied

  Again things got slow for a couple days until the 21st where I got a Western Willet hanging out during low tide at the Crandon Park Marina. I went over to Crandon Beach in hopes of finding the Reddish Egret but missed out. Not giving up hope I went over to Virginia Key and walked all along with Atlantic side from Bear Cut to pretty much the northern most end of the island. Again the bird eluded me! If anyone sees this bird please hold it down and call me immediately!!!

My first cooperative Black-and-White

  With only a week left to find 13 species I was starting to get a little worried. Things were not going as smoothly as I hoped but then I got an email from Roberto "Toe" Torres about going on a pelagic trip. Toe's the man when it comes to offshore birding and these are some of the most important birds for my year - not to mention I absolutely love pelagics. Could this be the spark I needed?! We set up the date for Saturday February 23rd. The winds were blowing at about 20 knots from the southeast and the seas were pretty choppy with 5-8 foot waves but that didn't stop Alex Harper, Bill Boeringer, Toe or myself. We left out of Watson Island and worked the bay for a bit checking for any rarities. We picked up Red-breasted Merganser easily and once we hit the open ocean we began seeing Common Loons galore making their way south. We thought we hit the mother load. We waited around a bit about a mile offshore looking at Laughing Gull after Laughing Gull after Laughing Gull when finally two barrel shaped birds with pointed wings zipped past and began harassing the gulls. Pomerane Jaegers! This was not only a year bird but a county tick in general for me. I had only seen them while down in the Florida Keys and it was for a split second as the Yankee Freedom flew past them on the way to the Dry Tortugas. With these birds under our belts we made our way to the Gulf Stream but as we drifted along we did not see much of anything besides a pod of Atlantic Spotted Dolphins that followed us for a bit. We came back inland and had a shearwater go by but there was no way we would be able to catch it and it stayed an unidentified species for the day. We spent 5 hours on the water and on the way back in we picked up a Northern Gannet sitting on the water! Year bird #189... just 11 more!

Can't wait for the next trip

  I decided to give the White-crowned Sparrow another try since things were looking up a bit. I arrived at the C-357 sparrow fields at dawn on February 25th and began working the berm overlooking the tall grasses. This was one of the first times I had ever been here and the winds were not howling and blowing birds all over the place. Immediately Painted and Indigo Buntings were visible feeding on the ground along side Savannah and Grasshopper Sparrows. Today was going to be my day! I kept moving and tallied more sparrows than ever before. Even the Lincoln Sparrows were giving good looks! As I was trying to get a photograph of a singing Eastern Meadowlark a group of birds caught my eye. They were working the grasses different... didn't have any streaking on the breast... tan and brownish head stripes... HOLY COW WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW!!! They gave great looks for a while before moving back in the grasses. While still feeling lucky I drove over to Tropical Park where the Nashville Warbler originally seen by Alex Harper in late December 2012 was relocated a few days prior - which was in the same area Larry Manfredi found the MacGillivray's Warbler! I arrived at 11 am which is usually an awkward time for birding. Depending on the weather things can go completely silent until dusk starts to roll around. I went in and began looking for a feeding flock the bird might be associating with. As I worked the little hammock I began hearing a couple Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and Yellow-rumped Warblers. As I began pishing some Pine Warblers joined in and then a small warbler caught my eye. It was just bouncing all over the place and made putting my binoculars on it a bit of a challenge but once I had it in focus I knew what I had. NASHVILLE WARBLER! What a day! The bird gave great looks but not a single photo opportunity. As quickly as the bird appeared it completely vanished. I stuck around for another hour working this tiny hammock trying to relocate the bird but nothing. Not a peep or any movement to suggest the bird was even in the same area. By this point it was noon and everything had died down. Unfortunately as of February 28 I missed my goal of 200 by nine birds. This means March is going to be a long hard month making up for easy birds that should have been found!

Very common sparrow throughout the day

 

Early Bird Gets the Worm... Most of the Time

  Friday February 8th was supposed to be an EPIC adventure onto the under birded barrier island Boca Chita. Ezequiel and Mike got their gear prepared as we had made plans to head over from Biscayne National Park to the key using the ferry provided by the privately contracted company Biscayne National Underwater Park. Unfortunately when we got there we found out there is a minimum amount of people needed for the boat to actually go out and 3 was not the magic number... We were advised our best bet would be to come back on the weekend when the park is more busy and our odds higher to go on the morning ride across the bay. Even though we were disappointed we decided to make the best of the situation and bird the area around the visitor center. As we made it to the tip of convoy point we noticed a large tern hanging out in the distance with a group of Royals.With the Leica Apo-Televid 82 scope I was able to pick out a single Caspian Tern! At least I got a bird for the year. We also tried for the "Golden" race of Yellow Warbler but again no luck. Afterwards we went over to Cutler Wetlands to see if any gulls were hanging around but like the rest of the day NO LUCK! The 3 Gadwalls present all winter gave us a nice show before we called it a day and went home.

Even with horrible light the Leica digiscoping setup takes amazing photographs!

  Saturday I had the opportunity to lead Deering Estate at Cutler's monthly bird walk. It is on the second Saturday of every month and is free with the purchase of admission onto the property. Deering is a 444-acre piece of prime habitat. It lies right on Biscayne Bay so has Mangrove Forests, Maritime Hammock and Pine Rockland! During this walk there was a heavy fog that made scoping over the bay for Common Loon and Horned Grebe impossible, so we just made our way down to the hammock. We came across several fruiting Gumbo Limbos that were packed with Yellow-rumped Warblers and things were beginning to seem pretty birdy. As we walked north along with estate we found a White-crowned Pigeon perched on the top of a snag! What a neat time to get a year bird. Every one got great views before it took off to the east. Yearbird #180! We wrapped up our walk and I went over to meet with Josh Friers. He escorted me onto the Homestead Air Reserve Base (HARB) to look for Scissor-tailed Flycatchers. We had seen them during the HARB walk late in 2012 so it was just a matter of time before I had the chance to tick them off for the year. Within a couple minutes we found 4 perched in a Strangler Fig and along a barbwire fence. SUCCESS! Finally something was working out for me this weekend...

My first Coral Snake

  After a busy weekend I was planning on taking Monday easy and taking advantage of the down time to handle errands - like cleaning the house... NOT WHEN EZEQUIEL STRIKES AGAIN! I got a phone call about a male Western Tanager at... you guessed it... Zoo Miami! I dropped everything I was doing and flew over. Ezik took me right to the spot and sure enough after a couple minutes the bird appeared out of a fruiting Strangler Fig and perched right on top of us in a Live Oak. What an amazing bird! I have chased this species over 15 different times in the county in 5 different locations and always dipped. I even managed to get a shot before it flew off into another tree and we lost it. It's always a great feeling to get a year bird but when it is a lifer too the feeling is multiplied 100 times over! With the new lifer fresh in my mind I decided to bird a spot I had never been too. R. Hardy Matheson is a little chunk of land that had been locked up for years, but recently the gate have been opened. I took advantage and walked right in hoping to find a rarity hidden in the thickets. I started birding an area with a lot of brushy low lying cover. It was a skulkers dream! I pished throughout the whole area and had a lot of the usual suspects - Common Yellowthroats and House Wrens but that's when it popped up... Yellow-breasted Chat! I had only seen this species once before and it was so deep under the brush I could not fully appreciate it. Here it had hopped up and was fully exposed for what seemed a lifetime. Of course in reality it wasn't any longer than a few seconds. Not even enough time to pull up the camera for the a picture. I guess there's always next time!

One of my top birds for the year!

  Since I still had all the great Leica optics I made my way over to Crandon Park in Key Biscayne on February 13th to do a shorebird survey. There is massive habitat loss due to urbanization and many of my favorite coastal birds have been forced to find alternative wintering and nesting sites. By keeping tabs on the numbers of species and individuals I can help asses what needs to be done to protect them and keep them coming back. While driving south looking for any Piping Plovers in the Bear Cut Preserve, I saw two birds flying together towards Miami Beach. The long pointed wings and odd head shape lead to a very interesting silhouette that was incredibly easy to identify. Black Skimmer! One of the coolest seabirds to see anywhere as they skim the surface of the water for prey with their completely uneven bills. I wrapped up my survey with another year tick and headed to the Crandon Gardens in search of another. All last year I had been following a Least Bittern around the remains of the old Crandon Park Zoo. The large ponds with tall grasses were perfect for this little cryptic hunter. I had originally seen it in April but not again until late in the year when it would be seen 3-5 a week! The bird would even be seen wandering completely in the open along the banks of the pond. As I sat there staking out the area I heard the unmistakable call from the grasses just to my left. The bird called once more but never came out to show itself. At the end of Thursday February 13th my total for the year is 185 species. Just 15 more until I hit my goal of 200 by the end of February! 

Not a bad way to start the day

Loving Leica

  I'm happy to announce that I have partnered with Leica Store Miami. They think the Epic Big Year is a great idea and want to support my efforts. Leica makes the best sport optics in the industry and I'm excited to use their equipment to reach my goal. I spent this past week using the gear everyday and  have loved the results. Right now I am using the Ultravid 8x32 HD Binoculars, APO-Televid 82 Spotting Scope, D-Lux 5 Digital Camera and the D-Lux 5 Digiscoping-Adapter. Even though the spotting scope has an 82 mm objective lens it is still light enough to carry around all over the place for miles at a time. The Ultravid binoculars are extremely light and get the job done beautifully. I picked up the gear Saturday and got out early Sunday February 3rd to get used to it. My first stop was Continental Park in South Miami to look for a Baltimore Oriole Carlos Sanchez had told me about. I got to the park for sunrise and started walking towards the west end of the park. There wasn't very much cover and the park gives the impression of being used more for recreational purposes than nature, but sure enough as I was walking on along with west side, I found the bird. It was perched on a power line in someone's backyard! It was definitely a sight to see. As I got to the corner I noticed the last house had a couple feeders which must keep the bird in the area. 

Gave great views before ducking back into the yard

  I managed to get the oriole before 9 am so I went down south and practiced a little more with the digiscoping setup. I picked an easy target with the Vermilion Flycatcher. Even though it can be very active while hawking insects, he usually will sit for a bit giving you an opportunity to get everything lined up for a nice shot! 

What a perfect model!

  After playing all morning with my new toys I had to head home to get ready for a Super Bowl BBQ that was going on that evening. As I start setting my stuff down I received a phone call from Ezequiel Bugallo about the Chipping Sparrows that had been wintering behind the scenes of Zoo Miami. I jumped off the couch and ran right out the door! There was no way I was missing these birds again. I managed to get to the zoo in 20 minutes and Ezik took me right to the spot. We started looking through the pineland and eventually the birds flushed up into the trees and gave the best looks of a sparrow I have ever had. We tallied three birds moving together with an Eastern Towhee. What made it even better was that this was a life bird! I had never seen a Chipping Sparrow before and with the time these birds gave us to appreciate them I won't forget it. 

If only it was always this easy

  On Monday I decided to head west on Tamiami Trail hoping to get some of the specialties out that way. I made it to the Collier-Dade boundary and started birding east. I was hoping for Tufted Titmouse and Carolina Wren but had no luck with either bird. The cypress was very active though with tons of Yellow-rumped Warblers, Northern Parulas, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, White-eyed Vireos and Common Yellowthroats. As I got closer to Loop Road I pulled over at one of the stops and began pishing. That's when I noticed something moving in the trees... a Fox Squirrel! I had never seen this species before even after hanging out around Loop Road a lot when I was younger. I may not have gotten the titmouse or wren but this had just made my day! I kept moving east and that's when the Limpkins began going off. Every couple minutes they would give off the shriek-like call of theirs. I finally saw one flush from behind some Saw Grass as I was scanning for Snail Kite over at the abandoned Miccossuke airboat concession. I also dipped on Snail Kite but made up at Shark Valley with Purple Gallinule!

Considered the prettiest bird in the Everglades

  After leaving the Big Cypress area I got a call from Ezik again! This time he spotted a Forster's Tern in one of the back lakes. Two year birds in two days?! I flew over and sure enough the bird was sitting on the water with a flock of Ring-billed Gulls. I got some pictures and decided to make my way over to Deering Estate's People's Dock to do a little seawatching. With the Leica scope set at 50x zoom, I had a new view of Biscayne Bay. I was able to make out my year Horned Grebe with no problem! I had been scanning the bay since January 1st and had no luck with these birds. They like to forage very far out and a good scope is needed to even begin making out their figures. From Deering I went to try for Lesser Nighthawk ONCE AGAIN at Dump Marsh. Dusk came pretty quickly and ONCE AGAIN I dipped on it! I had quite a few Eastern Whip-poor-wills and a Great Horned Owl hooting in the background. Always nice to end the day with a year bird.

Only my second time seeing a Forster's Tern

  I read a report of an American Woodcock on the Tropical Audubon Society birdboard, so the morning of February 7th was spent on Research Road waiting for dawn and their flight displays. I sat on the side of the road and immediately began hearing the PEENT call of the woodcock. While recording the call I had a Lesser Nighthawk fly overhead! I managed to get my flashlight on it and the wing bar was definitely close to the wing tip and the bird was overall smaller than the Eastern Whip-poor-wills in the area. Feeding two birds with one scone is always fun! While in the area I hiked south on Old Ingraham Highway at dawn and when I got to the mound I found my year Snail Kite! A beautiful immature bird flew over and actually dropped an eaten snail into the marsh! While here I also had my year Hooded Mergansers hanging out. Overall it ended up being a very productive day. At this time my grand total is 178 birds! I am hoping to break 200 before the end of February... 

Below is a video of the American Woodcocks calling.

  All the photos/video used in todays post were taken using the Leica D-Lux 5 digital camera. Please feel free to click on the links where the optics are listed for more information.