Florida: The Remainder

My first two blog posts featuring my trip to Florida covered a trip to the Dry Tortugas and the chases for some rarities that are hard to find in the United States.  There were many more birds that were on my list and of course we planned them into our schedule as well.  This trip resulted in 24 new life birds for me and added 30 new species to my ABA list.  I am currently at 1042 life birds and 619 ABA birds.  For my next goal, I probably have a better chance at hitting the 1100 life bird target.  One strategically planned international destination would probably push me over that number.  Reaching 700 ABA birds will be a bit tougher as it will require several planned trips to more than one destination in the US.

One of the species that was high on my list was the Florida Scrub-Jay.  There are 4 species of Scrub-Jays in the United States and I had seen and photographed 3 of them prior to this Florida trip.  The Florida Scrub-Jay is endemic to Florida and found no where else in the US.  They have a specific habitat requirement and although they are not super rare, their range is a bit limited and they are listed as 'Vulnerable' by IUCN.  On this day, my birding friend Jeff Kietzman, who lives in southern Florida, offered to show us around and chase some of these target birds on our list.  The Florida Scrub-Jay was one of those birds.  Our target location was Jonathan Dickinson State Park.  When we reached the entrance to the park, Jeff thought we might be at the incorrect entrance, so we pulled in at the immediate parking lot to see if there was another entrance that we should maybe try.  As he parked the car, I was looking straight ahead into the scrub and saw a bird perched on the dead snag.  Immediately, I could tell it was our target bird the Florida Scrub-Jay and all 3 of us quickly got out of the car to view it through binoculars and try to get some fairly distant photos of this bird.  As we were watching it, the bird dropped down off the dead tree snag and headed directly to us. It kept coming and I thought it was going to land on my head, but veered off at the last second and landed in a tree very close by.  It was so close, that I could not even use my zoom lens for photos.  I had to back up a bit to get photos.  You will note that this bird has quite a bit of jewelry on its legs.  Most of these birds are banded as young birds in nests to assist in keeping track of their numbers and distribution.

Florida Scrub-Jay

Same bird on the distant perch.

And here it is, preparing to launch itself in our direction.

Jeff also knew where to find some of our other key targets, including Snail Kite, Gray-headed Swamphen, Shiny Cowbird, White-winged Parakeet, and Common Myna.  We are so thankful that Jeff volunteered to help us locate some of these birds.  In the process of finding those birds, we also saw many more that gave me opportunities to get photos of some of these birds that I had not been able to photograph in the past.  

Gray-headed Swamphen

Snail Kite - Juvenile

Shiny Cowbird - on right, Brown-headed Cowbird on left for comparison.  Had to settle for a couple of distant photos like this one.

Common Myna - An introduced species, but is well established in Florida.  This was taken in the dark before the sun came up.

White-winged Parakeet - Another introduced species, but established in Florida.  Recent trends show the numbers are declining.

Of course we found many birds on our own as well.  With the traffic in southern Florida, we did try to manage our time and destinations to maximize productivity.  Here are some more photos of some of these birds that we got to see.  Several were lifers and some were new birds for my ABA list and many were just birds that I had never been able to get decent photos.  Had a lot of photos to process once I returned to Arizona.  

 Piping Plover - Had only seen this bird once before. 

White Ibis - Juvenile - Got my lifer of this species in Arizona, believe it or not!  But this was great as I got to see many more in Florida.

White Ibis - Adult

Glossy Ibis

 Fish Crow - Very distinct call, recorded for my eBird report.  Very similar in appearance to the more common American Crow.

Limpkin

 Anhinga - Male in breeding plumage

 Anhinga - Nest with chicks

 White-crowned Pigeon

Yellow-crowned Heron

 Wood Stork - Pair

Wood Stork - With chick

Tricolored Heron

 Red-bellied Woodpecker

Swallow-tailed Kite

 Black and White Warbler

 Blackpoll Warbler

Blackpoll Warbler

Black-throated Blue Warbler - Had only seen this bird once before

This is a Saffron Finch that I discovered in a cemetery the morning that we departed Florida.  Most likely an escapee from someone in the neighborhood.  They are established in Hawaii, but not in Florida, so they are non ABA countable in Florida.  But it was fun to find something a bit different.  Not a lifer for me as I saw several of these colorful birds in Ecuador last summer.  

Par for the course, I did not get to see every species that I had on my original list, but I narrowed it down considerably.  Next trip will be fewer life species, but I will have more time to target the species that I am still missing from this key area of the United States.