Florida & the Dry Tortugas

Most birders are aware of the Dry Tortugas which is located about 70 miles west of Key West, Florida.  This place is often mentioned as a 'must see' for hard core birders.  Its remoteness is part of the allure and magic of this place.  It is now a US National Park and is home to Ft Jefferson.  The Dry Tortugas consist of 7 islets, or keys.  The 3 largest keys, Garden Key, Loggerhead Key, and Bush key make up more than 90% of the land mass of the Dry Tortugas.  The rest are small and are constantly changing due to weather, tides, and currents.  They were named because sea turtles were originally found there and they have no fresh water source.  Garden Key is the home of Ft Jefferson and is the only key that is accessible to most people by boat or by sea plane.  Bush Key is sometimes attached to Garden Key, but is often off limits as it is an active nesting colony for Brown Noddy and Sooty Terns.  During spring migration, this spot is attractive to many migrants crossing the Gulf of Mexico and many drop in to forage and get some energy back before continuing with their journey northward.  For those reasons, this spot is a must see spot for most birders.  

The boat ride is about 3 hours to arrive at Garden Key and Ft Jefferson.  The seas were fairly void of any seabirds until we approached our destination.  We started seeing Brown Noddies and Sooty Terns as we approached about 5 miles out.  I was fortunate to get a couple of photos of a Brown Noddy flying close to the boat.  What is really cool is the fact that this species was my 600th ABA bird.  A great bird for a nice milestone.  (700 is a long ways off.  Going to take some extra effort to reach that milestone!)

 Brown Noddy

Once we arrived at Garden Key, we got to observe many more Brown Noddies including many on Bush Key which was off limits for us. Here are some photos of some of the Brown Noddies from Garden Key.  Perching and resting space is at a premium and this pair was not about to give up their perch.  

 Brown Noddy - Photo sequence

We were able to see the nesting areas of Bush Key from a distance which included Brown Noddy and Sooty Terns.  Here is a photo of the nesting area which shows both species and it is followed by a photo of a Sooty Tern that was injured along the shore of Garden Key.

 Brown Noddy & Sooty Terns - Nesting on Bush Key

Sooty Tern

We also were able to find some Bridled Terns on the coal pilings near the camping area.  From a distance they might be a bit difficult to distinguish from Sooty Terns, but these were close enough for us to see the different field marks such as the pale mantle and the amount of white on forehead which is different in these two species. 

 Bridled Tern

On the boat trip from Key West to Garden Key, the captain made a point to approach Hospital Key, which was nothing but a long sandbar rising above the water.  While this does not sound exciting, it happens to be the small island that the Masked Booby has claimed as their small territory. This was an example of why a zoom lens is needed for photos.  Photos had to be made from a distance as the boat could not approach very closely due to shallow water and also to prevent any disturbance to the birds.  

 Masked Booby

One of the unique features of the Dry Tortugas is the fact that it is one of the very first specks of land that many migrants see as they are crossing the Gulf of Mexico.  Due to the extreme distance they have traveled and the possibility of encountering storms or unfavorable winds, many of these birds will land on this speck of land in search of food and water.  The only spot of fresh water on the island is inside Ft Jefferson at a cistern where fresh water is stored for the few rangers that live at the park.  This water is hauled in on a regular basis and this cistern, which has an open area at the top with a water drip, is the place to get a drink. With fewer trees and a limited water source, these many passerines are easier to observe.  Below are some of the photos that I captured of some of these birds. 

 Black-whiskered Vireo

Gray Kingbird

 Cape May Warbler

 Hooded Warbler

 Prothonotary Warbler

Swainson's Thrush

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Ruddy Turnstones

Black Skimmers - We enjoyed this flock as we were departing Key West in the morning.

Ft Jefferson on Garden key is not a paradise for the migrants!  It has its share of predators.  We documented American Kestrel, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, and several Cattle Egrets.  The unfortunate victims of these predators were often many of the song birds.  However the Peregrine Falcon preferred to feast on the terns and noddies that were in abundance.

 Cattle Egret

 An opportunistic Cattle Egret

Peregrine Falcon

 Ft Jefferson on Garden Key - This was taken on our approach to the island.

This is Loggerhead Key with the lighthouse and is off limits to all personnel, except for National Park Staff.

I highly recommend a trip to the Dry Tortugas if you are heading to Florida for birding.  You can go as a one day trip where you go out and come back the same day.  However, you can also go and camp out in the small camping area, but keep in mind that there is no fresh water or food on the island, so plan your trip well.  Also, get your reservations in on the Yankee Freedom III in advance.  Some of the trips tend to fill quickly.  I know that I will definitely find time for another trip to the Dry Tortugas if I make it back to Florida in the future! 

   

Florida - Chasing the Rarities

Just a scant 9 days after my return from the trip to Texas and New Mexico, which are covered in my last two blog posts, I made a trip to Florida for birding.  This was a trip that I planned with Rob Bowker, another talented birder in the Phoenix area.  Both of us needed to visit that state to snag some new life birds and planning the trip together helps to defray some costs, plus it is great to share navigation duties and share information on where to go and what to search for.  It also never hurts to have an additional set of eyes when birding.  We focused on the southern areas of Florida since we only had 8 days planed. Our target lists were very similar, but with a few differences.  As our departure date drew near, we started getting reports of some Caribbean rarities that started showing up in southern Florida.  Of course one wants to focus on those rarities because they are not always seen in the US every year and you need to get them when you have a chance.  

Some of the Caribbean species that were on our radar as being reported prior to our visit was Key West Quail-Dove, Bahama Mockingbird, La Sagra's Flycatcher, and Western Spindalis.  The Key West Quail Dove was being seen at a location that was less than 5 miles from the Ft Lauderdale Airport and also our motel for that night.  As soon as we got our rental car, we headed to the location where we met a good friend of mine, Jeff Kietzmann, who happens to live in southern Florida.  Jeff has been birding with me a couple of times in Arizona and it was great to have him assist us.  He knew exactly where what trail to get on.  When we arrived, other birders were there and they informed us that the bird had been seen about 20 minutes to our arrival. It took about an hour and a half for someone to refind the bird and we all got in on the action.  This bird probably bred and nested in the Key West area in the 1800's, but no longer.  In fact it is only a rare visitor to Florida now and it walks quietly on the ground in dense cover and is usually difficult to see.  Photos were tough to get, but just seeing the bird was spectacular.  I have seen this bird listed in the many field guides all my life and was intrigued by its name and its markings and colors.  Chunky like a quail, but with dove features, with a bold white facial stripe and iridescent green and purple in its plumage, it is so unlike all the other doves found in the United States.

 Key West Quail-Dove

Our next chase was going to be the Bahama Mockingbird, which was north of where we were staying and we headed there early the next morning.  This bird was first discovered about 3 days before we arrived in Florida and at least stuck around until after we got to see it. We arrived at the location and was the first vehicle to arrive and as soon as we opened the doors, we heard this bird singing.  It was right in the parking lot about 20 yards from where we parked.  So this was about the easiest rarity to chase.  Very similar in appearance to our much more common Northern Mockingbird, it is still a rarity in Florida and much more widely distributed in the Bahamas and many other Caribbean Islands.  

 Bahama Mockingbird

The La Sagra's Flycatcher was not on our radar when we arrived in Florida, but it was discovered about 2 days before our departure back to Arizona, so we made a trip to its location.  We arrived early in the morning and ran into a handful of birders that had seen it about 15 minutes prior to our arrival.  We met up with a handful of other birders that were there, still looking for it as well and we split up looking for it, but not before we exchanged cell phone numbers to communicate if someone discovered it.  One of those people was Edge Wade and she was the person to eventually find it and quickly got all of us notified where she was and we all were able to see it and add it to our life bird lists.  This bird, like the Bahama Mockingbird, are not the most colorful birds, but for listers, they are most desirable to add to a life list, especially since we are reporting them in the United States.

 La Sagra's Flycatcher

One of the bonuses we had was finding a Spot-breasted Oriole at the same location as the La Sagra's Flycatcher.  This bird is an introduced species in Florida from the late 1940's, and both of us had this bird on our target list.  Its normal range is southwestern Mexico and Central America.  It was was established in the Miami and West Palm Beach area, but recently its numbers have fallen a bit.  Nevertheless, it has been accepted as an ABA countable species for many years.  

 Spot-breasted Oriole

The only rarity that we dipped on was the Western Spindalis.  But that was not for the lack of trying; we visited the spot twice without luck.  Three out of four is still a pretty good percentage for those rarities that are not normally found in Florida.

Those rarity targets were great, but I had several other life birds that I was also looking for and many of them were regular Florida resident birds.  My next two blog posts will cover many of the additional life birds, including a special trip to the Dry Tortugas! The rest of this blog post will highlight some of the many other fauna that I got to see.  This includes insects and reptiles.

 Phaon Crescent - New to me.

 Fiery Skipper

Horace's Duskywing - New to me.

Zebra Heliconian - New to me

White Peacock - Seen in captivity, but new to me in the wild.

 Halloween Pennant -New to me.

 Halloween Pennant

 Halloween Pennant

    Needham's Skimmer - New to me.

 Four-spot Pennant - New to me.

Eastern Amberwing - New to me. 

 Eastern Pondhawk - New to me.

Eastern Lubber Grasshopper

 Alligator

Alligator

Northern Curly-tailed Lizard - New to me.

 Peter's Rock Agama - Female - New to me.

Peter's Rock Agama - Male 

 Green Iguana - Juvenile

Green Iguana - Adult

Peninsular Cooter - New to me.

Florida Softshell Turtle - New to me.

As you can see, there is a lot more to see and document than just birds alone.  While I primarily started out documenting birds, which is still my main focus, there is a lot more life to be found in this world and in the natural world a lot of this different fauna are many times inter-related.