Here we are in mid-July with more than 100 birds to go so it’s time to start chasing some Florida rarities. We’ve already seen 185 Florida year-birds for 2015 so they are getting harder to find, especially during the heat of the summer.

Based on eBird rare bird alerts, we knew there were a pair of Smooth-billed Ani at Loxahatchee NWR. We started out early on Sunday, July 12th to make the 210 mile trip across the state and arrived before noon. We headed out toward the Loxahatchee NWR–Marsh Trail and came across a group of birders that already located our target bird. The Smooth-billed Ani is commonly found in the Caribbean and South America but also shows up in South Florida. During our one hour of birding we saw 16 species including a Snail Kite as were leaving the refuge.

Since we were already in the Palm Beach area we decided to look for the Egyptian Goose which was added to the ABA (American Birding Association) list in 2014. The Lake Worth Golf Course near the Snook Island Natural Area  is a great location to look for the Egyptian Goose and we were happy to find six. After our successful day of birding we stopped at the Rhum Shak for a late lunch. They had a BBQ fundraiser to benefit one of the regulars and we always like to see a local business give back to the community. This is a great place for food, drinks and live music if you are ever in the area, perhaps looking for your lifer Egyptian Goose.

On Saturday, July 18, we saw a report on Bird Brains that an American Flamingo was seen at Lovers Key in Lee County. We saw an American Flamingo back in 1983 at the Periwinkle Park & Campground on Sanibel Island but we do not think it counts because the park was and still is a bird sanctuary. The pair of Flamingos were in a pond along with geese, ducks and a Scarlet Ibis. We would love to hear from anyone that has information regarding the birds at the park, especially during the 1980’s. Anyway, we got up Sunday morning to make the drive to Lovers Key where the bird was reported to be at New Pass, on Big Hickory Island. Scanning the water we quickly saw the American Flamingo about a half mile to the northeast of the bridge. This bird was unbanded and presumed to be a wild bird rather than an escape. We only stayed about 30 minutes and managed nine species including Magnificent Frigatebird.

The next weekend we decided to look for another Florida rarity, the Short-tailed Hawk. Lucky for us they are seen somewhat regularly at Sawgrass Lake Park which is 20 minutes away. In the US, the Short-tailed Hawk is only seen in Florida where there are an estimated 500 STHAs.We found a dark morph Short-tailed Hawk during our one hour of birding. Other good birds included Swallow-tailed Kite, Yellow-crowned Night Heron and our first ever Black-bellied Whistling Duck at Sawgrass.

 

Next stop is Gandy Beach which is one of our favorite places for shorebirds. We saw an impressive five tern species including 75 Least Terns and 70 Black Terns. This time of year the shorebirds are looking pretty dapper as they start to come into their breeding plumage. Shorebirds seen were Semipalmated Plover (with it’s candy corn bill), Willet, Ruddy Turnstone, Least Sandpiper and Short-billed Dowitcher. There were over 200 individuals and 13 species that day.

The last weekend of July we were in Orlando for the Printing Association of Florida Print Awards. Sharon is on the Board for the PAF and was there for a board meeting and as part of the Sandy Alexander team accepting four print awards.  Saturday morning we left the hotel for the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive hoping to find  the recently reported Pectoral and Stilt Sandpipers. The Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive is a one-way, 11-mile drive through a water management area and along Lake Apopka. We spent almost three hours birding the drive and saw 23 species. We saw all the usual herons and egrets,  Glossy and White Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Black-necked Stilt and both Yellowlegs. It started raining just before we reached the sod fields near Jones Avenue and we saw many shorebirds that will remain unidentified due to the distance and the rain. We will leave the Pectoral and Stilt Sandpiper on our needs list.

During the March 2011 Big O Birding Festival our tour leader Paddy Cunningham taught us how to tell the Yellowlegs apart. Both birds are very similar although the Greater Yellowlegs is larger which can be noticed when side by side as in the above photo. Paddy told us a good test is to pretend you broke the beak off and put it through the back of the head. If the bill would extend through the head it’s a Greater Yellowlegs and if the bill is about the same length as the head it’s a Lesser Yellowlegs. This tip has helped many times in the field and is a lesson we will never forget. Paddy is a an excellent tour leader and teacher and is a great choice for the South Florida rarities.

This was a lot of travel to find four new year birds but every day spent birding is a good day.

Next up: Puffins, Gannets and Murres – O Canada

Trip : Total Species:  54  Year Birds:  4  Life Birds: 1

2015 : Year Birds: 402   Life Birds: 44

Here’s the list: 2015 Bird List