Bird Board
11/13 and 11/14 RFI
I am a West Coast birder who will be in town to do some fishing with my dad in Key Largo on Friday and Saturday. I am planning on spending Sunday and Monday morning birding before my flight back to California and was hoping for some advice on must visit locations/itinerary as there is a lot of ground to cover and birds to see.
I hope to see as many Florida Specialties (Snail Kite/Limpkin/Purple Gallinule/White Crowned Pigeon ), east coast wintering songbirds, and I would love to be able to sneak in a Wilson’s Plover in there somewhere. I am not overly interested in the Miami exotics (that may be another trip at some point).
My general plan was to start at a few spots near the Everglades main entrance, including the Anhinga Trail but probably not drive to Flamingo, in the morning. Then head North to the Tamiami Trail area in the afternoon. At night I was thinking about driving to where I want to bird in the AM but I’m not sure if I should head North to Stormwater 1E area/Loxahatchee area or to the West to Marcos Island – if I go West are there any good bets on Florida Scrub-Jay nearby? I have a 7PM flight out of Fort Lauderdale on Monday.
Any thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
John Facchini
San Francisco
Comments
Hi John - Using the "Explore Data" feature of eBird should help narrow your search. Crandon Park Beach is the most reliable location for Wilson's Plover, though a bit out of your way. If Naples area birders aren't familiar with scrub-jays near the west coast, Jupiter may be your closest location.
Good luck!
You may find the following web pages helpful:
http://www.tropicalaudubon.org/birds/south-floridas-birds/florida-specialties
http://www.tropicalaudubon.org/birds/birding-locations
Brian Rapoza
Field Trip Coordinator
Tropical Audubon Society
Scrub jays are present in Cape Coral. Locations on eBird
Naples
If leaving Fort Lauderdale there is the Black Throated Gray warbler male at Evergreen Cemetery
You may be able to pick off Scrub-Jays if you head north to Jonathan Dickinson State Park near Jupiter, then try Hungryland WMA for Snail Kites. If you strike out at Hungryland, Loxahatchee NWR is pretty reliable and you can probably get Limpkins and maybe Purple Gallinule. At STA-1W you may also find Snail Kites, Limpkins, Purple Gallinule, Black-bellied and Fulvous Whistling Ducks. Green Cay is also pretty reliable for Purple Gallinules.
If your travels take you to the interior, Scrub Jays are regular on the telephone wires along US 27 as it passes through orange groves north of Palmdale. The same latitude as Jupiter, but west of Lake Okeechobee.
Watch for similarly-shaped mockingbirds on the wires and the speed trap at the big bridge in Moore Haven.
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