Tropical Audubon Society

South Florida’s Voice of Conservation

I spent the afternoon at Crandon Beach and despite the terrible weather for pelagic birding and birds, I still decided to look offshore for gannets. I spent about an hour sitting on lifeguard tower #12 and was able to spot 9 gannets in total. But by far, the highlight of the day was 4 Black Scoters (all females) flying south not too far from shore.

Another bird worth noting was a Red Knot resting with Sanderlings in the pen. I live on Key Biscayne very close to the beach, so I go Crandon almost everyday to watch birds. Ever since mid-November I have been seeing Red Knots regularly on the beach. Your best bet to find one is to look in the groups of Black-Bellied Plovers although occasionally (like today) I see them with Sanderlings.

attached is the eBird list with photographs of the Red Knot.