Tropical Audubon Society

South Florida’s Voice of Conservation

With a full day layover in Miami between a stint in Colombia and heading back to work in the desert of California, I made an effort to see some of the many stellar birds gracing South FL. The first birds of the day were ten Blue-and-Yellow Macaws flying over US-1 before sunrise.

At Matheson I started on the trails west of Old Cutler in hopes of seeing skulkier birds on the trails in the low light. Among the Ovenbirds was a Hermit Thrush. Farther west down the trail towards the clearing was a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Being that the thrush and kinglet are both uncommon in Miami-Dade, I placed coordinates in my eBird checklist.

At Crandon Marina the Common Eider was easily found resting near marker 12.

Crandon Park had the usual assortment of shorebirds on the beach, and the female Western Spindalis was seen and heard at it's usual location. I included coordinates on an ebird checklist for the park. A White-crowned Pigeon was feeding in a fruiting tree in Crandon Gardens.

Alex