Tropical Audubon Society

South Florida’s Voice of Conservation

Fourteen birders joined me for the annual TAS Key Largo Bird, Butterfly, and Native Plant walk yesterday. We hit all our target birds today and MORE! Being the unofficial last trip of our season of bird walks we celebrated the day and the year of birds with lunch at our usual spot, the Buzzard's Roost.

The day started in Florida City where we had many of the regular birds found in the South Florida urban environment with grackles, Mourning Doves, Eurasian Collard Doves, Fish Crows, and White Ibis (Did anyone get Common Myna?). We headed off to Alabama Jacks where we walked the causeway on both sides of the toll booth. We saw & heard Prairie Warblers, a lone Palm Warbler and after a quick look at an immature Yellow Warbler, we followed the song of a beautiful male who showed off dancing and feeding in a nearby sea grape. Although many were heard calling, a lone Gray Kingbird was seen perched over the road. Also seen in the area were a flock of White-crowned Pigeons, Red-winged Blackbirds, Laughing Gulls, Royal Terns, Double-crested Cormorants, a Green Heron and a Little Blue Heron. A Pied-billed Grebe was briefly seen by a few.

At the Crocodile Lakes Refuge the water level was high but we did get great looks at a perched White-crowned Pigeon as well as many nearby flybys. Bill located a sitting Common Nighthawk while a second called and circled overhead. We added, Tricolored Heron, Great Egret, Magnificent Frigatebird, Osprey, Least Tern, Common Ground Dove, and Northern Cardinal. Bill & David added Bobolink as they walked the road. At the crossroads, we found a marsh rabbit and a one of my favorite Florida Keys specialties, the beautiful Jaquinia keyensis.

With Linda Evens with us, she guided us down a different Key Largo locale where she regularly does Butterfly surveys. Entering the trail, Old 905 (a Back Country Permit is required), we found Ovenbirds and Northern Waterthrush walking the road along with Julias, Zebra Longwings, Gulf Frittiaries, and Casius Blues. A crossing swallowtail brought us to a screeching halt. We chased this bouncing butterfly that weaved in and out of the hammock where it lighted briefly enough for a good look and a diagnostic photo, A Shaus’s Swallowtail! The group was ecstatic. Many of us have birded this area for years without seeing this endangered species. We repeated this several times chalking up FIVE Shaus’s Swallowtails! In these stops we also located several mixed flocks with a very active flock bringing out several singing Black-whiskered Vireos that crossed back and forth over the trail allowing great looks. White-eyed Vireos joined as did Blackpoll, Black-throated Blue, Black & White Warblers, American Redstart, and Common Yellowthroat. A quick flyover of a yellow-billed Cuckoo the only thing missing was Mangove Cuckoo and having spent a much time at this location, we stopped at another area with bird activity. We followed a few warblers then as we searched for a calling Screech Owl, a Mangrove Cuckoo was seen right over the trail! It cooperated greatly hopping from limb to limb in full view and when it called and second bird responded also within plain view.

With everyone content and hungry and all our target birds located we stopped at Carysfort Circle briefly with the only addition being a black racer then continued on for lunch and a celebratory libations.

At the Buzzard’s Roost Restaurant, the kind staff had a table ready for us under the chickee, I enjoyed a pint of “Hop for Teacher” IPA by Miami’s own J. Wakefield Brewery and enjoyed fresh Hogfish Snapper, Yellowtail tacos, and toasted a wonderful morning in the beautiful hammocks of Key Largo and the “Lifers” racked up by Irene and Lizzy from California and Oregon a number of lifers today and all of us enjoyed another incredible year of Bird Walks and TAS Fieldtrips lead by Brian and all the TAS fieldtrip leaders. Thank you to all who have participated in our yearlong calendar of events.

I counted 49 species but there were some obvious birds that others may have seen.
Birds seen

Pied-billed Grebe (seen by a few)
Magnificent Frigatebird
Double-crested Cormorant
Anhinga (seen by me on drive home)
Great Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Green Heron
Cattle Egrets
White Ibis
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Red-shouldered Hawk
Laughing Gull
Least Tern
Royal Tern
White Crowned Pigeon
Rock Pigeon
Common Ground Dove
Mourning Dove
Eurasian Collared Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Mangrove Cuckoo
Common Nighthawk
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Great Crested Flycatcher (heard)
Gray Kingbird
Loggerhead Shrike (seen by a few in Florida City)
White-eyed Vireo
Black-whiskered Vireo
Fish Crow
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Ovenbird
Norther Waterthrush
Black and white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Yellow Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Blackthroated Blue Warbler
Palm Warbler
Prairie Warbler (Many heard singing)
Northern Cardinal
Bobolink (Bill & David)
Red-winged Blackbird
Boat-tailed Grackle
Common Grackle

Missing birds maybe seen by other
Blue Jay
Common Myna
American Crow