Tropical Audubon Blog
On Saturday, February 8, forty-one birders joined TAS Field Trip Coordinator Brian Rapoza for a very pleasant morning of birding at Black Point Park and along the Black Creek Trail in southern Miami-Dade County. Fifty-one different bird species, plus one additional taxon was recorded during the morning.
On Saturday, February 1st, twenty-two birders joined Larry Manfredi for a hike along the L31-W Canal, which forms the eastern border of Everglades National Park near the park’s Homestead entrance. The morning began very foggy, but that didn’t stop Larry from finding eight different flycatcher species, including this Cassin’s Kingbird, during the hike.
On Saturday, January 5, an astounding 61 birders joined TAS Field Trip Coordinator Brian Rapoza for the first birding trip of 2025, a full-day exploration of Everglades National Park. Among the 76 species seen were eight species of ducks and thirteen species of warblers, along with Purple Gallinule, American Bittern, Roseate Spoonbill, Bald Eagle and many more.
The 55th annual Miami (Dade County) Christmas Bird Count took place on Saturday, December 14. On count day, 38 participants counted 11,491 birds of 115 species in spite of intermittent rain and gusty winds throughout the day. Compared with 2023, there were 1,696 less birds counted and 13 less species.
On Saturday, November 16, fifteen birders joined TAS field trip leader Luis Gonzalez for his annual birding trip to the Flamingo area in Everglades National Park. During three hours of birding around Flamingo, the group visited the Guy Bradley visitor center, marina, amphitheater area, campground and Eco Pond, tallying an amazing 71 bird species!
On Saturday, October 12, thirty-four birders joined TAS President Joe Barros for a post-Milton morning of birding at Matheson Hammock Park in Coral Gables. Fortunately, overnight rains came to an end shortly before participants began to arrive. The group spent most of the morning in the section of the park on the west side of Old Cutler Road
On Saturday, October 5, nineteen birders joined TAS Field Trip Coordinator Brian Rapoza for our annual fall trip to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Collier County. The traditional starting point for this trip is the Miccosukee Service Plaza at Exit 49 on I-75 in Broward County. From there, we headed north on Snake Road (CR 833) through the Seminole Reservation, then west on CR 846 to Corkscrew.
On Sunday, September 22, twenty-one birders joined TAS Field Trip Coordinator Brian Rapoza for a morning of fall migration birding at Greynolds Park in North Miami Beach. Bird activity in the park wasn’t especially high, but we still managed to find 31 species after about two-and-a-half hours of birding.
Crandon Park, located on the barrier island of Key Biscayne, is one of the top biodiverse birding hotspots in Miami-Dade County. It’s situated in a critically important location, smack dab on the Atlantic Flyway, and is a prime spot for birds to stopover during fall migration. This strategic location, combined with a plethora of different habitats, have put it in the top ranks of Miami eBird hotspots with 271 bird species recorded to date. From tropical hardwood hammock, sandy beaches, coastal dunes, brackish water ponds, and other productive habitats, this is the place to be if you want to see a variety of birds within a compact area. Trip leaders Marc & Eliana Kramer chose this spot for the location of a Tropical Audubon Society field trip on Saturday, September 14, 2024.
