The 54th annual Miami (Dade County) Christmas Bird Count took place on Saturday, December 16. On count day, 35 participants counted 13,187 birds of 128 species despite heavy rain and gusty winds throughout the day. Compared with 2022, there were 1,832 less birds counted but only two less species. Of the 128 species, 122 are on the official Florida state bird list and are considered “countable,” while the remaining six are not on the state bird list and are thus not considered “countable.”
Blackpoll Warbler was the only new species reported during the count. It was found by Fritz “Boch” Hoeflein and Sarah Schwartz in the Opa-Locka section of the count circle. Four other species considered unusual for the count were reported this year. For the second consecutive year, but only the second year in count history, a Least Flycatcher was reported. This year’s bird was found by Jessica Castillo at Hialeah Park. Three teams reported 217 Black Scoters, though all but ten were seen by Jesse Trimble while sea watching at the South Pointe Park pier. This sea duck had been reported on only seven previous counts. Yellow Warblers, also reported on only seven previous counts, were seen by two teams this year. One was found by Andrea Diamond, Jeanne Kaufmann and Liz Gushee at Pelican Harbor on the 79th Street Causeway. The other was found by Brian Rapoza, Joe Barros and Federico Acevedo at Miami Beach Botanical Garden. A Louisiana Waterthrush, reported on only eleven previous counts, was found by Fritz “Boch” Hoeflein and Sarah Schwartz, again in Opa-Locka.
Common Eider and Eastern Screech-Owl were the only species not seen on the day of the count but reported during count week. No new high counts were recorded for any species this year, but new low counts were recorded for several species. These low counts included two Snowy Egrets, eight Little Blue Herons, five Tricolored Herons, three Spotted Sandpipers and four Belted Kingfishers.
Thanks to the following teams for their assistance during the count (team leaders listed first):
Downtown Miami – Bob and Alice Pace
El Portal – Stephen Paez, Brandon Trentler
Hialeah – Jessica Castillo
Greynold's Park - John Boyd, Nancy Freedman, Debbie and Greg Jones
Little Havana - Dennis Olle, Miriam Avello, James Jones, Richard Goldberg, Fred Macia, Bertha Vazquez
Miami Beach – Brian Rapoza, Federico Acevedo, Joe Barros
Miami Shores - Andrea Diamond, Liz Gushee, Betty Hernandez, Jeanne Kaufmann, Michelle Louden
Miami Springs – Noah Frade
Oleta River State Park - Liz Golden, Nicole Ferronato, Mark Hendrixson
Opa-Locka - Fritz (Boch) Hoeflein, Joe Montes de Oca, Sarah Schwartz, Steve Woodmansee
South Pointe Park pier – Jesse Trimble
Virginia Key – Luis Gonzalez, Bill Boeringer, Klennison Brenner
At the end of count day, participants assembled at Tropical Audubon Society’s historic Doc Thomas House headquarters to report their findings and enjoy a Pasta & Pizza Party. TAS is extremely grateful to all of the volunteers who made the 2023 count possible, and to Leica Store Miami, which so generously sponsored the CBC Miami festivities!
Following are the totals for each species (non-countable species in italics, last year’s total in parenthesis):
Graylag Goose (Domestic type) – 3 (16)
Canada Goose (feral) – 1 (1)
Egyptian Goose – 79 (120)
Muscovy Duck (Domestic type) – 215 (350)
Mottled Duck – 2 (16)
Blue-winged Teal – 5 (26)
Ring-necked Duck – 42 (16)
Lesser Scaup – 3 (0)
Common Eider – count week (0)
Black Scoter – 217 (0)
Red-breasted Merganser – 18 (4)
Ruddy Duck – 1 (0)
Indian Peafowl (Domestic type) – 17 (17)
Pied-billed Grebe – 34 (19)
American Flamingo (Hialeah Park free-flying captive flock) – 96 (132)
Wood Stork – 66 (59)
Magnificent Frigatebird – 49 (7)
Northern Gannet – 19 (6)
Double-crested Cormorant – 647 (735)
Anhinga – 21 (27)
Brown Pelican – 219 (200)
Great Blue Heron – 26 (27)
Great Egret – 34 (48)
Snowy Egret – 2 (9)
Little Blue Heron – 8 (13)
Tricolored Heron – 5 (7)
Cattle Egret – 143 (220)
Green Heron – 12 (34)
Black-crowned Night-Heron – 1 (9)
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron – 17 (9)
White Ibis – 2650 (2600)
Black Vulture – 52 (93)
Turkey Vulture – 850 (640)
Osprey – 25 (18)
Sharp-shinned Hawk – 2 (1)
Cooper's Hawk – 8 (6)
Red-shouldered Hawk – 10 (10)
Broad-winged Hawk – 5 (2)
Short-tailed Hawk – 6 (6)
Red-tailed Hawk – 2 (3)
Common Gallinule – 84 (110)
American Coot – 152 (88)
Limpkin – 2 (3)
Black-bellied Plover – 98 (300)
Semipalmated Plover – 4 (135)
Killdeer – 5 (2)
Spotted Sandpiper – 3 (12)
Willet – 2 (2)
Ruddy Turnstone – 15 (23)
Sanderling – 26 (170)
Short-billed Dowitcher – 12 (15)
Bonaparte's Gull – 5 (22)
Laughing Gull – 1177 (1125)
Ring-billed Gull – 85 (135)
Herring Gull – 18 (33)
Lesser Black-backed Gull – 39 (18)
Royal Tern – 50 (87)
Sandwich Tern – 3 (10)
Black Skimmer – 55 (96)
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) – 305 (630)
Eurasian Collared-Dove – 282 (425)
Common Ground-Dove – 6 (1)
White-winged Dove – 7 (19)
Mourning Dove – 180 (160)
Eastern Screech-Owl – count week (4)
Burrowing Owl 1 (0)
Ruby-throated Hummingbird – 16 (14)
Belted Kingfisher – 4 (19)
Red-bellied Woodpecker – 58 (110)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – 14 (26)
Downy Woodpecker – 4 (9)
Northern Flicker 1 (0)
American Kestrel – 59 (52)
Merlin – 1 (4)
Peregrine Falcon – 1 (1)
Monk Parakeet – 13 (55)
Yellow-chevroned Parakeet – 8 (29)
Orange-winged Parrot – 8 (15)
Mitred Parakeet – 36 (16)
Red-masked Parakeet – 26 (32)
White-eyed Parakeet – 23 (140)
Least Flycatcher – 1 (1)
Eastern Phoebe – 25 (14)
Loggerhead Shrike – 10 (25)
White-eyed Vireo – 1 (3)
Yellow-throated Vireo – 2 (2)
Blue-headed Vireo – 16 (8)
Blue Jay – 101 (180)
Fish Crow – 1633 (1460)
House Wren – 2 (3)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – 177 (200)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet – 1 (1)
Gray Catbird – 16 (44)
Northern Mockingbird – 166 (200)
European Starling – 1113 (1300)
Common Myna – 3 (5)
Ovenbird – 2 (3)
Louisiana Waterthrush – 1 (1)
Northern Waterthrush – 3 (4)
Black-and-white Warbler – 43 (35)
Orange-crowned Warbler – 9 (5)
Common Yellowthroat – 6 (13)
American Redstart – 17 (16)
Cape May Warbler – 3 (4)
Northern Parula – 29 (60)
Magnolia Warbler – 1 (1)
Yellow Warbler – 2 (0)
Blackpoll Warbler – 1 (0)
Black-throated Blue Warbler – 8 (6)
Palm Warbler - 339 (430)
Pine Warbler – 18 (13)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - 93 (420)
Yellow-throated Warbler – 11 (25)
Prairie Warbler – 22 (35)
Black-throated Green Warbler – 4 (3)
Savannah Sparrow – 2 (2)
Summer Tanager – 1 (4)
Northern Cardinal – 33 (90)
Indigo Bunting 9 (0)
Painted Bunting – 3 (18)
Red-winged Blackbird 34 (0)
Eastern Meadowlark – 8 (2)
Common Grackle – 421 (200)
Boat-tailed Grackle – 164 (330)
Spot-breasted Oriole – 5 (9)
Baltimore Oriole – 1 (0)
House Sparrow – 126 (120)
Yellow Warbler: Photo by Federico Acevedo