Sixty birders joined TAS President Joe Barros on Saturday, September 23 for a half day of birding at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables. Due to the large size of the group, we broke into two groups, one led by Joe and the other led by Luis Gonzalez. As is often the case when we break into smaller groups, one group will see birds that the other group doesn’t.

Twenty-two birders joined TAS Field Trip Coordinator Brian Rapoza for a birding excursion to two parks in northeastern Miami-Dade County. We began the morning at Greynolds Park in North Miami Beach, where we saw or heard 27 species of birds. After a picnic lunch, we birded for about an hour at nearby Highland Oaks Park before a rainstorm chased us back to our cars.

Since Hurricane Idalia passed through Florida at the end of August, American Flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber) have been found in at least 18 Florida counties, mostly along the coast, but also in a few inland areas.

The American Flamingo is normally found throughout much of the Caribbean, including the Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola, the Yucatan Peninsula, and the northern coast of South America, with occasional appearances in South Florida. There is also an isolated population in the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador. While American Flamingos are now considered native to Florida, there is only anecdotal evidence that they have ever bred here.

Forty-nine birders joined TAS Field Trip Coordinator Brian Rapoza for a half-day of birding in the Lucky Hammock area, located on Aerojet Road near the main entrance to Everglades National Park. Over the course of the morning, the group was able to tally over fifty species of birds.

On Saturday, September 2, thirty-one birders joined Bill Boeringer and Brian Rapoza for Tropical Audubon’s annual birding trip to the Everglades Agricultural Area south of Lake Okeechobee in western Palm Beach County. We began the trip at sunrise at the southern end of A1-FEB (Flow Equalization Basin) on the west side of US 27, where 32 species were tallied.

With nearly 2,000 bird species recorded within its borders, Colombia is home to more birds than any other country on Earth. This astounding avian diversity is due in large part to Colombia’s incredibly diverse topography, with coastal and Amazonian lowlands separated by three massive cordilleras (parallel mountain ranges): the eastern, central and western Colombian Andes. This tour, which began in Medellin on July 23 and ended in Pereira on July 31, focused almost entirely on birding hotspots in Antioquia and Caldas Departments, an area known as the Coffee Triangle. Elevations ranged from about 4,000 feet to over 13,000 feet!

Five birders joined TAS field trip leader Luis Gonzalez from May 13-28 for a sixteen-day birding Safari in Kenya. Above is a group photo, taken beside our safari vehicle in Maasai Mara National Reserve. Left to right: Nancy Freedman, Brian Rapoza, Teresa Abandonato, Barbara Johnston, Dave Griswold, Cisticola Tours guide Alex Mwangi and Luis Gonzalez.

Twenty-five bird, butterfly and native plant enthusiasts joined Field Trip Coordinator Brian Rapoza for the TAS field trip to Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park in Monroe County. Most participants met me at the Cracker Barrel in Florida City, while the rest joined us at the state park entrance.

Twenty-two birders joined TAS Field Trip Coordinator Brian Rapoza this morning for a couple of hours of birding at Matheson Hammock Park in Coral Gables. There were more birders than birds present, as migrant songbirds continue to be hard to come by this spring in the Miami area.

A total of 16 birders joined Luis Gonzalez on a really hot day through three of South Florida’s counties. The trip began in Miccosukee Service Plaza which gave us all a chance to see Common Myna for the day, from there we were driving down Government Road through Broward while listening to the Spring chorus of Eastern Meadowlarks that would be with us most of the morning, the other highlights in this portion of the road were a Great White Heron and 4 Black-necked Stilts in Alligator infested waters.

Sixteen birders joined Nancy Freedman for yesterday’s birding trip to Wakodahatchee and Green Cay Wetlands and Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in southern Palm Beach County. Here’s her trip report:

Seventeen birders joined TAS Field Trip Coordinator Brian Rapoza today for a full day of birding at Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County and Winding Waters Natural Area in northern Palm Beach County. We began the morning with an exploration of scrub habitat near Jonathan Dickinson’s Pine Grove campground. We quickly found several Florida Scrub-Jays, one of our top target birds for this trip.

Twenty-one birders joined TAS Field Trip Coordinator Brian Rapoza on Saturday for a full day of birding in and around the main park road in Everglades National Park. Our day began at the Coe Visitor Center and ended in Flamingo; by day’s end, we tallied, by my count, 50 species of birds, so I’ll call it a half-century day!

Twenty birders joined Larry Manfredi this morning for a half day of birding along the L31-W Canal, which forms the eastern boundary of Everglades National Park near the park’s Homestead entrance. Early arrivers enjoyed great views of a Barn Owl and Northern Harrier hunting over the fields adjacent to the parking area.

Twenty-five birders joined John Hutchison and Brian Rapoza for a full day of birding at Shark Valley in Everglades National Park and various locations in Big Cypress National Preserve. Though the Shark Valley parking area doesn’t open until 8:30am, participants began assembling at the entrance gate as early as 7:30am. Limpkin and several other wading birds were seen along the entrance road while we waited. At 8:00am, we were allowed to drive as far as the fee station but had to wait until precisely 8:30am to enter the parking area.

The 73rd annual Coot Bay (Everglades National Park) Christmas Bird Count took place on Saturday, December 31. On count day, 27 volunteers counted 29,868 birds of 117 species, plus two additional taxa. One additional species was added during count week. The totals were 4,364 more birds and four more species than in 2021.

The 53rd annual Miami (Dade County) Christmas Bird Count took place on Saturday, December 17. On count day, 43 participants counted 15,019 birds of 130 species. Compared with 2021, there were 1,124 less birds counted but 8 more species. Of the 130 species, 121 are on the official Florida state bird list and are considered “countable,” while the remaining nine are not on the state bird list and are thus not considered “countable.”

Thirty-four birders joined TAS Field Trip Coordinator Brian Rapoza on Saturday, November 19 for a full day of birding in Everglades National Park. The trip began at the Coe Visitor Center at the park entrance, but before we began our exploration of the park, we did some birding outside the park at the C-111 Canal, which crosses SR 9336 about 1.5 miles east of the visitor center. Our prime target here was an immature male Vermilion Flycatcher that has been hanging out around the water control structure at this location for the past couple of weeks.

Twenty-two birders joined TAS Field Trip Coordinator Brian Rapoza today for our annual fall trip to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Collier County. The group met pre-dawn at the Miccosukee Service Plaza on Alligator Alley (I-75) in western Broward County. During the drive to Corkscrew via CR 833 (Snake Road) and CR 846 (Immokolee Road), we spotted many of the specialties of this area.

Birding during migration is tricky, since any and everything can make a good birdy place one day and just an empty park the next. Thankfully, time matched for everything needed on this TAS walk, a total of 43 birders of different age ranges and experience in the hobby joined me on this walk around one of the best migrant hotspots in urban Miami.