Tropical Audubon Blog
Nancy Freedman, Ann Martinez, Yadira Pedraza and Jim Sigsbee joined TAS Field Trip Coordinator Brian Rapoza this weekend for Tropical Audubon’s four-day North Florida birding tour, our first such tour since 2019. This tour typically targets wintering waterfowl, sparrows and other birds that are rarely if ever seen in south Florida. Locations visited included St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, Tall Timbers Research Station and Sweetwater Wetlands Park.
On Saturday, January 6, forty-one birders joined TAS field trip leader Luis Gonzalez for a half-day of birding in the “Lucky Hammock” area on Aerojet Road in Homestead. As participants assembled in the parking area, they were treated to great views of a Vermilion Flycatcher that has been present in the area for several weeks.
On Saturday, December 9, nineteen birders joined TAS field trip leader Luis Gonzalez for a full day of birding in Everglades National Park. The trip began in Flamingo, at the end of the main park road and ended at Frog Pond WMA, just outside the park’s entrance. This “backwards” itinerary, which requires a drive of an additional 38 miles to reach the trip starting point, allowed us to bird the Flamingo area first thing in the morning, rather than late in the afternoon, as we typically do on all other TAS trips to the park. On this particular day, that strategy, which requires participants to leave home at least 45 minutes earlier, paid immediate dividends.
On Saturday, November 25, twenty-five birders joined author, photographer and TAS Board of Directors member Kirsten Hines for Tropical Audubon’s second annual Accessible Inclusive birding trip at Crandon Cardons on Key Biscayne. We were greeted at the garden entrance by a Sandhill Crane, the last surviving descendent of a small flock of cranes that were introduced to the gardens over 20 years ago.
On Saturday, November 11, twenty-eight birders joined TAS Field Trip Coordinator Brian Rapoza for a full day of birding in Everglades National Park. The trip began at the Coe Visitor Center and ended in Flamingo. Along the way, we visited Anhinga Trail, the Hole-in-the-Donut restoration area, Long Pine Key picnic area and campground, Pa-hay-okee overlook, Mahogany Hammock, Paurotis Pond, West Lake, the amphitheater area at Flamingo campground and Eco Pond.
On Saturday, November 4, twenty-eight birders joined TAS field trip leaders John Hutchison and Bruce Pickholtz for a full day of birding at Green Cay and Wakodahatchee Wetlands in southern Palm Beach County. The birding at Green Cay was so productive that we ended up spending the entire morning there! Notable sightings included several Sora and Least Bittern, an American Bittern and a couple of Marsh Wrens.
On Saturday, October 28, twenty-five birders joined TAS Field Trip Coordinator Brian Rapoza for Tropical Audubon’s annual visit to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples. Most of the group met at the Miccosukee service plaza on Alligator Alley (I-75), then caravaned to Corkscrew via CR 833 and CR 846, searching for roadside birds along the way.
On Saturday, October 21, thirty-two birders joined TAS field trip leader Stephen Paez for a pleasant morning of fall migration birding at Kendall Indian Hammocks Park. By morning’s end, the group had encountered 51 different species. The most unexpected sighting of the morning was a White-crowned Pigeon that was entirely white. This leucistic individual was perched in a tree near a typical-looking White-crowned Pigeon at the east end of the park.
On Saturday, October 7, twenty-two birders joined TAS Field Trip Coordinator Brian Rapoza for a full-day trip to three state parks in the Florida Keys: Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park, Long Key State Park and Curry Hammock State Park. We encountered a total of 54 bird species in these three state parks.
Fifty birders joined Bill Boeringer on Saturday, September 30 for a morning of fall migration birding at A. D. Barnes Park. Due to the large number of participants, the group was split into two smaller groups, one led by Bill and the other led by Luis Gonzalez. Fifty-two birds were tallied before a thunderstorm prematurely ended the outing.
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.
