Fort Jefferson

Thursday May 2nd

Today had to be at the docks in Key West by 7:30 to board the Yankee Freedom for the 70 mile sail to Dry Tortugas National Park and Fort Jefferson. On the long drive down the Keys in the pre-dawn, I was able find a calling Antillean Nighthawk in Tavernier.

A look at Fort Jefferson

Fort Jefferson

The waters were calm and the skies were clear as the Yankee Freedom approached the Tortugas. With a pass by Hospital Key we could see the only nesting colony of Masked Boobies within the United States. And as we came up the Garden Key and the huge Fort Jefferson structure, the skies were filled with Magnificent Frigatebirds, Sooty Terns and Brown Noddies. These four species use these isolated islands as their only nesting sites within the continental United States.

Thousands of Sooty Terns and Brown Noddies are currently nesting on nearby Bush Key. These birds, plus the expectation of finding birds in spring migration taking a rest at the fort are why birders from around the world visit these islands. They come on the ferry, on private tours and by seaplane.

In 2014 the Coast Guard Cutter Sawfish 

had collected Cuban 

refugees that had land in the Tortugas, 

Fort Jefferson or to just enjoy the beach. I set about looking for interesting birds.  There were a few migrating species om hand including Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Gray Kingbird, Cape May, Black-and-White, Black-throated Blue and American Redstart Warblers. A Purple Gallinule had also somehow managed to reach the Garden Key. Bridled Terns, Brown Noddies and Frigatebirds were relatively easy to photograph, but the Sooties tended to be more challenging.

I didn't snorkel, but the waters were tempting. By walking the moat, observations of various fishes are possible. Like tarpon, grunts, bluehead wrasses,  beaugregory damselfish, sergeant majors, rainbow parrotfish, purple sea fans and more reef life.

It got too hot for me so I escaped early to the air-conditioning aboard the boat. By 3:30 we were on the return leg back to Key West. A trio of juvenile Northern Gannets  flew with boat for a bit about an hour from reaching port.

Magnificent Frigatebird 

Bridled Terns

Brown Noddies

The water was so clear

Brown Noddy

Had a enough time left in the day, after returning to Key West, to check-out the birding at Fort Zachary Taylor SP. Lots of Cape May Warblers and American Redstarts, plus Black-and White, Black-throated Blue, Magnolia and Northern Parula, Got good looks at White-crowned Pigeon, Least tTrns, Frigatebirds, Gray Kingbird, Green Iguanas and Curly-tailed Lizards.

White-crowned Pigeon

Cape May Warbler

Northern Paula

A Visit to the Conch Republic and Vicinities - Part 3

Sunday May 24th

Ft Jefferson at Dry Tortugas National Park

Now Sunday was the cornerstone for this trip the sailing aboard the Yankee Freedom from Key West out to the Dry Tortugas National Park for a four hour visit.

Magnificent Frigatebird

As Bob Pelkey drove us southward through the Keys in the pre-dawn darkness back toward Key West, several Antillean Nighthawks could be heard. And as day broke, Gray Kingbirds, Eurasian Collard Doves, White-crowned Pigeons  and feral keys chickens were also greeting the day.

Arrived at the Key West terminal just as the crew were preparing to board today's passengers. The ride was a bit choppy and the sky was clear.  The Captain gave us a close pass by Hospital Key, were more than sixty Masked Boobies had a breeding colony.

A few minutes later we landed at Bush Key and historic Ft Jefferson. A flotilla of Magnificent Frigatebird sat hovering in the wind above the fort.  They, along with many hundreds of Brown Noddies and Sooty Terns nest on adjoining Garden Key. The Noddies, Terns and any (very late) spring migrants were the reason we traveled here.

There a few migrants to be seen. A lone Cliff Swallow and a lone Bank Swallow were hawking outside the fort.  While a lone Yellow-billed Cuckoo, several American Redstarts, a lone Common Yellowthroat and Bob had a female Blackpoll.

Interior of the Fort

The vast majority of the passengers took advantage of the wonderful snorkeling in the waters around the fort. Understood the one couple had a close encounter with an American Crocodile.  One of the mates on the boat confirmed that a crocodile named Cletus has been calling the Tortugas home for a for some time now.  He's seen it before himself.  A video found on youtube

Brown Noddy

Sooty Tern

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Back at Key West at bit after 5 PM, with that long drive to Florida City. But first we make a couple of stops. First were to find the accommodating and diminutive Keys Deer at the Florida Key Deer NWR on Big Pine Key.
This an endangered sub-species of White-tailed Deer seen only in the Keys.

A young American Redstart

Secondly was a stop at the Marathon Airport set before sundown to look for Antillean Nighthawks. We were joined by a couple of birders from Nashville, Tennessee. They had a lifer when the nighthawk made its appearance and shared with us a sighting of a Bobolink a couple a hundred yards down the airport fence line.  A nice ending for the day's birding.

Sunday's Bird List -- 

Bobolink at Marathon Airport

Magnificent Frigatebird

Masked Booby

Brown Booby

Double-crested Cormorant

Brown Pelican

Cattle Egret

Laughing Gull

Brown Noddy

Sooty Tern

Royal Tern

Eurasian Collared-Dove

Mourning Dove

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Antillean Nighthawk

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Gray Kingbird

Bank Swallow

Cliff Swallow

Northern Mockingbird

Common Yellowthroat

American Redstart

Bobolink

Key Deer buck in velvet

Bob concentrating on a great shot of the Key Deer. Note the small size of the deer to Bob's right

Birding the Florida Keys and Miami - Day Two

Tuesday June 10th

Dry Tortugas National Park

Yankee Freedom at Bush Key

The Yankee Freedom left its dock in Key West around eight o'clock for the two hour, seventy mile trip out to the Dry Tortugas National Park with a full compliment of passengers.  Most of the visitors to the park were there to sight see the remains of Ft Jefferson on Garden Key and to snorkel the waters surrounding the key,  Seems Bob and I were the only passengers looking for birds.

Loggerhead Key and Lighthouse

As spring migration has concluded, the attraction for taking all the trouble to reach this remote location for us is the active seabird rookeries. That is why we are here to see the thousands of  Magnificent Frigatebirds, Brown Noddy and Sooty Terns nesting on Bush Key, and the Masked Boobies on Hospital Key. This is the only location within the United States were these birds nest.

As we neared the Tortugas, the various keys could be seen and as we passed Hospital Key a very distant look at the Masked Boobies roosting there could be seen. And the air is now filling with terns and noddy.

As we are approaching the landing our sightseeing guide tells us that the Coast Guard Cutter Sawfish was probable here to collect refuges. This did seem to be the case. As the Coast Guard was leaving with their refuges, seaplanes were arriving with more visitors to the park.

Coast Guard Cutter Sawfish receiving refuges

Refuges being loaded aboard Coast Guard Cutter

Sea Plane arriving from Key West

Bob stayed busy photographing birds the entire five hour stay and was thrilled with this opportunity and is making plans to return soon.  He would wade out into the water with his camera to try for that right shot.                                                                       I left him to his work as I explored the site.Walking the moat I marveled at the sea life like the reef fish, jellyfish, sea fans etc that could be seen.  I envied the folks snorkeling as they were enjoying these sights up close. The fort was once converted to a military prison and one famous prisoner was Dr Mudd, who was convicted of treason for treating the broken leg of the assassin of Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth.

Bob and Friend

Magnificent Frigatebird

Sooty Tern

Brown Noddy

The only land birds I could find were a pair of Eurasian Collared Doves and about two dozen Cattle Egrets. Other birds seen were a lone Laughing Gull, a lone Royal Tern and a Brown Booby seen resting on a buoy just off shore.

The moat surrounding the fort

Interior view of Ft Jefferson

Yours Truly - Photo courtesy of Bob Pelkey

The tired and sun-burned passengers disembarked from the Yankee Freedom back at Key West about five o'clock. For us it was time to head back the motel in Marathon to rest up from the long day. But we made an additional stop at the Sombrero Beach Country Club golf course in Marathon, because of reports of Shiny Cowbirds and Burrowing Owls. So to top off the day we were successful in seeing a pair of Shiny Cowbirds and a brief sighting of a Burrowing Owl as well as a flew-over of a noisy Nanday Parakeet. This completed a successful day of birding the Keys.
















Yankee Freedom


Dry Tortugas National Park


Fort Jefferson


Dr Samuel Mudd


Bob's Blog