Birding the Keys

Friday May 3rd

Mangrove Cuckoo seen on Key Largo

 Began birding this morning with a stop on Card Sound Road near the former toll booth. The old toll booth is gone now and replace by computer tag readers to digitally collect the toll.  When I arrived at the location I was greeted by a calling Yellow Warbler. Not much else was active though besides some gulls, brown-headed cowbirds and more curly-tailed lizards. 

Made my next stop on Carysfort Circle on Key Largo. On my last visit to this site, I was rewarded with Bobolinks. This was a goal for today, but dipped on  the bobolinks.  However there were several White-eyed and Black-whiskered Vireos calling, plus Palm, Northern Parula and Cape May Warblers. A female Brown-headed Cowbird popped up, Northern Cardinals were very active and a Great Crested Flycatcher was flitting about the canopy.  The best bird was the arrival of a calling Mangrove Cuckoo who would even give a couple of brief poses for he camera.

With a very successful stop here, it was time to head south to Marathon.

Least Tern found at Marathon, Florida 

Roseate Terns are nesting atop the local government building in Marathon

Roseate Tern seen at Marathon, Florida

 Next was a stop at the Marathon Government Center to check-out the Tern Nesting Colony using the flat roof tops of these buildings for nesting sites.  Least and Roseate Terns have arrived on site and can  be seen flying about the area. The access I used in the past to photograph these birds, at rest on the dock behind the buildings,  has now been posted. So from the parking lot I walked behind the building to the shore and found a spot to take my pictures.  Several huge iguanas did not appreciate my presence, as they scrambled into the mangroves.

Gray Kingbird photographed at Key Deer Refugee at Big Pine Key

From Marathon, I moved south on the Overseas Highway and past the Seven-mile bridge to reach Big Pine Key.  Big Pine Key is the home for hundreds of Key Deer who have benefitted from the creation of the National Key Deer Refugee and Protection as an endangered species. These small deer are a subspecies of the White-tailed Deer, but are isolated on the Lower Keys. These diminutive deer are examples of what is described as the Island Effect or Foster's Rule, were large animals will genetically reduce in size when isolated on an island.

I didn't stay around till dark to find any Antillean Nighthawks, but my friends were able to see and hear several of the birds as they staked out a spot at the north end of Big Pine Key.  

Key Deer are found living on the islands of the Lowered Keys 

and benefit from the protection at the Key Deer Refugee

Another popular activity here in the Lower Keys is Star Gazing. With the wide open skies and low light pollution, winter time astronomy can draw hundreds of amateurs and professional astrometry to the Keys   The Southern Cross Astronomy Society of Miami,  sponsors the Annual Winter Star Party at Big Pine Key The Lower Keys are one of the few places within the US were the Southern Cross Constellation can be observed. 

After locating a couple of key deer I began heading back to the mainland. Made a couple of stops at Curry Hammock SP and Long Key SP. Neither location was very birdy today. At Long Key State Park the damage from Hurricane Irma was still evident, as the camp ground structures were  still being repaired and acres of mangroves had been killed by the storm surge. 

Hiked the Golden Orb Trail at Long Key, despite the uncomfortable temperatures and lack of shade. Was interested in finding any Six-lined Racerunner Lizards to photograph.  Maybe another time as these guys can quickly scurry away.

 Also noticed a couple of other points of interest along the path.  One was the signage warning to avoid touching the Poisonwood Trees. Relatives of poison ivy, many people can have a bad skin reaction. The other were point of interest was the Miami Blue Butterfly introduction project. The Miami Blue is a species on the edge of extinction and biologists from the University of Florida are endeavoring to establish a population here on long Key.

Red-bellied Woodpecker nesting at Curry Hammock State Park on Florida Keys.