Ding Darling

Monday November 28th

Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge

Last February we had a surprise visitor hanging out with the American White Pelicans at  the Wildlife Drive at Ding Darling on Sanibel Island. For two or three day a Great White Pelican, a native from the Old World, was a star attraction.  I don't believe that its provenance has been determined yet or were it went off to, but it did draw a lot of attention.

Back in January, 2010 we experienced a terrible cold spell which resulted it a great deal of damage to agriculture and to wildlife. We had major fish kills, which decimated the local snook population and had even effected larger cold sensitive animals such as sharks, sea turtles and manatees. Even iguanas fell frozen from the trees. And at Ding Darling the cold is suspected in the death of Wilma, an old, rare, female American Crocodile. She was another star attraction at Ding, as she was the only American Crocodile found on the Gulf Coast. Today, her bones are on display at the visitor center.

In the Spring we come out to Ding in search of Mangrove Cuckoos, Black-whiskered Vireos and migrating songbirds. The last couple of year we had another star attraction with a lone White-Crowned Pigeon taking advantage of the Tropical Hardwood Hammock found along the Shell Mound Trail. 

Right now we are seeing some interesting waterfowl making rare appearances at Ding. Last Saturday a lone Long-tailed Duck was photographed along the Wildlife Drive and last weak we have a report of a Brant.  Both appear to be one day wonders. I didn't expect to find anything unusual today, but you never know. 

I arrived at low tide, which is very important for your best wildlife observation experience. We had hundreds of wading birds - White Ibis, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Reddish Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Yellow-Crowned Night-herons, Little Blue Herons, Roseate Spoonbills, and Wood Storks. There were dozens of American White Pelicans, Brown Pelicans, Double-Crested Cormorants, Pied-billed Grebes and Blue-winged Teal.  We also had Anhinga, Osprey, Magnificent Frigatebird, Vultures, Laughing Gulls, a Ring-billed Gull, Willets, Greater Yellowlegs, Ruddy Turnstones, Semipalmated Plovers, Black-bellied Plovers, Dunlin and  Least Sandpipers . E-Bird Report

Great Egret

 Also saw a lot of Mullets, Both living and dead.  As the tide was moving in a large number of dead and blotted mullets came into the lagoons. This speaks of a fish kill from a recent Red Tide incident in the waters around Sanibel.

An American White and a Brown Pelican

An Immature Little Blue Heron

Reddish Egret Sporting a Tracking Radio

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

A Visit to the Conch Republic and Vicinities

Friday, May 22nd
Day One

Today is day one of a long weekend to do some birding in the company of wildlife photographer Bob Pelkey. Didn't start out as a Memorial Day holiday. As it was originally scheduled for the first week of May, to take advantage of the ebbing Spring Migration. But logistics forced this unfortunate change. Home base was in Florida City were room rates were far more realistic than in the Keys.

American Crocodile in Everglades National Park

It has become an annual event to head to the Florida Keys in the Spring to find several of the specialties that are usually only seen there. It started by chasing Antillean Nighthawks and Rosette Terns that are usually found in town of Marathon. But it has now expanded to a four day search for specialties from Dry Tortugas National Park west of Key West up to the urban environments of Miami. 

Leaving Ft Myers, we crossed the state along Alligator Alley watching the birds and especially Black-crowned Night-herons and Swallow-tailed Kites. First stop was on Sherman Road just off Krone near Pembroke Pines to look for Purple Swamphens at Chapel Trails park. Upon arrival I found that my memory card was missing for my camera so I missed getting shots of a Brown Basilisk lizard seen at the start of the board walk or of the swamphens.

Black-necked Stilt near Everglades National Park

 After a stop to replace the missing memory card we made the next stop to neighborhood just north of the Kendall Baptist Hospital for a search for Red-whisked Bulbuls. This is one of the best places to search for these exotic birds and in my dozens of attempts I usually dip on seeing any. Today we sighted three.  Looks like it could be a good start for the weekend.

Green Heron at the Kendall baptist Hospital campus

Red-whiskered Bulbuls in Kendall

 At the Baptist Hospital campus the expected flock of Mitred Parakeets were noisily moving around the property. The ponds also had the usual waders and waterfowl. Didn't see any Egyptian geese but the Muscovy ducks had lots of ducklings.

Next was a stop at Mathesson Park in Coral Gables. Looking for exotics or any lingering migrants. Probably arrived too late in the day as the place was very quite. Best birds here were a pair of Yellow-Chevroned Parakeets and hearing a calling Peafowl

We ended the day visiting Everglades National Park. The goal here was to look for white-tailed kite along Research Road.
We only found American Crows and Eastern Meadowlarks, dipping on the kites.

We headed directly to the end of the road to its terminus at Flamingo. Not very birdy but find Prairie Warbler, Spotted Sandpiper, a Willet, Osprey Brown Pelicans and raucous bottle-nosed dolphins thrashing about as they fish for their supper.

At the marina, an American crocodile came out almost on cue for photographs and a Shiny Cowbird briefly showed with a flock of Brown-headed Cowbirds.

Mitred Parakeet are commonly found at Kendall baptist Hospital campus

Ended the day in Florida City were we watched Gray Kingbirds and Common Mynas


Birds for  Day One

Great Egret at Kendall Baptist Hospital

Swan Goose (Domestic type)

Graylag Goose (Domestic type)

Muscovy Duck

Mallard (Domestic type)

Mottled Duck

Northern Bobwhite

Wood Stork

Anhinga

Great Egret

Snowy Egret

Little Blue Heron

Tricolored Heron

Cattle Egret

Green Heron

White Ibis

Black Vulture

Turkey Vulture

Osprey

Swallow-tailed Kite

Red-shouldered Hawk

King Rail

Purple Swamphen

Black-necked Stilt

Spotted Sandpiper

Willet

Laughing Gull

Rock Pigeon

White-crowned Pigeon

Eurasian Collared-Dove

Common Ground-Dove

Mourning Dove

Common Nighthawk

Chimney Swift

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Mitred Parakeet

Great Crested Flycatcher

Eastern Kingbird

Loggerhead Shrike

White-eyed Vireo

Blue Jay

American Crow

Fish Crow

Purple Martin

Red-whiskered Bulbul

Northern Mockingbird

European Starling

Prairie Warbler

Northern Cardinal

Red-winged Blackbird

Eastern Meadowlark

Common Grackle

Boat-tailed Grackle

Shiny Cowbird

Brown-headed Cowbird

House Sparrow Black-crowned Night-heron Common Myna Gray Kingbird Yellow-chevroned Parakeets Peafowl

Purple Gallinule - Everglades National Park

Tuesday, February 8th

Finally was able to make a trip over to Dade County and Everglades National Park. The semi-tropical environment of South Florida can offer a great variety of wildlife not found elsewhere in the United States. Ironically, because of my close proximity to all these Florida specialities, I find myself  calculating trips to other places like the Rio Grande Valley or the Maine Coast for their specialities.

Double-crested Cormorant at The Anhinga Trail

Today I was interested in finding purple galluniles, short-tailed hawks, white-tailed kites, common mynas, swainsen's hawks, smooth-billed ani, scissor-tailed flycatchers and others.  Made several stops including Florida City, Homestead and Lucky Hammock outside of the park. These locations were not very fruitful with misses on the scissor-tail flycatcher in Florida City and on the raptors and sparrows at Lucky Hammock. Did get a Limpkin and a Cooper's Hawk in Florida City though. One success at Lucky hammock was locating the Brown-crested Flycatcher being reported there in the company of Great Crested Flycatchers. Also had a hunting Northern Harrier.
White-eyed Vireos were seen or heard at virually every stop made in the park and Lucky Hammock.

The Common Mynas were usually an easy find in Homestead but I had to do a bit of searching today.

Aside from the Anhinga Trail and Flamingo, the stops in the park were a bit disappointing.

Two of a great many Black Vultures on the Anhinga Trail

THE ANHINGA TRAIL - as usual the Anhinga trail was a great location for finding and photographing Florida wildlife with dozens of Alligators and nesting Anhingas. Purple Gallinules were plentiful along with all the usual waders. Missed here was the possibility of locating a rather secrative smooth-billed ani that has been seen on the trail recently.  The award-winning wildlife photographer, Bob Pelkey was invited to come-along today, but had to pass because of work.  He would have spent his entire day on his craft with all of the photographic opportunities the Anhinga Trail offers.

Sunning gators very common on the Anhinga Trail

ANHINGAS

Female Anhinga on the Aninga trail.  Note the green eye

Nesting Anhingas

Baby Anhingas

Gators will sit below rookeries to await any babies falling from the nest

PURPLE GALLINULE

Purple Gallinule on the Anhinga Trail

A young Wood Stork on the Anhinga Trail

FLAMINGO is the southern terminus of the highway through the park and can offer sightings of lesser nighthawks, short-eared owls and shiny cowbirds. The bay may have various gulls, terns, shorebirds and white pelicans. Today the Eco Pond was quite with only a pair of Great Egrets. Walked the perimeter looking for painted buntings or yellow warblers, but not today. Did sight a soaring Bald Eagle and several Ospreys. I can also add a Red-tailed Hawk, a Broad-winged Hawk, several American Kestrels, a young Red-shouldered Hawk and a Peregrine Falcon in the vacinity. Found a cooperative White-winged Dove and a couple of American Crocodiles were found in the canal by the marina.

Northern Mockingbird at Eco Pond

Young Red-shouldered Hawk at the campgrounds at Flamingo

Juvenile White Ibis at the campgrounds at Flamingo

American Kestrel at the campground at Flamingo

White-winged Dove near the marina at Flamingo

American Crocodile basking in the canal by the marina at Flamingo

Everglades Outpost, operated by Bob Freer, is located outside Everglades National Park in Homestead. Some of their rescues have been features on "Miami Animal Police" on the Animal Plant network, and on the History Channels' "Monster Quest"

My List – ( 61 )

Mottled Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Pied-billed Grebe, Brown Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga, American Bittern, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Cattle Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Green Heron, White Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Wood Stork, Limpkin, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Northern Harrier, Cooper's Hawk, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Purple Gallinule, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Killdeer, Laughing Gull, White-winged Dove, Mourning Dove, Common Ground-Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Eastern Phoebe, Great Crested Flycatcher, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Loggerhead Shrike, White-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Tree Swallow, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Northern Parula Prairie Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Palm Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Northern Cardinal, Eastern Meadowlark, Common Myna,

Red-winged Blackbird, Boat-tailed Grackle

Golden Eagle, American Crocodile and More

Golden Eagle in Illinois
Just read this account in the 'Illinois Birders' Forum entitled 'Golden Eagle attacks White-tailed Deer at Nachusa Grasslands!' by Eric Walters.  Great story and photos.




Sanibel Island Crocodile Found Dead

This American Crocodile was photographed by me on January 19, 2008 in south Dade County, Florida

 

The January freeze here in southwest Florida was cause for a lot of damage to agriculture, and major fish kills. Even sharks and sea turtles died from cold shock.  One victim, she was found around January 21st along the Sanibel River, may have been the grand, old crocodile that had lived on Sanibel Island for the past 30 years. She had lived in or about the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge and I had meet her there  on one occasion.  She was sun bathing close by the road and wildlife management had her cordoned-off and guarded. You were welcome to observe, but not to close.

Most all American Crocodiles live in the Keys or around the Turkey-Point nuclear power plant in Dade County. So our croc was far removed from the rest of the population and was perhaps the mostly northerly residing crocodile. She had been removed a couple of times to place her in more friendly crocodile envirnments in the keys, were hopely she could successfully breed.  But she always returned to Sanibel.

Speculation is that the cold along with her advanced age was cause for her death.

Freeze Causes Exotics Die-Off

Many of our native species like loggerhead turtles and snook suffered big losses do to the unusual cold, but those exotics that had been gaining a foot-hold in Florida suffered as well. Tilapia, armoured catfish and other aquarium fish that had been gaining in population had massive kills. Burmese pythons and Iguanas also can not withstand the cold. This may have been the answer to the concerns about the pythons and other large tropical reptiles damaging the ecology of the Florida. I am curious if any of Cape Coral's Nile Monitors survived. An interesting story I read in the News-Press concerned many dogs in dade County becoming ill from eating on the corpses of dead iguanas.  It seems that the corpses carried a botulism.

Ivory Gull in Georgia

Toward the end of January, rare bird reports were popping up of an Ivory Gull at West Point Dam, Georgia. Even Florida based message boards were carrying reports on the gull. This is a small, white gull of the Arctic north.  It rarely is found so far south.  A great opportunity to twitch on a bird that would normally be thousands of miles away. Reports quickly came in on birders jumping at the chance, but within a few short days the reports noted that the bird was either hurt or ill. Then the messages said not to bother making the long drive as the gull had been collected by wildlife management for treatment. I believe it was taken to Atlanta but it could not be saved.  What a loss.  It was such a beautifull bird. Test showed that it had pnuemonia.

A link to a photo of the Georgia Ivory Gull

The Everglades and Lucky Hammock Again - Dec 14th

Made another trip out to Lucky Hammock and the Everglades seeking those special bird species that should be found there in December. Wanted to find Swainson's Hawks, which by this time last year I had several sightings, but don't seem to have found there way to South Florida in 2009. Also have read of several sightings of Shorteared Owls at Lucky Hammock as well as Whipper-poor-Wills, to be seen at or heard at dawn or dusk.
So I gave it a try but missed on all even with arriving at sunrise. Had left home at 4 AM, arriving just before seven. Did see American Kestrel, a Peregrine, several Northern Harriers, a Broad-Wing Hawk and later in the park, a light-morphed Short-tailed Hawk, a Red-tailed Hawk, several Red-Shouldered Hawks and Ospreys, plus an immature Bald Eagle. Another missed species were White-tailed Kites which I looked for both at Lucky hammock and on Research Road in the park.

At Flamingo, the best sighting had to be a hundred American White Pelicans resting out on the mud flats. A large American Crocodile was also at its usual basking site across the canal from the marina.

At Royal Hammock, many dozens of Black Vultures were congregated in the parking lot and along the Anhinga Trail. The trouble in the parking lot was that the vultures were jumping up onto the hoods and roofs of the vehicles there, were they would relieve themselves as well as trying to pull apart any trim they could pull on. My own car was victimized as well.

The birding was not all that good so I left a bit earlier than usual to drive over Florida City to check on the reported Western Kingbirds and Scissor-Tailed Flycatchers. Did locate one of each at the SW 312th Street which was also a reliable location last year.

Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher - December 2008

Then to Cutler Wetlands were avocets and ruddy ducks are reported. Found it rather birdy, but the light and distance made identifying most of the ducks difficult to manage. So I moved on to Kendell.

The traffic was heavy in Kendell as I was arriving in mid-afternoon to look for exotics. At Kendell Baptist Hospital campus was lucky to find a flock of about 30 Mitred Parakeets wheeling about the campus. They would all land in the canopy of a large tree were they virtually disappeared. They blended right into the foliage, but there vocalizations gave them away. After there brief visit they took off away from the hospital. So it was time to head for home. Had considered checking the neighborhood across the street from the hospital for red-whiskered Bulbuls, but fatigue and the heavy traffic dissuaded me from further ventures. Yet I was rewarded in my way out of town with several sightings of Monk Parakeets along Kendell Drive. Was able to get a few pictures of a flock of Monks competing with grackles and mourning doves feeding below a palm tree in a Home Depot parking lot.

Monk Parakeets in Kendell parking lot

Soft Shell Turtle found along the road in The Everglades Park

Florida Gar found along the Anhinga Trail

Young Pied-Billed Grebes

A scene from Mohogany Hammock

American Alligator

Female Anhinga on her nest along the Anhinga Trail



Black Vultures trying to make a meal out of a car



Double-Crested Cormorants