A Pelagic Weekend

Monday  May 21st

Brown Pelican at Cape Canaveral

It's been several years since I had participated  in one of Michael  Brothers' pelagic birding trips out on the Atlantic Ocean. On Saturday we joined with some 52 birders aboard the Carnival Princess out of Cape Canaveral

In the days and weeks  leading up to this trip the weather  was looking like it was  going to be a wet, rough voyage. Recent weather conditions were contributing much needed rainfall, but these same conditions were not letting up for the weekend. But this didn't deter the Carnival Princess from heading some fifty miles into the Gulf Stream.

House Crow

I met up with Dave and Tammy McQuade on Friday, who were generous enough to offer me a ride, as we all were heading out for the pelagic trip. Expectations were high for getting to see many of the off-shore species. Shearwaters, Storm-petrels, Jaegers, Terns, Black-capped Petrels and maybe even a Tropicbird.

We made a quick stop at Nokomis Beach to check-out the House Crow, then continued on to Cape Canaveral. We caught dinner with our event host - Michael Brothers, trip leader - Bob Wallace and last year's Big Year Adventurer - Yve Morrell. Yve had counted some 813 species in North America and Hawaii in 2017.

The Canaveral Princess left port on time early Saturday morning and took us out into some choppy surf and overcast skies. It was nice to see a lot of faces for familiar names on board. Met Hugh Whelan from Ft Myers and Dave & Tammy unexceptionally ran into a business acquaintance.

Common Eider seen at Cape Canaveral

Luckily the seas became somewhat tolerable and we missed the rain for the most part and the birding was a mixed bag. The number of species was a bit low but had some awesome looks at Wilson's Storm-Petrels and Audubon's Shearwaters. Thought we were going to dip in spotting any Black-capped Petrels, but a lone individual was seen late in the day.  Sooty, Royal, Sandwich, Black and Bridled Terns turned-up. Missed on seeing any Arctic Terns or Jaegers. Some folks added Banded-rumped and Leach's Storm-Petrels. I didn't take very many pictures on the day, but the following ebird LIST for our group has some nice examples.

About the biggest surprise was that the entire crowd on board were greeted by a pair of Common Eiders as the Canaveral Princess docked back in port. We don't expect this species in Florida in May.

Usually on these pelagic trips, which are an event sponsored for the support of the Marine Science Center at Ponce Inlet,  young sea turtles will be released when we reach the weed line in the Gulf Stream.  Today we had a pair of 'endangered' young Hawksbill Sea Turtles. 

Jessie Stein from the Marine Science Center brought the Hawksbill sea turtle wash backs that were released in the Sargassum weed.

Wash back turtles are young sea turtles that wash ashore due to heavy winds and surf

Sea birds aren't the only draw on these trips.  Usually large sea turtles or pods of Spotted Dolphins come along side the boat. Today a few of us noticed a pair of cetaceans. They were probably Pilot Whales which are actually in the dolphin family.  Kinda cool.

Barn Swallows at Lake Apopka

But our weekend wasn't over.  Even with rainy conditions continuing on Sunday Dave, Tammy, Yve and I drove Wildlife Drive at Lake Apopka.  Our targets were Mississippi Kites and Fulvous whistling Ducks. The kites were a no show. The rains were probably not helpful.  We did find both whistling Duck species, Plus lots of Purple and Common Gallinules, Coots, Barns, Bank and Cliff Swallows, Purple Martins, Least Bitterns, Ospreys and Bobolinks. We also added a Pectoral Sandpiper, a Solitary Sandpiper Killdeer and Least Sandpipers.

Purple Gallinules at Lake Apopka

Back to the Ag Fields

Lesser Yellowlegs and Black Tern

Friday August 17th

Least Sandpiper

Returned yesterday to the Everglades Ag Fields. Again the most productive flooded area was at Browns Farm Road. Present here were several Black Terns, lots of Black-necked Stilts, Pectoral Sandpipers, American Avocets, Western, Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers, Plus Lesser Yellowlegs, Roseate Spoonbills, lots of Wood Storks and a FOS Belted Kingfisher.

Black-necked Stilt

The nearby Six Bend Sod Farm was much more active than on my last visit. Lots of Pectoral Sandpipers and Killdeer, plus far to the back of the property were a pair of Upland Sandpipers.  Couldn't of spotted them without a scoop.

Dipped on any whistling ducks or gull-billed terns, but get fifty-eight species for the day -

Wood Stork

Mottled Duck, Wood Stork, Anhinga, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret , Snowy egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Cattle Egret, Green Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Limpkin, Roseate Spoonbill, Black Vulture, Snail Kite, Osprey, Red-shouldered Hawk, Crested Caracara, Common gallinule, Black-necked Stilt, Sandhill Crane, American Avocet, Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Upland Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, Laughing Gull, Black Tern, Gray kingbird, Fish Crow, Rock Pigeon, Common Ground-Dove, Mourning Dove, Eurasian collared Dove, Great Horned Owl, Common Nighthawk, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Purple Martin, Bank Swallow, Barn Swallow, Northern Mockingbird, Common Myna, Eastern Meadowlark, Red-winged Blackbird, Boat-tailed Grackle,  Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird and House Sparrow

Black-necked Stilt

Juvy Black-necked Stilt

Bank Swallow

Barn Swallow

Counted twenty-two Black Terns resting here

Black Tern

Distant look at a pair of American Avocets

Black-necked Stilt

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Common Nighthawk seen at the Ag Fields

Gray Kingbird found in Belle Glade

A poor photo of a Common Myna

seen at shopping center in Belle Glade.

Pectoral Sandpiper

The Ag Fields

Monday July 31st

Gull-billed Tern

Today, Tropical Storm Emily has formed in the Gulf and is dumping rain on us. But yesterday I drove out to the Everglades Agricultural Area south of Belle Glade in Palm Beach County. The Ag Fields is an area south of Lake Okeechobee known for growing sugar cane, rice and sod farms. In late Fall the Ag Fields hosts migrating shore birds, terns, swallows and grass peeps.

The purposeful flooding of finished cane fields to kill off the nematodes that damage the sugar cane,  can be a mecca for these migrating birds. It is early yet to make these trips to the area, but there were birds to be seen.  Not a lot of birds yet though. Give it a couple of weeks.

Pectoral Sandpiper

What was found, at the only flooded fields encountered, at the junction of Rt 880 and Browns Farm Road, were several family groups of Black-necked Stilts, several Gull-billed Terns, Least Terns, Lesser Yellowlegs, Dowitchers (not sure if they were short-billed or long-billed), Pectoral, Spotted and Least Sandpipers, Killdeer and a few Laughing Gulls. It shouldn't be long till numbers  and variety increase. Will be looking for Black Terns, White Pelicans, Wilson's Phalaropes, Stilt Sandpipers and Avocets and tons of waders.

Gull-billed Tern

The sod fields were devoid of activity.  The Upland Sandpipers have been here this early in the past, but they'll probably show by mid-August.

Other interesting sightings on the day included numbers of Barn Swallows with a few Cliff and Bank Swallows, Purple Martins, a lone Tree Swallow, Bobwhites, Meadowlarks, Common Nighthawks and Brown-headed Cowbirds.

Best sighting of the day was a Barn Owl flying along Boles Canal, and the most interesting sighting was spotting a pair of Common Mynas at the parking lot at the BK restaurant in Belle Glade.

Hopeful, Ill be able to return in two or three weeks.

Barn Swallow

Spotted Sandpiper

Black-necked Stilt

Black-necked Stilt Chick

Northern Bobwhite

A very young Red-tailed Hawk

A young Red-shouldered Hawk

Least Tern

Browns Farm Road

Monday, August 1st

From page 212 in the ABA Bird Guide 'A Birder's Guide to Florida' by Bill Pranty, is a brief narrative concerning birding on Brown's Farm Road. This narrow road breaks off from cr-880 a few miles south of Belle Glade in what is referred to as the Everglades Agricultural Area. Come late summer and into Fall, the sugar, rice and sod fields here, can be a great place to find migrating grass peeps and shorebirds. A major attraction for these birds are the flooded cane fields. The farmers will flood these fields between crops to kill off nematodes and other root attaching pests, and the migrating shorebirds flock to these man-made wetlands.

Gull-billed Tern

Currently, near the northern terminus to Browns' Farm Road is a very large flooded field were some early shorebirds have arrived including several Wilson's Phalaropes.  These phalaropes are very uncommon in Florida and there appearance here was an inspiration for Bob Pelkey and I to visit  today. 

Wilson's Phalarope with a Semipalmated Sandpiper

Wilson's Phalaropes

We arrived about 9 AM and met Peter Hawrylyshy and Robert Lewis who had already had eyes on the phalaropes. The birds were a distance out but we could clearly see there twirling movements as the feed. Other species present included Wood Storks, a Roseate Spoonbill, Black-necked Stilts, American Avocets, Black-belled Plovers, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, Ruddy Turnstone, a lone Stilt Sandpiper, Least Sandpipers, Semipalmated Sandpipers,Laughing Gulls, Gull-billed Terns, Black Terns and a Re-shouldered Hawks. This site did lack waterfowl and white pelicans and only a few wading birds. This a nearby colony of Cliff and Cave Swallows at a small cement bridge over the canal on cr-880. We also checked-out the nearby Six-bend Sod Farm for grass peeps, but its still early yet and the sod fields were quite.  The Uppies should be arriving in a couple of weeks.

Black-necked Stilt
Photo by Bob Pelkey

Stilt Sandpiper

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Earlier we did some investigating along Brown's Farm Road for any other hot spots. We were able to locate Black-bellied and Fulvous Whistling Ducks, more Black-necked Stilts, Mottled Ducks, Common Gallinule, Solitary Sandpipers, Killdeer, a lone Pectoral Sandpiper, Yellow-crowned and Black-crowned Night-herons, Common Nighthawks, Anhingas, a lone American White Pelican, Barn and Cliff Swallows, Glossy and White Ibis, various waders, White-winged, Mourning, Eurasian Collared and Ground Doves, Eastern Meadowlarks, Red-shouldered Hawk, a very high count on Green Herons and a great many Brown Cowbirds, Red-winged Blackbirds and Boat-tailed Grackles. 

Solitary Sandpiper

While on the phone with Dave McQuaid for an up-date on directions, we had a Gull-billed Tern right past the car. We managed to get a few pictures as a trio of the terns made several passes up and down the canal as they hunted.

Killdeer.
Photo by Bob Pelkey

Barn Swallow 

Black-bellied Whistling Duck

White-winged Dove

Brown-headed Cowbird

Least Sandpiper

Glossy Ibis

Shiny Cowbird

There was one more stop to make after finishing up at  Brown's Farm Road and that was to visit Belle Glade Marina on Torry Island, just a few north at Lake Okeechobee. Here, we are after a pair of Shiny Cowbirds, but we hit a snag.  Seems that the bridge providing access to Torry Island was under repair and would be closed for most of the day, except between Noon and One PM. We had almost a forty-five minute wait, but it was worth it. The male Shiny Cowbird was easily located within a few short minutes. We dipped in the orchard orioles and eastern kingbirds, but did see a Cooper's Hawk, Pileated Woodpecker, Limpkin  and a Great Egret which after reviewing its photo may possibly be a White Great Heron based on the leg color.

Is this a Great Egret or Great White Heron?

Apple Snail shell at Belle Glade Marina.
 No doubt refuse from a Limpkin's meal

Other sightings on the day included Swallow-tailed Kites, Ospreys, Crested Caracara, Red-tailed Hawk Chimney Swift and Fish Crows.  I'd have to say that a return trip is necessary after migration heats up.