Looking for Exotics

Tuesday, February 16th

Timed today's birding trip to avoid early mornings thunderstorms sweeping across Florida as I traveled eastward on Alligator Alley toward Broward County. By the time I reached Markham Park in Sunrise, by 10 am, the weather conditions were beautiful, but the park closed just as I arrived due 

Spot-breasted Oriole seen in Markham Park in 2015

to high water conditions. I was hoping to re-find the Spot-breasted Orioles Bob Pelkey and I witness last December.  These orioles are ABA countable but are exotics originally from central America. They are beautiful birds.

Next stop was the Chapel Trail Mitigation Area on Sheridan Road in Pembroke Pines.  Here the Gray-headed Swamphens are easily found at close range. We used to call them Purple Swamphens, but recent evaluations have determined that the invasive species we are seeing  in south Florida are the Gray-headed sub-species. The state and federal Fish and Game people had been trying to eradicate  the swamphens before they could grab a foot-hold in the state. Just as they had succeeded with scared ibis. But this is a very successful species that has been expanding in new areas around the world.  The game people have given up on the trapping and the bird is now ABA countable and has expanded as far north as Gainesville. A pair have recently appeared locally at Harns Marsh

Gray-headed Swamphen

Gray-headed Swamphen

From here I visited a site by the Pembroke Lakes Golf Course were I saw a pair of Egyptian Geese with a brood of goslings. These geese have also recently become ABA countable established exotics.  This is another species finding some success in expanding to areas outside there natural range.

Papa Egyptian Goose at Pembroke Pines Golf Course

Momma with her Brood

Egyptian Geese goslings

Western Spindalis and Spot-breasted Orioles

Tuesday, December 1st
Markham Park, Sunrise, Florida

The Spot-breasted Orioles were the stars of the day

Today Bob Pelkey and I chased after another rare-to-see-in-Florida bird. A male Western Spindalis. This is a bird normally seen in the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Puerto Rico and Cuba.  Occasionally a vagrant will find its way to Florida. Now we have a beautiful specimen hanging out in the coco plum and ficus trees at Markham Park in Sunrise, Florida just two hours away.

A poor photo of the Western Spinalis

We arrived about 7:30 AM and met up some folks from Tampa who had just seen the Western Spindalis and the flock of Spot-breasted Orioles it has been associating with. So we were on the watch for the orioles as the spindalis should be close at hand. And this plan worked. 

The Orioles were putting on quite a show and the Western Spinalis did show up several times for the many birders assembled near the butterfly garden enjoyment. Its skulky manners made photograph difficult, but not so with the orioles. 

A few other nice birds seen here included a beautiful Cape May Warbler, a female Ruby-throated Hummingbird and several  fly-over Monk Parakeets. A nice trip

Spot-breasted Oriole

Spot-breasted Oriole

A Northern Brown Basilisk

A Cuban Brown Anole

A White Peacock Butterfly

A Viceroy

Spot-breasted Oriole dining on Coco Plum