A Visit to the Conch Republic and Vicinities - Part 4

Sunday, May 25th  Memorial Day

White-winged Parakeets

Just spent Monday morning visiting a few spots around south Miami before heading back to Ft Myers. As today is a national holiday, the University of Miami campus in Coral Gables would be a good place to start the day looking for exotics.

No classes today, so the campus was very quite. And we were hopefully to finally experience the blue and yellow macaws that can sometimes be seen here. We  did see or hear the macaws, but we did find a pair of Common Hill Mynas, a couple of White-winged Parakeets, a single Red-masked Parakeet and lifers in seeing two pair of Scaly-headed Parrots (Pionus maximiliani). They scaly-headed parrots are species from South America.  All of the birds mentioned are local populations of escaped caged birds and their off-springs, that have managed to find a home in sub-tropical Miami.

A pair of Scaly-headed parrots 

Scaly-headed Parrots

Red-masked Parakeet

Affectionate Common Hill Mynas

Black-crowned Night-heron hunting small crabs in the rocks

A Green Anole

We moved on to recheck the campus of the Kendall Baptist Hospital and found the Mitred Parakeets busy feeding in the palm trees. A couple of Egyptian Geese were found at the smaller pond away from the Muscovy ducks, Graylag Geese, Swan Geese and other domesticated ducks on the larger pond.  Bob thought that the Egyptian Geese may have been nesting. 

Last stop for the trip was a location along Snapper Creek Canal for the nesting Cave Swallows seen there. Several were seen flying in and out from under the bridge. We also spotted what I think are Spiny-tailed Iguanas sunning themselves along the canal. 

From here it was time to end the birding and head home. We didn't get all of the photographic opportunities we were looking for, but it was a successful weekend. Next year need to go a few weeks earlier.

Egyptian Goose in Kendall

Great Egret at Kendall

Mitred Parakeet feeding in palm tree

 We found close to a hundred bird species including most of the Florida Keys avian specialties, many south Florida exotic birds and lizards and other south Florida native fauna including Bottle-nosed Dolphins, Key Deer and American Crocodile.

Spiny-tailed Iguana at Snapper Creek Canal

Monday's Bird List Swan Goose (Domestic type) Graylag Goose (Domestic type) Egyptian Goose Muscovy Duck Mallard (Domestic type) Great Egret Snowy Egret Tricolored Heron Green Heron Yellow-crowned Night-Heron White Ibis Common Gallinule Rock Pigeon Eurasian Collared-Dove Common Ground-Dove Mourning Dove Red-bellied Woodpecker White-winged Parakeet Scaly-headed Parrot Mitred Parakeet Red-masked Parakeet Gray Kingbird Blue Jay Fish Crow Cave Swallow Northern Mockingbird Common Hill Myna European Starling Northern Cardinal Common Grackle Boat-tailed Grackle House Sparrow

A Few Exotics in Miami

Tuesday May 26th

The semi-tropical climate in South Florida lends itself well as a new home for exotic plants and animals. A great many are considered to be pests and the most successful can be quite harmful to our local ecology. The rise of the Burmese Python population in the Everglades is a prime example. Ornamental plants and trees have also overtaken local flora like the expansion of the Melaleuca and Brazilian Pepper. Their is a bounty on the Lionfish, which has rapidly prospered on our Florida reefs, upsetting the ecological balance by becoming an aggressive top predator, prolific breeder with no known predators in the Atlantic Ocean. Iguanas have become established in most of South Florida with some getting  to be over four feet long.

 Not all invasives cause great ecological harm. Just a few minutes ago I spotted the House Gecko that has moved into my apartment. I don't mind its presence at all as he'll consume most any insect pests.  Many of the exotic bird species have not become major issues. The Monk Parakeet though builds huge nests artificial structures and have created damage such as electrical outages. But most of the many parrot species in south Florida aren't as disruptive the ecology as originally feared.

This past week-end Bob Pelkey and spent four days birding the Miami and Florida Keys area for exotics and came up with several.

Red-whiskered Bulbul in Kendall

Red-Whiskered Bulbul -  A native of eastern India,

Purple Swamphens - A common native in Africa, southern Europe, much of Asia including Indonesia, and Australia.

Purple Swamphen at Chapel Trail in Broward Count

Common Hill Myna - The Common Hill Mynas are a species of starlings and a very popular cage bird coming from the hill regions of southern Asia. 

Common Hill Mynas seen on the campus of the University of Miami

Egyptian Goose - These geese were once considered sacred by the ancient Egyptians, but are currently a popular ornamental waterfowl. Escapees and there offspring have become more common in southeast Florida's parks and golf courses.

Egyptian Goose seen at Baptist Hospital campus in Kendall

Muscovy Ducks - The Muscovy Ducks we find all over south Florida are actually feral specimens of domesticated Muscovy ducks. 

Muscovy ducklings seen at Baptist Hospital in Kendall

Mitred Parakeet - Mitred Parakeets come from Peru, Bolivia and northern Argentina. A large number of these birds can usually be found around the Baptist Hospital in Kendall.

Red-masked Parakeet - Red-masked Parakeets come from the western area of Peru.

Red-masked Parakeet seen at the University of Miami campus

Scaly-headed Parrot - Scaly-headed Parrots range from Brazil through Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. 

Scaly-headed Parrot seen on the University of Miami campus

White-winged Parakeet - Once a very common species in Miami, but its numbers have been falling as the Yellow-chevroned Parakeets.have been increasing.  Both species were once known as canary-winged Parakeets. White-winged Parakeets came from the northern Amazon River Basin.

White-winged Parakeet at the University of Miami campus.

Iguanas - Both Green and both species of Spiny-tailed Iguanas are found in south Florida. Theses populations have there start when iguana pet owners either loose or release the big lizards.

A spiny-tailed Iguana seen at the Snapper Creek Canal

Green Iguana seen on Key West

Other exotics seen included Common Mynas and a Brown Basilisk lizard

Not Bad for Plan B

May 26 and 27th

Saturday - Cancelled Pelagic Trip

Cuban Golden Yellow Warbler by Bob Pelkey at Card Sound Toll.

The pelagic trip sponsored by Michael Brothers and the Marine Science Center in Ponce Inlet was a long awaited activity for this holiday weekend. I was looking forward to seeing several new birds. Such as black-capped petrol and arctic tern. But Tropical Storm Beryl changed our plans. As Bob Pelkey, Lee County's Master Birder - Vince McGrath,  Dr Jose Padilla Lopez and I were traveling across the state to attend the trip we received the, actually expected, news that the trip had to be cancelled. So what do we do know. We formulated Plan B.  Lets head to the Keys.

So we changed course and headed south. At a quick stop along Rt 70 in Okeechobee County we picked up Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Limpkin, Barn Swallow, Osprey, White-eyed Vireo, American Crow and American Coot.  Other sightings included Crested Caracara, Red-shouldered Hawk, Sandhill Cranes, Swallow-tailed Kites, Cattle Egrets, Eastern Meadowlark and White-winged Doves.

 After many miles we tryed the 800 Building on Old Griffin Road for the smooth-billed ani. There have been a few reports of sighting here recently, but these guys seem to be becoming much harder to find. After dipping on the ani we checked out the Cave Swallow colony in Cutler Ridge. Found a couple of dozen cave swallows zipping around the bridge they called home.

Bob Pelkey and Jose Padilla-Lopez

Vince McGrath directing the show

After Lunch in Florida City, were we picked up Common Myna, we headed to the Keys by way of Card Sound Road.  At the toll booth we parked to search for the Cuban Golden Yellow Warbler, an East Indian subspecies of yellow Warbler, only found in the the U.S. in the mangroves of the Florida Keys. After spending time in the locating and photography of a pair of Black-whiskered Vireos, we did succeed with Cuban Golden Yellow Warbler. We also saw our first of the day Magnificent Frigetbird, our first of the day White-crowned Pigeon and singing Prairie Warblers.

On Key Largo the sightings of Gray Kingbirds, White-crowned Pigeons, Eurasian Collered Doves and Mourning Dove were numerous.  We stopped at Dangy State Park, were we easily found more Black-whiskered Vireos, White-eyed Vireos and a pair of Mangrove Cuckoos.

By six o'clock we had made it to the government building in Marathon we encountered dozens of White-crowned Pigeons. The target of the nesting Roseate Terns were harder to locate. After some time a pair was seen, including one who was very active in harassing one of the many Least Terns that were also nesting on the roof top.

The last target of the day were the Antillean Nighthawks, that are found at the Marathon Airport.  We found a pair cavorting with each other at the western end of the run way. Also on hand was a lone Killdeer and several Cattle Egrets. Because we had made a last minute decision to come to the Keys on a holiday weekend, there wasn't a room to be had. So we retreated to Homestead for accommodations to prepare for day two.

Sunday, May 27th - Miami Area

White-wing Parrot hanging around at U of M

Our first stop of the day was the quite and beautiful campus of the University of Miami. Many exotics are to be found here and we did have some sucess. We began with a pair of White-winged Parrots and was able to add a noisy pair of Common Hill Mynas, followed by a pair of Spot-breasted Orioles and a Chestnut-fronted Macaw. Awesome. I have dipped on all of these species in the past.

Another White-winged Parrot

A Chestnut-fronted Macaw at the U of M campus

Other species seen here included Chimney Swifts, Green Heron, Downy Woodpecker, Fish Crows, Blue Jays and House Sparrows.


Looks like someone left the door open - Cockatiel



Muscovy Ducks

Muscovy Ducklings

Egyptian Goose

At the Kendell Baptist Hospital campus we added the ever present Mitre Parrots and a suprise Cockatiel. At the pond we found Muscovy Ducks, a family of Egyptian Geese, a Swan Goose, White Ibis and Boat-tailed Grackles. It was sad to see a Fish Crow fly-in with the body of a duckling which it began to consume.

Following a great lunch at a Cuban resturant, we headed for home. Did stop along Turner River Road in Big Cypress National Preserve with the idea of maybe sighting white-tailed kite. No today but we did add a Least Bittern, Great Blue Heron, Red-shouldered Hawk, a Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Bobwhite, an Eastern Bluebird, Great Crested Flycatcher, an Anhinga, Eastern Towhee, Common Nighthawk and Red-winged Blackbirds.

To quote Vince "Not bad for plan B"

Links -
Bob Pelkey's Blog Report
Trip List (75)-

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Swan Goose (Domestic type), Egyptian Goose, Muscovy Duck (Domestic type), Wood Duck, Northern Bobwhite, Wood Stork, Magnificent Frigatebird, Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga, Brown Pelican, Least Bittern, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron,  Tricolored Heron, Cattle Egret, Green Heron, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Swallow-tailed Kite,   Red-shouldered Hawk, Crested Caracara, American Coot, Limpkin, Sandhill Crane, Killdeer, Willet, Laughing Gull, Least Tern, Roseate Tern, Rock Pigeon, White-crowned Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, White-winged Dove, Mourning Dove, Cockatiel, Mitred Parakeet, Chestnut-fronted Macaw, White-winged Parakeet,  Mangrove Cuckoo, Common Nighthawk, Antillean Nighthawk, Chimney Swift, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Great Crested Flycatcher, Gray Kingbird,  White-eyed Vireo, Black-whiskered Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Fish Crow, Loggerhead Shrike, Purple Martin, Barn Swallow, Cave Swallow, Eastern Bluebird, Northern Mockingbird, Common Hill Myna, Common Myna, European Starling, Cuban Golden Yellow Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Common Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle, Spot-breasted Oriole, House Sparrow