Three weeks ago, I got home from my Florida Road Trip. Today I am finally done unpacking. I don’t mean my clothes I mean reviewing my photos, writing my blogs & getting my head back in Rhode Island. I thought I would do a wrap up based on some of the questions I’ve gotten about the trip in the last few weeks. Here are some of the digits.
· Days on the Road: 24
· Miles Driven: 5,300
· Species Observed: 195
· Life Birds: 35
· Total Birds: 26,006
· Species Observed in Florida: 191
· Checklists in Florida: 64
· Ranking for 2023 in Florida at end of trip: 45 on February 17
· Ranking for 2023 in Florida 3 weeks later: 85 on March 12
Favorite Birds – I can’t limit this to one so there are different ones for different reasons.
· Roseate Spoonbill – What is not to love – weird bill, soft pink feathers and long spindly legs. Adorable!
· Western Kingbird – a rare bird that I found without having been previously reported – always exciting where ever I am.
· Florida Scrub-Jay – a bird only found in Florida and in limited areas, probably one of the easiest finds of the trip.
· Red-cockaded Woodpecker – another bird only found in Florida and in limited areas.
· Crested Caracara – a spectacular raptor I wasn’t sure I would see. I saw six in one day and on a day I did not expect to see even one.
· Magnificent Frigatebird – I walked out to the beach to see this bird and no dice. Twelve of them came to find me in the parking lot after I walked back in disappointment. This bird was briefly in Rhode Island two years ago and I missed it.
I could go on for a while, but I won’t. What these have in common (except for the Spoonbill & Florida Scrub-Jay) is they were unexpected – in other words, they found me.
Favorite Birding Locations – again can’t limit it to one.
· Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive (Near Orlando)– Half way through this seven mile drive I decided I wanted to go again – part of that was due to the fact you can’t see the whole drive on one pass. It was spectacular – great diversity and TONS of birds. So many American Coots, Common Gallinules & Blue-winged Teal I lost count. 28 new Florida birds including Fulvous Whistling-duck, Purple Gallinule, Gray-headed Swamphen, Black-necked Stilt & Loggerhead Shrike. The Gators were interesting too. It was a day long event that I chose versus hitting another location – I don’t regret it a bit. The biggest drawback is the drive is only open Friday, Saturday & Sunday so it requires advanced planning.
· Wakodahatchee Wetlands (in Boynton Beach) – a boardwalk that is provides spectacularly close views of many wetland creatures. I was there in the beginning of nesting season and had great views of nest building and some copulation (Cattle Egrets). Although I only had three new Florida birds, I got great photos of many birds on the .7 mile boardwalk. Get there early I arrived shortly after sunrise and got the last parking spot. It is VERY popular with Photographers & Walkers, so it is a busy spot – not a place for peace and quiet.
· Harns Marsh (Near Fort Myers) – I expected to have to walk to see the bird (Snail Kite) I wanted in this location, but was pleasantly surprised that I did not. There is a 3.9 mile loop that I imagine has some great birds, but I was perfectly happy to stay in the parking lot that runs the length of a pond at the start of the trail. I had great looks at 43 species and great shots of the Snail Kite in the 1.25 hour I was there. I had somewhere to be, or I would have stayed longer.
· Fort DeSoto County Park (St. Petersburg) – I spend 1.5 days here and one day was so windy I couldn’t get out of the car. The day it wasn’t windy was very successful I got great photos of the Reddish Egret & finally got distant views of a Snowy Plover. Saw lots of other birds and wish I had been able to walk around more. I would categorize this as a don’t miss it if you are birding in Florida.
· St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge (near Tallahassee) – Went here for the Flamingo, came away with the best checklist of the trip. 93 species in about 4 hours without getting out of the car. Got great looks and some species that I’d only had a passing acquaintance with in the past including Canvasbacks, Reddish Egret, American Avocets & American Flamingo,
On the whole a very enjoyable and successful trip. In retrospect I would have spent an additional day in the Titusville area and I would like to return to Fort Myers when the habitat recovers and makes what were usually great locations (Corkscrew, Six Mile Slough and, of course, Sanibel) more birdy again. I also might think about taking the Auto train out of DC to the Orlando area to cut down on the driving. Oh yeah - I think I might have been a dog in a prior life – I really enjoy driving with the window down and sometimes sticking my head out.
Although I missed my home, friends and routine, I enjoyed having a lot of new species to learn and really improved both my birding by ear and identifying birds in flight skills. I hope they will be transferrable to my Rhode Island birds. What I like most about birding is spending time in beautiful places in nature and I got to do a lot of that in Florida. On the whole a wonderful trip!
Go here to see all the photos – WARNING – there are a lot of them.
The trip in eBird
My favorite non-avian find while birding -- I think maybe I could find a place for one of these in Rhode Island...
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