Middle School Trip to the Everglades

Back in December I took a few 8th graders camping in Everglades National Park.  These urban Miami kids often don't take advantage of the diverse ecosystem in their backyards.  We set out with 4 kids, their teacher, and me as the chauffeur of the mini-van and the naturalist.

First stop was Anhinga Trail where the vultures were everywhere.  Some may not be fans but I really enjoy vultures.  I find them a fascinating lot of birds and this is a great place to see them up-close.  Just watch out when they start their hissing.

We transversed the national park with stops along the way.  We played a few games, checked out some of the wildlife, and finally ended our journey at Flamingo campground to set up our homes for the night.  We were greeted by the resident Osprey.

The middle schoolers lost interest in being outdoors when the mosquitos came to play and I don't blame them because they were pretty intense.  Fortunately, a VERY friendly Red-shouldered Hawk came to visit the campsite and provided the group with some great hunting tips.  We watched the hawk catch lizards literally feet away.  It was a great experience for the students and one I enjoyed as well.

We may not have converted any Miami kids into nature lovers and yes, that photo is from our departure day where you would think they would be accustomed to wildlife, but we did provide some real South Florida experiences.  When I leave South Florida, I will miss Everglades National Park.  I love the birding, the camping opportunities, and the unknown.  Every time I visit this park something provides me with one of those awe moments.  I may not love South Florida with the traffic and urban sprawl but I love the Everglades, the birds, and the teaching opportunitites.

The Crossley ID Guide: Raptors and Everglades National Park

If you aren't familiar with The Crossley ID Guides by Princeton University Press, then get out from under that rock and join the rest of us!  When I first opened The Crossley ID Guide: Eastern Birds I was both inspired and impressed by the book plates.  This guide has taken it's graphic representation to a new level by showing birds in many settings and situations, all in focus on one page.  With such an interesting way to study birds, it's no surprise that the newest book out focuses on Raptors.  From the hawkwatchers, to the casual backyard birders, this book will offer insights to bird identification.  Go ahead, if you don't take my word for it, check out a sampler.

Let's take a stroll through Everglades National Park, Crossley Raptor style.  The Everglades is a birders ideal habitat.  It has interesting birds, rarities, and for the raptor lovers, this is a place that you can see a large number in both individuals and species.  One of the most common raptors in the park is the Red-shouldered Hawk.  While driving from the park entrance to Flamingo, I have counted dozens of Red-shouldered Hawks littering the roadside snags and flying over the marsh.  On a recent field trip to the Flamingo campground a friendly Red-shouldered Hawk caught prey with little to no interest in the middle school campers that I had with me.  While it was at times pulling teeth to get these urban Miami kids interested in nature, the Red-shouldered did the trick by swooping over their tent to catch small lizards.

On a hike out to the Gate 15 mound in Everglades National Park, you will be happy to find Snail Kites along the path.  Snail Kites are found near wetlands with Apple Snails and I really liked the Crossley ID plate that demonstrates a typical Snail Kite feeding style.  These guides aren't just pretty coffee table books, they show behavior and identification tools that you can take into the field with you.

Snail Kites are found year around but in the summer months at Everglades National Park, another kite species migrates to Florida.  No one can mistake the Swallow-tailed Kites with their deep forked-tail and bold white and black markings.  Often seen in early spring, these migrants are easy to spot on the open grasslands of the Everglades.

One of my favorites raptors of the Everglades is the Short-tailed Hawk.  This species can be seen near the forested areas of the park including the pine uplands around Long Pine Campground and Research Road.  In the Crossley plate above the white color morph is shown.  This raptor has a very restricted ABA range and many birders hope to see it while visiting the park.  Since it's usually seen on the wing, the ID plate provides a variety of flight options that may be seen in the field. 

Another range restricted raptor that can be seen in Everglades National Park is the White-tailed Kite.  By far the best place to see this species is at the end of Research Road near the Nike Missile Base.  Last summer I was even able to see a breeding pair there, perched on a snag.  The Crossley book gives us a plate with some typical behavior of hovering, perching, and gliding.

The Crossley ID Guides are meant to improve your identification skills by showing birds in different  poses, behaviors, and light conditions.  What I like about the new raptor guide is that it takes the idea of ID practice and provides mystery plates to help you hone your skills.  The plate above has a variety of raptors in different flight poses.  The species  are numbered so you can check to see if you're right.  This book is visually stunning, provides insight to bird behavior, and offers interesting identification tips.  If you're interested in birds and want to improve your identification, you shouldn't pass up the opportunity to own The Crossley ID Guide: Raptors by Richard Crossley, Jerry Liguori, and Brian Sullivan.  This book can be a reference guide, a coffee table conversation starter, and a great way to study birds from home.  It's not often that we are offered an identification tool that we can use at home that inspires us to participate like The Crossley ID Guides.

I hope you've enjoyed our little walk through the Everglades with Crossley plates. You should head over to The Fat Finch which has an article on raptors in Native American mythology and references the new guide as well.  The Crossley ID Guide: Raptors blog tour will be continuing all week and through next week, check out the Princeton University Press website for more details on what's to come and where to go.  

Two chances to win a prize!

Below are more raptors found in Everglades National Park.  Can you ID them?  The first person to answer correctly will receive a prize.  The second prize goes to the person that can list all the known raptors that have been seen in Everglades National Park.  Leave your answer in the comments.  There will only be one winner for each answer and the same person cannot win both. 

Everglades National Park

Everglades National Park ranks up there as one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.  I love the clouds, the open skies, the way that the greens and blues look like a painting.  Not to mention, the sunrise and sunsets, which I must say are gorgeous.  

The Everglades are also mighty fine for birders.  I have spent many days hiking flooded trails and upland pine forests.  Its the most reliable spot for bluebirds and nuthatches in South Florida.  It's also a great place to look for rarities.  I'll never forget my lifer Cuban Pewee seen near Research Road or my two Big Days that I spent in the park.

I also am proud to say that the park staff is committed to keep this park accessible to the public.  There was a recent closing on Research Road due to the security of the historic Nike Missile Base and I sent in a complaint.  Within the month, I was given an email response with an access code to the gate.  They are allowing birders to still use this restricted area on an honor system.  While I don't think this is a long-term solution.  I was humbled by the fact that even my one voice was heard and a special exception was given to a special interest group.

Next time you're in South Florida, stop by Everglades National Park and check out the birding opportunities.  Maybe you'll even get lucky and see a python or a panther.  I can count myself as one of the lucky ones to have seen both, though I must admit I wish the pythons were eradicated.

Bird A Day: White-tailed Kites

The Bird A Day challenge continues and while I used some nice northern birds on my recent trip to North Carolina, I still have work to do here in Florida.  On Tuesday, Andy and I drove out to Everglades National Park in a search to find a White-tailed Kite.  We both had numerous times tried for this bird during the winter with no luck but Research Road was kind to us this week and delivered TWO White-tailed Kites in one snag.  We had killer looks and watched the pair move only once to a different tree.  The lower kite in the photo above has a prey item that it was busy eating. 

We left after fullfilling looks and enjoyed the numerous Eastern Meadowlark on the drive out.  We also found Swallow-tailed Kites and Eastern Bluebird on Research Road before leaving.  The evening was topped off in Homestead with sightings of Gray Kingbird, Eastern Kingbird, and Common Myna.

Short-tailed Hawk

It's not often that you see a Short-tailed Hawk perching but here's one I had the chance to see at eye-level recently at Everglades National Park.  Andy, Rosana, and I were recently searching for a White-tailed Kite down Research Road when on the way back we saw a small dark hawk on the side of the road.  We stopped the car and realized that it was a Short-tailed Hawk.  As we approached it awkwardly flew across the street and perched only 15 feet away.  It seemed very ruffled in the breast area and kind of stunned.  We weren't sure if it was hit by a car or suffered some other ailment but the one thing we did know, it wasn't functioning at 100 percent.  After we snapped a few photos we left it be perched in the tree.  I don't know what happened to this hawk but I hope it survived.

Gamecam Florida Panthers

Florida Panthers are rare but definitely can be found if you spend enough time in the Everglades.  I saw my lifer Florida Panther in Everglades National Park.  It was such a brief glimpse that I'm eager for another sighting.  Maybe now that I have a year pass I'll try to get down there for some more wildlife encounters.  Until then I will have to look at these photos with desire.  The photos are once again taken in Collier County with a gamecam.  I hope one day to get a good look like this gamecam provides. 

Gamecam Black Bears

These photos were taken by a gamecam in the western parts of the Everglades.  I have had the pleasure of seeing a Black Bear in Florida once up in Ocala National Park but never one this far south.  However I have seen scat markings from what I thought was a Black Bear in Everglades National Park so I know they are around.  These photos come from a friend that has access to a few game cameras in Collier County.  I hope you enjoy!

Turkeys!

I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays.  I had way too much fun up in South Carolina.  We celebrated with a deep fried turkey and all the fixings.  Once I was back in Florida all my time has been consumed by celebrating my big birthday week full of festivities.  It's been a fun ride but I'm glad things are settling down a little.  Of course I have lots of fun adventures to share but I exceeded my phoot limit on blogger so it's taken me a few extra days to get myself figured out.  Here's my test post of a few turkeys taken on a gamecam in Everglades National Park.

Shark Valley Biking and Birding

Shark Valley is an extension of Everglades National Park.  For some reason I have never had the pleasure of checking it out but on our little farm stay weekend Emily and I brought our bikes for a nice exploration. 

We biked, we birded, we butterflied, we watched the big puffy clouds drift over the blue sky.  It was a nice day and we had a lot of fun on the trail.  I am ready to go back when the weather is even cooler!  The best bird was hearing multiple Marsh Wrens and seeing a huge flock of Tree Swallows.  The butterfly diversity was pretty good too with some nice sulphurs and Zebra Longwings.  We sat on a bench and watched the butterflies for a good time.  The only thing missing was lunch.  Next time we'll make better plans and stay longer.

If you have a bike then you should check out Shark Valley. It's such a nice trail and the ride is easy going. I highly recommend this trip if you want to see an up-close view of the Glades.

Everglades Birding/Camping

November is the month when cool weather finally reaches South Florida.  Andy, Rosana, Emily, Charlie, and I packed up and got ready for our first camping trip of the Fall.  We were prepared and stoked but maybe we didn't realize that even though the weather is nice, the mosquitoes would be out in full force.  Regardless we survived the first night and woke up the next morning to a nice relaxing temperature.  We first headed out to Lucky Hammock and the Annex.  The wind was blowing a little but not enough for the quiet hammocks.  It was strange how little bird activity we found.  Emily did see her lifer Eastern Phoebe and we saw a multitude of Kestrels. 

Next we headed to Anhinga trail.  I couldn't believe how high the water levels were but it resulted in little bird activity or alligators in sight.  We did see a few waders but missed on the Purple Gallinule.

A quick walk through the hammock trail only yielded us a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.  It was a slow morning but it felt good to be outside and hiking around.

At the Gate 15 mound we had a flock of Blue-winged Teal, a young Bald Eagle, and more waders.  It was a beautiful bright blue day but low on birds.  By this time we were starving and headed back towards Long Pine Key.

Charlie, our every faithful mutt seemed very content in the car and taking short walks at our breaks.  I couldn't believe how well behaved she was while we were gone.  I am sure she took a few naps.

After lunch we headed towards Flamingo.  At Mrazik Pond we had some excitement with a Redhead and a Gadwall mixed in with the teal and coots.

Once at Flamingo we were exhausted so we took a nap near the marina and watched the thousands of Turkey Vultures stream out across the Florida Bay.  It was entertaining and a much needed rest.  Near the amphitheater we found a Western Kingbird on one of the camp grills. 

Down by the shoreline Emily had her lifer American Avocets.  These little dainty birds always delight me.  I love that upturned bill and slender features.  Mixed in were some Willet and a few peeps.

We ended our day with another night camping.  I can't say it was the most pleasant due to all the mosquito/ant bites but for the first camping trip of the season, I thought it was successful.  Many thanks to Andy and Rosana who outdid themselves and brought the BEST camping food EVAH.  Thanks guys!

Cuban Pewee Day

By now you have heard the news of the Cuban Pewee found by Larry Manfredi in Everglades National Park but I thought I would give you a description of my search for this bird and how many other lifers trickled in that day. (If you would like more information about the bird or its location please see the Tropical Audubon birdboard in my links.)

My very sad digibinning attempt but it shows the pewee perched near the road.

Andy and I started our day in South Miami at 5:30am. We made a quick breakfast and headed to Long Pine Key. The pewee was found only 2 days earlier near the campground. We decided that we would be there at first light and listen for the distinct call. It had rained most of the night so we figured our chances were good that the bird was holding in the same location.

Around 7am we heard what we thought was the call and ran out to the raod. We had been walking down the nature trail nearby. We saw a dark silhouette of a flycatcher in the distance. We figured this was our bird but it was too dark and the sun wasn't up enough to give us any details. We really wanted to see the eye crescent mark. We watched the bird flycatch for a few seconds and then it disappeared into the pines.

At 8:20am we heard the pewee again call towards the small house down the road so we walked in that direction. A flycatcher took off over our heads and landed briefly on a tree near my parked car. A local birder positively identified it but the bird took flight down the nature trail. We followed but only some people got looks in the dense canopy.

At this point there were maybe a little over a dozen birders at the scene. We chased the pewee down the trail a second time but it somehow eluded most of the group. Then the signal came that the bird was back by the roadway. At 9:15am the whole group of us were able to get looks of this Cuban stray only feet away from the side of the road.

Since I am not a photographer I thought I would share a couple of photos of this great find. Both photos above were taken by Danny Bales. He was with the group of us searching for the Cuban Pewee that day from daybreak.

After soaking in our lifer Cuban Pewee we decided to continue back to South Miami with a few birding stops in between. First we stopped at The Annex where we picked up Cape May Warbler, Alder Flycatcher, and dozens of Eastern Kingbirds. A nice size flock of Bobolinks also graced us overhead, which added my second lifer of the day to the trip.

Next we headed to the 217th road to scope the fields for shorebirds. We immediately found 4 Buff-breasted Sanpipers foraging very close to the road. Lifer number 3 on the day! These photos were taken through a scope but they give you an idea of how nice the looks were provided for us.

We decided to keep searching around the Ag. fields and came up with many Killdeer, a few Pectoral Sandpipers, and hundreds of Barn Swallows. We were almost done with our shorebirding when a lone Upland Sandpiper drew our attention. We were in our car and only a few feet away so the look was amazing but the sandpiper took to flight and we weren't able to relocate it, probably due to a nearby Cooper's Hawk. Satisfied with our looks we decided to head back to the city.

After tallying our days efforts we realized that we had quite a few birds so we decided to up our numbers and stop by Cutler Wetlands. There we were able to pick up a few more shorebirds and waders. We ended the day with 72 birds at 1pm. With a little effort this easily could have been a 100 species day but we were both very satisfied with our Cuban Pewee and our other great finds that we decided to call it an end.

Many dowitchers, yellowlegs, and stilts were at Cutler Wetland when we arrived.