We spent one day birding in Miami. It started out very slow, but it ended with success.
We started the morning at Kendall Baptist Hospital (which an accident made difficult to reach) to look for exotics. We started by wandering the lakes in front of the hospital looking for parrots, bulbuls and orioles. We didn't have any luck. There were plenty of Muscovy Ducks, Palm Warblers, and Grackles, though. Perhaps most interesting was the mixed flock of Red-masked and Red-mitred Parakeets that were flying around the grounds. But we have Red-mitred Parakeets in La Mirada, too, and we were hoping to get lucky with White-winged Parakeets - which would have been new. Since nothing was happening, we headed across the street to wander the neighborhoods looking for bulbuls and orioles.
It was pleasant over there. The streets were nicely manicured and full of nice eastern species. Blue Jays were common and we saw several Baltimore Orioles - which were our only for the trip. We also saw some White-winged Doves. Since Florida is just chock full of Eurasian Collared-Doves this southwestern exotic was a nice change. We spent the remainder of the relatively cool morning here, but there were no bulbuls. Or Spot-breasted Orioles. So we got back in the car and headed off.
We worked our way north along the one in the city and checked some other neighborhoods our book recommended for these species. No luck! So we checked the Tropical Audubon Society house for the orioles. Closed! At this point, the morning was almost gone. It was getting hot, and we hadn't found a single target, yet. So we made for the sea.
Our next destination was Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park. On the southernmost tip of Key Biscayne, a barrier island north of the true keys, we were hoping to find a rare La Sagra's Flycatcher, and to check out a true migrant trap. We did pretty well for ourselves there.
First off, the drive over was nice. The causeway affords great views of Miami, and the water stretching out underneath is a pale tropical blue. On the island there were palms and sea grape and an occasional refreshing ocean breeze. Sure it was warm, but any air movement is a relief in the stifling humility.
There was also another lighthouse! While not nearly as high as Ponce de Leon, it was very nice. From the top, we could look down into the crystal water and got to see some very large stingrays swim by. That was awesome.
As we left the lighthouse we heard a calling Myiarchus flycatcher. We rushed after it and voila! there was the La Sagra's Flycatcher. We got hugely lucky, as we ran into some birders from northwest (Alaska and Washington) who had spent all morning looking without finding it. But they let us know there had been a Western Spindalis (a Caribbean tanager) discovered the day before in the park. They took us to the tree, but we never saw it. Still, the fruiting tree was attracting some migrant warblers, and we got our lifer Cape May and Black-throated Blue Warblers there. The tree also hosted some beautiful Prairie Warblers with unusually orange heads - a caretenoid pigment issue that made them look a lot like Blackburnians.
Because of the Spindalis report, we ended up spending more time at the park than we might have otherwise, waiting in the shade of the tree and hoping to get a lucky glimpse of the bird. We we followed the advice of the birders we'd met and scanned all the telephone wires for Kingbirds. We eventually found some Gray Kingbirds - some of the year's first arrivals. This was another lifer, and a little later, a single Magnificent Frigatebird joined a Turkey Vulture above the seacoast at a great height. Now, that's a classy bird.
Anyway, eventually it was time to get going, so we headed out and north to Fort Lauderdale to look for Smooth-billed Anis. This species is a Caribbean specialty that has almost gone extinct in its North American range, so I was hoping against hope that we would be able to find one this trip. After all, who knows how much more time we have to see it (in the U.S., anyway)?
Unfortunately, we missed it. The vacant lot they're known to frequent is in a run down and poor area, and though we persisted despite the slightly unnerving atmosphere in walking around the lots a few times, we didn't see anything.
So, we headed back down to the hospital area again hoping to take an evening walk in the neighborhoods to take another crack at the orioles and bulbuls. After taking a relaxing dinner at an Italian restaurant in the area, we did just that. This time we double-checked the book to make sure we were walking the correct streets. It turned out we'd been one block too far west. I guess it makes a big difference because this time we saw dozens of Bulbuls and a family group of two or three Spot-breasted Orioles. It was a great relaxing evening walk, too, and a great capstone to an otherwise not-stellar outing.
Pictures on Flickr.
Next day? The Everglades!
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