Central Florida,
October 2007 - Trip Report
Day 1 - Saturday 6th October 2007
After our 'eventful' trip to Costa Rica in March and some atrocious Manx Spring/Summer
birding, Keren and I were looking forward to a week off together in Autumn and hopefully
turning around our birding fortunes by seeing something out of the ordinary on the island.
However, in mid-September we were contacted by our friends, Trevor and Jackie, asking
us if we wanted to spend a week with them at their home in Florida. Now, autumn in the
British Isles is my favourite time of year and it always seems to hold the promise of a few
decent scarcities but, given the choice of seeing (possibly) a Yellow-browed Warbler in a
damp Manx woodland and seeing several brightly coloured American warblers under a
sunny Floridian hammock, there's not much to decide really!
So on Saturday 6th October we left a pleasantly mild and sunny Manchester Airport
aboard MyTravel flight #MYT063 bound for Orlando Sanford International Airport.
The flight, with extra leg-room seats, was over soon enough (despite the lack of video) and
we arrived ahead of time at 13:00 local time. We eventually worked our way through
immigration control and exited the terminal building into a sweltering, humid 90°F.
Fortunately Trevor pulled up almost immediately and we loaded the cases into the back of
the air-conditioned, SUV.
The 45 minute journey west to Windermere produced all the usual roadside birds -
Mourning Dove, Gt. Blue Herons, Cattle Egrets, Ospreys and Turkey Vultures. The highlight
was a large female Cooper's Hawk soaring over some roadside trees.
Back at Trevor's fabulous home, Keren and I were feeling a tad jet-lagged so decided to
take it easy for the afternoon and try and acclimatise to the ferocious heat and humidity.
Obviously I couldn't ignore the various cheeps, zits and screeches coming from the back
'yard' and ventured out to see what was about. I added Red-bellied Woodpecker, Blue Jay
(easy to hear, not so easy to photograph!), Grey Catbird (ditto) and Brown Thrasher (ditto).
Up in the canopy a small passerine was dashing around like a lunatic and was proving very
difficult to ID as it was constantly silhouetted against the sun. Eventually it moved into a
better position and turned out to be a female/1st winter American Redstart - a fabulous bird.
In a neighbouring garden, a loud tick and a flash of red transformed into a male Northern
Cardinal, but none of these birds were "playing the game" and I don't think I fired my camera's
shutter once! Still, it was nice to be seeing stuff that would send your average UK twitcher
into a serious panic!
Day 2 - Sunday 7th October 2007
After making the schoolboy error of having an early night post trans-Atlantic flight, Keren
and I were awake much too early (05:00), but it was still 70-odd° outside. So rather than
wandering around and disturbing our slumbering hosts, I took a cooling dip in the 'courtyard'
swimming pool whilst I waited for birdable light.
Eventually the sky started to get some colour in it (clear, unbroken blue!) and the bird noises
started to increase. It's always difficult getting back into the swing of birding in a foreign
country as, back home, so much of my birding is done by sound and not being able to remember
the myriad of calls I was being presented with was causing me some anguish. As it turned out,
most of the sounds were coming from Blue Jays, Grey Catbirds and squirrels! However several of the
fabulous little Blue-grey Gnatcatchers and a couple of Mockingbirds were added to the list.
After a light breakfast (a coffee and cigarette) Trevor, Keren and myself headed off for the day's birding, starting at a "new site" that Trevor had recently located. Wesmere is a new home
development on which work has been temporarily suspended and leaving the area with several
small pools after recent rains. To be honest I wasn't expecting much on what looked like
waste ground - certainly not the small party of a dozen Least Sandpipers, 2x Spotted Sandpipers
and 4 Killdeer that presented themselves! I even managed to photograph the Least Sands as Keren
was concentrating her efforts on the dragonflies and butterflies in the area. Also here, a roving
party of grackles (common and Boat-tailed) provided a chatty soundtrack, a migrant Merlin dashed
past (a local scarcity apparently), a pied-billed Grebe lurked at the edges of a small, adjacent lake, Mourning Doves sat on the wires and Trevor's first Palm Warbler of the Autumn 'tail-pumped' on a roadside fence. A great start
to the day.
Next stop was to a favourite of ours, Oakland Nature Preserve, which has a boardwalk leading down
to the shores of Lake Apopka and passes through some fabulous scrubby swampland with a small area of adjacent hammock. It soon became apparent that we were the first visitors of the day to the site as the webs of the huge Orb Spiders that spanned the boardwalk remained intact and Trevor entertained us on several occasions by jumping like a startled gazelle (belying his advancing years) as he walked through several of the webs - it's not always a good idea to be at the front! One of the highlights of this visit was the egg-laying Praying Mantis that Keren located actually on the boardwalk fencing - not the most discrete of places to leave it's precious offspring!
Again the most obvious birds were the Blue Jays, Catbirds and Gnatcatchers but we also had good if brief views of Red-eyed and White-eyed Vireos, Carolina and House Wrens, my first ever, perched, Northern Flicker , Tufted Titmouse and the ridiculous but impressive, Pileated Woodpecker.
Out at the end of the boardwalk, several Double-crested Cormorants were gliding around, a Red-tailed Hawk soared in the distance, the usual Turkey Vultures were in evidence, Common Yellowthroats 'chacked' in the undergrowth and a couple of drab Tennessee Warblers were 'zitting' in the canopy.
The return walk down the boardwalk was much more pleasant now that we didn’t have to be concerned about the presence of spiders webs!
One of the places Trevor insists on taking us to is a site called Lust Road as he maintains that it gets some really good birds. So, once again, we drove down this barren, scrappy-looking area hoping to see something out of the ordinary, including a 'promise' of Blue Grosbeaks. And once again we got very little - certainly nothing new! However a brief Northern (Hen) Harrier, a Red-tailed Hawk and an American Kestrel hunting dragonflies were nice enough and a small group of overhead (where else?) Chimney Swifts provided us with the chance of studying their distinctive flight action. Highlight of this visit was the confiding Loggerhead Shrike on a roadside fence and then Northern Mockingbird which left a 'message' down the inside of Trevor's pristine pick-up truck (we had left the windows open!).
As it was our first full day and we starting to feel the remnants of jet-lag again, we called it a day and headed back to the house and a cooling dip in the pool.
Day 3 - Monday 8th October 2007
Just like our last visit to Florida, Trevor decided that the Monday should comprise of a visit to Merritt Island on the Atlantic coast near to Titusville. This huge area of salt marsh and open water provided us with birds galore in March 06 but this time the water levels were really high and we discovered we were too early in the season for many of the waterbirds to have returned.
However just outside Titusville there is a small area of parkland and jetties on the shore and we added Red-shouldered Hawk, Turnstone, Laughing Gull, Royal Tern, Eurasian Collared Dove (!), Belted Kingfisher, American and Fish Crows, Double-crested Cormorant, Caspian Tern, Brown Pelican and House Sparrow.
By the entrance to Merritt Island proper is a small car park used by local fishermen and we got stunning views of Black Skimmer, Great Egret and Short-billed Dowitcher. Once in the reserve itself, as I mentioned, the water levels were really high and only the usual herons - Roseate Spoonbill, Reddish Egret, Little Blue Heron, Green Heron, Tri-coloured Heron, White Ibis etc - were there in numbers (although a pair of River Otters provided some excitement). Round on the coastal edges at an area called Black Point, we got Blue-winged Teal, Eastern Meadowlark, Glossy Ibis, Great Blue Heron and Brown-headed Cowbird.
It was around this time that I noticed a sign pointing towards a "Manatee Watchpoint" and I suggested to Trevor that we wouldn't mind having a look. He replied by saying that he’d been almost a dozen times and never seen them. Imagine his disbelief as we pulled up into the car park and immediately got on to 2 Manatees feeding/up-ending right at the rivers edge and not 20 feet away!
Our last area covered was for waders (shorebirds to American birders) at a site called "Biolab Road", where we got more Least sandpipers, Semi-palmated Sandpipers, Western Sandpipers, Greater Yellowlegs and a couple of Willet.
On the 2-hour journey back to Windermere, we rediscovered the delights of eating at a Subway restaurant where I indulged in a 'Footlong Meatball Marinara' - probably the best sandwich in the world!
Day 4 – Tuesday 9th October 2007
The forecasted cold front which was supposedly moving down through Florida, was still several hundred miles to the north and migrants remained thin on the ground - apart from hundreds of Grey Catbirds and Blue-grey Gnatcatchers. This being the case we visited another area close to Lake Apopka, pretty much at the opposite end of Lust Road, famed for it's small population of Florida Scrub Jays.
On one of the approach roads to the area we pulled up to scan the fields and were rewarded with marvelous views of a pair of Sandhill Cranes. It was around this time, whilst trying to locate a singing Meadowlark that I noticed a brightly-coloured warbler moving through a hedgerow in the company of a few Blue-grey Gnatcatchers. Eventually I got good views of this very active little bird and nailed it's ID as a Prairie Warbler and my 1st tick of the trip! Never did manage a photo of the little blighter though.
Further down the road a nice Red-shouldered Hawk posed on a telegraph pole and tried to avoid the attention of a couple of mockingbirds.
As we approached our target destination, the habitat started to get a little more 'scrubby' and we almost immediately had a Florida Scrub Jay in roadside bushes, but the views were far from being as outrageous as last year.
Pulling up at the entrance to the site, my attention was drawn to a small passerine on overhead wires and although the sun was against us, I could see it was an Eastern Bluebird but with what appeared to be an oddly stunted tail.
We hung around by the car hoping to draw the attention of the nosy FSJ's but to no avail and boy was it hot!
After 10 minutes or so we started to walk slowly down the track towards the relief of the shade provided by the trees. Once again, Blue Jays, gnatcatchers and catbirds were the most obvious species present with mockingbirds and cardinals coming a close second. At a disused barn we took shelter from the fierce heat and were surprised by two Barn Owls flying past within touching distance.
Once again we ventured out into the sun but were soon under the much-needed shade of a small oak woodland.
Unfortunately, this was the area that the mosquitoes were on the lookout for a tasty drop of blood and we got absolutely hammered by them - so much so that concentrating on birding was almost impossible. Fortunately we once again emerged into the sunlight and left the bloodthirsty little buggers behind. Now out in the open and nearer to the lake, we started picking-up birds again - Boat-tailed and Common Grackles, a sub-adult Bald Eagle soared miles overhead, herons and ibises flew across pools and ditches and our first Eastern Phoebe of the trip hawked insects from a reed bed - he should have been under the trees eating the bloody mozzies!
Eventually the sun beat us into submission and we raced back to the car - via the shaded barn and a skulking Swainson’s Thrush - to avoid the very annoying attentions of you know what.
Day 5 – Wednesday 10th October 2007
Rising at first light again, I ventured out into the garden and immediately noticed an increase in bird activity - perhaps this was the start of some migrants moving through ahead of the much-needed cold front? Almost the first bird I got onto was a hummingbird buzzing around in the shade of a tree in next door's garden. Not a particularly bright individual, but I did get a look at it's tail as it hovered with it's back to me and there were some obvious patches of orange (a subsequent look in Sibley indicated that this was probably a selasphorus hummer and quite a rarity in Fla). Unfortunately this bird soon disappeared and was replaced by a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird and my 2nd tick of the trip. Also
up in the canopy was a nice male Northern Parula, Tennessee Warbler, American Redstart, Chimney Swift and another Swainson's Thrush.
Because today was Trevor's birthday, we had a non-birding day and went for a ride in his beautiful boat around the local lakes. Being birders though, we never really switch off and we recorded various herons, a Brown Pelican and several Ospreys and Belted Kingfishers.
That evening as we pulled into the car park of a restaurant a Common Nighthawk flashed across the car's headlights.
Day 6 - Thursday 11th October 2007
This was the day we had been anticipating!
On leaving the house the drop in temperature (it was only 72° at 07:30) was noticeable. Surely the cold front had hit overnight and we were in for a warbler-fest!
Trevor decided that a visit to Mead Garden in the suburbs of Orlando might well prove productive so, ˝ hour later, we pulled into the car park (parking lot?) of these attractive, lightly wooded gardens. Almost immediately it became apparent that Trevor had made a good call as not only was there a cacophony of bird sounds, but they were also accompanied by the constant chatter of a small group of local birders and their blaring tape lures! Being the sociable individual that he is, Trevor wandered over to where the birders were gathered to see what they'd 'had' whilst I concentrated on actual birding. Almost immediately I got on to 2 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and an Indigo Bunting up in the canopy of a large oak tree.
The Americans kindly offered to let us join them as they birded the area, but we politely declined - I can't cope with the (occasional) US-style of birding which seems to consist of bird tapes played at unbearable volume and frequency, constant pishing and unnecessarily loud chatter.
Anyway, enough of such negativity, we slowly walked around the myriad paths and boardwalks amassing a very impressive list of birds. Warblers were everywhere, but mostly in the canopies and causing great neck pain to those of us trying to ID them from 40 ft below! In just a couple of hours we got: Blue-grey Gnatcatchers, Swainson's and Grey-cheeked Thrushes, Brown Thrasher, Northern Parulas, MAGNOLIA, BLACK-THROATED BLUE, Palm, Blackpoll, BAY-BREASTED, Yellow-throated, Black & White and HOODED Warblers, American Redstarts, Common Yellowthroats, Scarlet and Summer Tanagers, White-Eyed, Red-eyed and Philadelphia Vireos, EASTERN WOOD-PEWEE, HOUSE FINCH, Red-bellied Woodpecker and even WOOD DUCK. Honestly, the trees were 'rocking' with birds which were moving through so quickly it was very difficult to keep up. I'd heard about these warbler fall-outs but never before experienced one - it was amazing.
Day 7 – Friday 12th October 2007
Our last full day so, whilst our wives had a "girlie day", Trevor and I headed east again but instead of the recently disappointing Merritt Island we opted for more migrant warblers in the hammock at Turkey Creek near to Palm Bay.
Leaving the house at 05:00 the journey was done in about 1˝ hours and we arrived just before first light.
As we walked the boardwalk under the open pine wood, birdlife was rather thin on the ground, but as the daylight improved more and more passerines started to appear. As we had come to expect catbirds were the dominant sound but, as we entered more deciduous woodland (hammock) the warblers started to take over. Although not quite as numerous as yesterday's spectacle there were still plenty to keep us occupied and a lot of them were at a more reasonable viewing
height!
One bird, I'd really wanted to get a photo of was OVENBIRD and, after much scouring of the undergrowth, we both got brief views of two of these fabulous little skulkers – my poor photos showing how difficult they are to get reasonable
shots of!
In several hours of hard birding we got: Blue-grey Gnatcatchers, Wood and Swainson’s Thrushes, Northern Parulas, Magnolia, Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green, Palm, Blackpoll, Bay-breasted, Yellow-throated, Chestnut-sided, and Black & White Warblers, American Redstarts, Common Yellowthroats, Scarlet and Summer Tanagers, White-Eyed and Red-eyed Vireos, Ovenbird, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Blue and Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting and Yellow-billed Cuckoo. I tell you, it's a good job the early part of the week was so quiet - I couldn't have coped with many more days of this!!
Eventually we left Turkey Creek and headed to the 'nearby' sewerage works at Viera Wetlands. After the hard work we had put in at Turkey Creek, it was nice just to cruise round the various pools and reed beds birding from the comfort of Trevor's air-conditioned truck. All the usual wetland suspects were present - Ospreys, herons and egrets, Mottled Ducks, Blue-winged Teal, American Coot and Moorhens. A small party of waders included Least Sandpipers, Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs. In a tree on the boundary of the site a Crested Caracara surveyed the area and several Palm Warblers flitted in the trackside bushes.
Finally after several circuits of the site we both got fleeting views of a LEAST BITTERN as it flew from one reed bed to another. Then after a further wait, it eventually came out and climbed up a reed stem to give great if frustratingly brief (for a photographer) views. As it turned out, this was the 120th species of the trip and my 11th and final lifer.
Day 8 – Saturday 13th October 2007
Our last morning before the long flight back to Blighty, so we opted for our favourite and local site - Oakland Nature Preserve.
Fortunately, we weren’t the first to arrive and were spared the horror of walking through the spiders' webs!
There were still remnants of the passerine passage of the last few days Tennessee, Magnolia and Parula warblers in evidence along with American Redstart and Indigo Buntings. Out on the lake edge a Bald Eagle was sat avoiding the attentions of the local grackles and eyeing-up the Ospreys' latest catches.
The last new bird for the trip list was added by Keren when she located a pair of Painted Buntings on the feeding station table underneath which a family party of Raccoons was scrounging tit-bits.
And that was it, another wonderful week's birding in Florida.
Thanks again to Trevor and Jackie for their hospitality, patience and generosity.
Bugs and Beasts Thumbnails - Any help that can be given with ID's appreciated!