January 14 and 15, 1995
On the day we’d planned to visit the Keys, a tropical storm hit southern Florida. However, given that we only had a limited number of days before Kevin needed to be back in Indiana, we decided to drive through the Keys anyway. This was less than pleasant at first, with some really heavy rains. Fortunately, though, it cleared up by the afternoon, and we found ourselves in the middle of a gorgeous landscape. The water on either side of us as we drove over the bridges that connect the islands was some of the most INCREDIBLE shades of blue and green that I had ever seen. Beautiful turquoise. We spotted several pairs of gorgeous Magnificent Frigatebird while driving through the Keys, and saw at least one Osprey that appeared to be at a nest.
Our first stop was Pennecamp Reef Park, where we’d thought to take a boat tour, but the boats weren’t operating (maybe due to the storm)? Here, we saw a Ruddy Turnstone, and came face-to-face with a very cute squirrel (probably Eastern Gray Squirrel).
When we arrived at Key West, we took a sunset cruise, and then had dinner. Rather than staying on Key West, though, we headed north just a bit to Big Pine Key, where we spent the night.
The next morning, we explored Big Pine, and caught glimpses of two small and adorable Key Deer (an endangered subspecies of White-tailed Deer that only lives on the Florida Keys). We also saw numerous birds, including a Short-tailed Hawk that flew overhead while we were in the car.
We had a fantastic look at a Merlin at the Florida Keys National Seashore park. This lone bird was sitting atop a pole along the gulf-coast bay beach., and I was able to study it for several minutes before it flew away. (It was either a female or a juvenile – a brown-colored bird). I also saw Sanderling on the beaches, and spotted Royal Tern fishing at Florida Keys National Seashore.
I birded from the car all the way back north, seeing a number of different species, but my favorite of the day was a Great White Heron. I’d hoped to see this subspecies of the Great Blue Heron on this trip, and after searching throughout the Keys, I finally spotted one, perched on a bridge railing beside the road in a small town. The bird had yellow legs, as opposed to the black legs of the great egret.
I also have another Swainson’s Hawk noted in this trip list, yet I have no recollection of every having made a positive ID of this bird! It has actually become quite a joke between Kevin and I, as one of the species I want to see, but just can’t get a confirmed sighting of. If we are talking about birds we saw during the day, one of us will invariably mention “Swainson’s Hawk” along with “Ivory-billed Woodpecker” and “Kirtland’s Warbler.” Maybe some day I’ll actually be able to really count this species!
It was afternoon by the time we got back to the mainland after driving through the Keys, but I really wanted Kevin to be able to see at least a little bit of the Everglades, so with only a few hours of daylight left, we spent a couple of hours walking the Gumbo-Limbo and Anhinga Trails.
On the day, I primarily paid attention to the birds and alligators that we saw, but I’ve been able to use my photos to identify some of the plants that we saw along our route. On the Gumbo Limbo Trail, we saw and heard cheerful little Common Yellowthroat, and Green Heron. Some of the plants we saw include Florida Strangler Fig alongside some Paradise Tree, Shoebutton Ardisia, Gumbo Limbo trees, and a variety of ferns, including possible Southern Sword Fern and Toothed Midsorus Fern.
Along the Anhinga Trail, we saw a basking Double-crested Cormorant, Boat-tailed Grackle, Turkey Vulture, Great Egret, and Pied-billed Grebe. I was happy to see a Purple Gallinule walking atop the floating leaves of blooming Spatterdock – it’s such a gorgeously-colored bird, I was glad that Kevin was able to see one close up. Oh, and there were also plenty of Anhinga.
The other notable sightings were several American Alligator, including a large adult, and a very small juvenile. (There are few things I love more than little alligators, and they are probably my single favorite thing about Florida).
Along the edges of the slough, Carolina Willow, Cocoplum, and probable Southern Cattail were growing. There was a lot of Knotted Spikerush interspersed with Pickerelweed. A stand of Royal Palm could be seen in the distance.
Of course, what trip would be complete without a couple of UID species, namely a white sandpiper with reddish tip of tail, and a turnstone-sized sandpiper with white shoulders. Mysteries for another day!
The last bird of the trip was a Great Blue Heron who was in a pond just on the other side of a small retaining wall. We were able to get with a few feet of the bird – an amazing sighting, although since it was starting to get dark, the photo is horribly underexposed (but here it is, anyway).
I adore the Everglades, and look forward to hopefully visiting them again sometime in the future.
Species List
Florida Keys:
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres morinella), Atlantic Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis carolinensis), Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum floridanum), Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura septentrionalis), Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla megalopterus), Boat-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus major westoni), Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga leucogaster), Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens rothschildi), Short-tailed Hawk (Buteo brachyurus fuliginosus), Key Deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium), Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus floridanus), American Kestrel (Falco sparverius), Rock Dove (Columba livia f. domestica), Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura carolinensis), Great Egret (Ardea alba egretta), Great White Heron (Ardea herodias occidentalis), Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias wardi), Merlin (Falco columbarius), Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon), Atlantic Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis carolinensis), Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea), Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus extimus), Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola), Sanderling (Calidris alba), Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus), Western Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis ibis), Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus carolinensis), Fish Crow (Corvus ossifragus), Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla), Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis), Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens rothschildi), Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor), Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis), European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris vulgaris), Palm Warbler (Setophaga palmarum), Portugese Man-o-War (Physalia physalis), American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), Florida Softshell (Apalone ferox)
Everglades:
Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga leucogaster), Green Heron (Butorides virescens virescens), Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas ignota), Florida Strangler Fig (Ficus aurea), Gumbo Limbo (Bursera simaruba), Sword Fern (Nephrolepis sp.), Toothed Midsorus Fern (Telmatoblechnum serrulatum), Shoebutton Ardisia (Ardisia elliptica), Paradise Tree (Simarouba glauca), Carolina Willow (Salix caroliniana), Royal Palm (Roystonea regia), Common Reed (Phragmites australis), Knotted Spikerush (Eleocharis interstincta), American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), Great Egret (Ardea alba egretta), Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum floridanum), Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata), Southern Cattail (Typha domingensis), Cocoplum (Chrysobalanus icaco), Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps podiceps), Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinica), Spatterdock (Nuphar advena), Boat-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus major westoni), Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura septentrionalis), Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias wardi)
Let me know what you think!