When we finally reached the preserve, we heard, and then saw, a Bachman's Sparrow singing about four feet up on a pine branch. This turned out to be very lucky because the bird dropped down into the saw palmetto and was never seen or heard again during the rest of the time spent there.
Within a mile of the preserve, we saw Swallow-tailed Kite, Northern Bobwhite, Red-cockaded Woodpcker, Eastern Bluebird, and Rufous-sided Towhee.
Heading back north, we turned off Route 630 and parked along Walk-in-the-Water Road above Tiger Creek. It was here that I had hoped to see Short-tailed Hawk, but we never did find one. We apparently arrived too late to catch the birds "lifting off". We then tried the spot south of Route 630 along Rucks Dairy Road, but to no avail. Birds that were seen while searching for the Short-tailed Hawk included nice looks at a pair of Swallow-tailed Kites and Common Ground-Dove.
We then headed east to the south end of Lake Kissimmee. Although we didn't find the Snail Kites that we were hoping for, we did see Cattle Egret, Crested Caracara, and Sandhill Crane in farm fields along Route 60, just west of the lake. At Lake Kissimmee State Park, I got within 10 feet of a Sandhill Crane at the park entrance but still couldn't find a Snail Kite.
Returning southward on Route 27, we checked the spot east of Avon Park where Babe had seen Short-tailed Hawk on her previous trip but came up empty once again. From there, we drove to Clewiston where we searched in vain for Smooth-billed Ani.
The cruise control was then set as we took Route 80 west to the Motel 6 in North Fort Myers. There, I got excellent looks at a few Eurasian Collared-Doves on the roof of the motel.
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