Florida Trip ~ May 4, 1997

Our first birding stop of the day was the J.N. 'Ding Darling' National Wildlife Refuge. We took the Wildlife Drive and parked at "Stop #5" where we found a large gathering of Double-crested Cormorants and Great and Snowy Egrets, along with smaller numbers of Brown Pelicans, Tricolored Herons, Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned Night-Herons, and White Ibis. Also there, on the opposite side of the drive, were my first Roseate Spoonbills. It was also at this spot that I got bit by a swarm of 'no-see-ums'. Within minutes, it looked like I had the measles.

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron at the J.N. 'Ding Darling' National Wildlife Refuge, Florida.

Next, we searched around the Mangrove Overlook for Mangrove Cuckoo. Although I couldn't find it, we were amazed at the numbers of small crabs climbing around on the trunks and branches of the mangroves. Other birds that were found along the Wildlife Drive included American White Pelican, Anhinga, Little Blue Heron, Reddish Egret, Mottled Duck, Peregrine Falcon, Black-necked Stilt, Willet, Least Tern, Black Skimmer, and Pileated Woodpecker.

Reddish Egret at the J.N. 'Ding Darling' National Wildlife Refuge, Florida.

Immediately after leaving the Wildlife Drive and turning onto Sanibel-Captiva Road, we found a Gray Kingbird perched on a wire. While getting out of the car to get a better look at it, Babe suddenly discovered that she was standing in a group of fire ants. She moved as quickly as she could but still managed to get stung several times. I got a couple of stings while trying to get them off of her. The rest of the trip was spent looking down as well as up.

We left Sanibel Island and drove to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.

Babe on the boardwalk at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Florida.

Although we didn't see any of the Wood Storks the sanctuary is famous for, we did find Anhinga, Great Egret, Little Blue and Tricolored Heron, White Ibis, Red-shouldered Hawk, White-eyed Vireo, Northern Parula, and Pine Warbler. One of the highlights there was seeing the adult alligators with young in the swamp just off the boardwalk.

American Alligator along the boardwalk at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Florida.

Along Route 858 southeast of Corkscrew, we stopped along the road to watch some Swallow-tailed Kites soaring over a woodlot. No matter how many times I saw this bird, it was still difficult not to stop whenever we spotted one. It is definitely near the top of my list of favorite birds. Next, we motored down Route 29 through the towns of Sunniland and Copeland, still hoping to find a Short-tailed Hawk soaring overhead. None were found, but we did see the signs and fencing along the road that mark the Florida Panther habitat area.

At the end of Route 29, we headed east on Route 41, also known as the Tamiami Trail. We were planning to stop at the Miccosukee Indian Restaurant for a meal, but it was closed. However, it was about a mile east of there at the air boat docks where I got to see my first Snail Kites. We watched them hover over the water, hunting for apple snails. One of the birds continually brought its catch back to a tree by the boat dock. We watched it stick its bill into the shell and pull out the snail and eat it.

Snail Kite at an air boat dock near the Miccosukee Indian Reservation, Florida.

We followed a large thunderstorm as we drove towards Miami. Luckily, it stayed far enough ahead of us as to not ruin the rest of our day. We continued east into Miami Springs and birded the area around the Fair Haven Nursing Home. There, we found Monk Parakeets in a tree containing their large nests plus American Redstart.

The Everglades Motel in Homestead was our final destination of the day. As we checked in, the owner proceeded to tell us his story about the night that Hurricane Andrew hit. He told us about the mobile home park that was located across the street and how it was completely gone the morning after. His concrete-walled motel fared a lot better than most buildings in the area.

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