Florida Trip ~ May 8, 1997

Our last day on the Dry Tortugas was spent checking Garden Key for any different species that might have shown up during the night. The only new bird was a Black-throated Green Warbler. We also spent some time on top of the fort, hoping to find a White-tailed Tropicbird. While looking for this 'long shot', we had the always-present Magnificent Frigatebirds soaring overhead.

An adult male Magnificent Frigatebird over Fort Jefferson in Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida.

With everyone back on the boat, we headed for Key West. On the return pelagic, we saw Masked and Brown Booby, Royal and Bridled Tern, and Black Skimmer. Seeing the huge expanse of open water and the conditions the birds faced on the islands made me realize just how amazing it was that any of our migratory birds make it to their nesting areas. I was glad I had taken the Tortugas trip, but I was also glad to get off the boat and onto firm ground.

After piling everything back into our car, we headed back up The Keys. At one spot, we got nice looks at a "Great White" Heron. We reached the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, on Key Largo, with very little daylight left. Just beyond the park entrance, we heard a Mangrove Cuckoo, but it stopped calling before we could find it. At dusk, we heard an Eastern Screech-Owl. However, since the cuckoos had apparently "called it a day", we decided to do the same by driving back to the Everglades Motel in Homestead.

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