I got to the spot a little before 9:00 AM. It was a dirt road through a thick hammock. I was the only one there when I heard the La Sagra's call about 15 minutes later, but I couldn't find it since it seemed pretty far in. A car pulled up from farther down the road. It was a couple who told me that they had seen the bird at around 8:30. They left and, soon after, an older couple parked and joined me in the search. We heard and saw two Great Crested Flycatchers but still couldn't find the La Sagra's.
After an hour or so, they left, too. Around 11:00 AM, I heard the bird calling close to the road and finally spotted it near the top of a tree where I was able to get some decent photos of it.
Other birds found there included Tree Swallow, Blue-headed Vireo, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Gray Catbird, Black-throated Green and Palm Warbler, American Redstart, Northern Cardinal, a calling Barred Owl, and a fly-over Short-tailed Hawk.
From there, I drove the three minutes over to the Anhinga Trail and walked the boardwalk, which provided more photo chances.
A friend had texted me the night before to make sure that I knew that there had been a report of a Cuban Pewee at Pinecrest Gardens, southwest of Miami. I was keeping an eye on it to see if there had been any follow-up sightings, which there hadn't been, but I figured I'd still give it a shot since I had the afternoon open. Although most of the area was birdless, I did cross paths with a group of birds in the one corner of the gardens that contained a calling Red-shouldered Hawk, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, White-eyed Vireo, and warblers that included Black-throated Blue, Yellow-rumped, Yellow-throated, Palm, Black-and-white, Northern Parula, and American Redstart.
Next, I headed for the agricultural fields near the Miami Executive Airport where a Zenaida Dove had been seen the last two summers. This was another long shot since it was winter and the field where most of the sightings were from was all overgrown. I got there about an hour before sunset and found several Savannah Sparrows and an Eastern Meadowlark.
Then, a few Northern Harriers, including this nice adult male, flew by and dropped into the field to roost for the night.
At dusk, two Yellow-crowned Night-Herons landed on the road in front of my car. I stayed after sunset to see if any owls might be roosting there and at least three Barn Owls flew out and were circling over me and my car, occasionally screaming to each other. With the help of the streetlights (which I assume were there for potential future development), I put my normal lens on my camera and managed to get some photos of the experience.
The drive back to my motel was a short and happy one that included a stop for a celebratory "Chocolate Frosty" at Wendy's.
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