Florida Trip ~ January 8, 2020

I packed up and drove to the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge where I walked the Marsh Trail around the impoundments. A local Audubon Society was doing a walk there and pointed out a well-hidden nest with a Great Horned Owl in it.

Great Horned Owl on nest

The brush along the dikes produced Monk Parakeet, Eastern Phoebe, Carolina Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Northern Mockingbird, Boat-tailed Grackle, and Yellow-rumped and Palm Warbler. Inside the impoundments were Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga, Great Egret, Great Blue, Little Blue, Tricolored, and Green Heron, White and Glossy Ibis, and Common and Purple Gallinule. Raptors included Osprey, Northern Harrier, and a Red-shouldered Hawk that was sitting on a nest in another small group of trees near the observation tower.

Red-shouldered Hawk on nest

Then, something else flew by that I never expected to see while I was there.

The Good Year Blimp headed north.

At the last corner before heading back to the car, this Purple Gallinule put on a show as it used its extremely long toes to walk across the vegetation.

Purple Gallinule

I still had some time before I had to drop off the car at the airport, so I headed over to the Richardson Historic Park & Nature Preserve where I had seen my 'life' Bananaquit in 2017. It was real close to the airport and I was hoping that there may be Painted Buntings there like there was that year, but since it was the middle of the day, things were pretty quiet. I did come across a small flock that included Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Phoebe, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Yellow-rumped and Palm Warbler, and White-eyed and Blue-headed Vireo.

Blue-headed Vireo

I boarded my flight back to Philadelphia and got back home a little after midnight. The trip covered 765 miles and produced 86 species. To see more photos from the trip, you can go to my Florida Photo Album.

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Florida Trip List----January 4-8, 2020

1) Mute Swan
2) Mottled Duck
3) White-cheeked Pintail
4) Blue-winged Teal
5) Ring-necked Duck
6) Ruddy Duck
7) Pied-billed Grebe
8) Magnificent Frigatebird
9) Brown Pelican
10) Anhinga
11) Double-crested Cormorant
12) Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
13) Black-crowned Night-Heron
14) Green Heron
15) Tricolored Heron
16) Little Blue Heron
17) Cattle Egret
18) Snowy Egret
19) Great Egret
20) Great Blue Heron
21) Wood Stork
22) Glossy Ibis
23) White Ibis
24) Roseate Spoonbill
25) Turkey Vulture
26) Black Vulture
27) Osprey
28) Northern Harrier
29) Bald Eagle
30) Cooper's Hawk
31) Short-tailed Hawk
32) Red-shouldered Hawk
33) Red-tailed Hawk
34) Crested Caracara
35) American Kestrel
36) Limpkin
37) Purple Gallinule
38) Common Gallinule
39) American Coot
40) Killdeer
41) Laughing Gull
42) Ring-billed Gull
43) Royal Tern
44) Rock Pigeon
45) Mourning Dove
46) Eurasian Collared-Dove
47) Common Ground Dove
48) Monk Parakeet
49) Barn Owl
50) Great Horned Owl
51) Barred Owl
52) Ruby-throated Hummingbird
53) Belted Kingfisher
54) Red-bellied Woodpecker
55) Eastern Phoebe
56) Great Crested Flycatcher
57) La Sagra's Flycatcher
58) Loggerhead Shrike
59) White-eyed Vireo
60) Blue-headed Vireo
61) Blue Jay
62) American Crow
63) Fish Crow
64) Tree Swallow
65) Carolina Wren
66) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
67) Gray Catbird
68) Northern Mockingbird
69) Common Myna
70) European Starling
71) Northern Parula
72) Yellow-rumped Warbler
73) Black-and-white Warbler
74) Black-throated Blue Warbler
75) Black-throated Green Warbler
76) Yellow-throated Warbler
77) Palm Warbler
78) Common Yellowthroat
79) American Redstart
80) Savannah Sparrow
81) Song Sparrow
82) Northern Cardinal
83) Eastern Meadowlark
84) Common Grackle
85) Boat-tailed Grackle
86) House Sparrow

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