Florida and Texas Trip ~ January 16, 2021

Saturday was my last chance to try to find the Grassquit since I had a flight to Texas to catch very early Sunday. I got to the "Blue Hole" at first light where I was surprisingly joined by another Pennsylvania birder, Jonathan Heller, who I hadn't seen in a long while, and four other young birders. Within minutes, one of the young, sharp-eared birders said he was hearing the Grassquit giving its high-pitched, one-note call that my hearing was unable to get a direction on. He homed in on it and we all eventually got looks at the bird. It was either on the ground or staying low in the grass and brush located just behind the two square covers on the ground along Key Deer Boulevard, located just north of the parking lot. I was really happy to finally get to see it and very lucky to get a few documentation photos if it, too! I thanked him for finding it for all of us. This male Black-faced Grassquit represented my 800th ABA Continental bird!

Black-faced Grassquit

Now having successfully seen all three 'target birds', I leisurely worked my way back up The Keys to the mainland. Just before leaving Big Pine Key, I took a short walk down the Long Beach Trail in Key Deer National Wildlife Refuge. A pool near the road held a good variety and amount of birds. At least twenty or more of Brown Pelicans, Great Egrets, Tricolored Herons, and White Ibis were present in addition to smaller numbers of Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, and a Reddish Egret that was actively running around 'canopy feeding'.

Wading birds along Long Beach Trail

Little Blue Heron, White Ibis, and Snowy Egret (left to right)

Little Blue and Tricolored Heron

Reddish Egret

Reddish Egret 'canopy feeding'

I didn't have any photos of Red-whiskered Bulbul, so I headed for the Baptist Hospital area in Kendall, one of the spots where they had recently been seen. Once there, I was frustrated that there was no parking allowed anywhere nearby. Years ago, parking was permitted along the entrance and exit roads. Instead, there were multiple "Tow Away" signs posted about anyone who wasn't there related to the hospital services. I slowly drove through a few times listening for their calls, but the winds were whipping in the 20-mph range. I drove the residential area just to the north, hoping for one sitting on a wire, but it never happened. I did manage to find two Loggerhead Shrikes and two Spot-breasted Orioles along with a group of Black and Turkey Vultures that were feeding on a carcass in someone's front yard.

Turkey Vultures

Black Vulture

Along the way to the expressway, I saw two Egyptian Geese and a Cattle Egret. I drove the rest of the way up to the Rodeway Inn near Hollywood Beach where I spent the night. The room was very nice, but the periodic moaning and the banging of the headboard against the wall in the next room was a little annoying! Luckily, one or both of them got tired and everything calmed down the rest of the night.

I drove 494 miles over 3-1/2 days and saw 67 species that included all three life birds that I went for. More photos from the Florida section of the trip can be found in my Florida Photo Album.

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Florida ~ January 13-16, 2021
1) Egyptian Goose
2) Pied-billed Grebe
3) Magnificent Frigatebird
4) American White Pelican
5) Brown Pelican
6) Anhinga
7) Double-crested Cormorant
8) Green Heron
9) Tricolored Heron
10) Little Blue Heron
11) Reddish Egret
12) Cattle Egret
13) Snowy Egret
14) Great Egret
15) Wood Stork
16) American Flamingo
17) White Ibis
18) Turkey Vulture
19) Black Vulture
20) Osprey
21) Bald Eagle
22) Short-tailed Hawk
23) Broad-winged Hawk
24) Red-shouldered Hawk
25) Red-tailed Hawk
26) American Kestrel
27) Peregrine Falcon
28) Black-bellied Plover
29) Laughing Gull
30) Ring-billed Gull
31) Herring Gull
32) Sandwich Tern
33) Royal Tern
34) Rock Pigeon
35) Mourning Dove
36) Eurasian Collared-Dove
37) Belted Kingfisher
38) Red-bellied Woodpecker
39) Cuban Pewee ***
40) Great Crested Flycatcher
41) Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
42) Loggerhead Shrike
43) White-eyed Vireo
44) Blue Jay
45) Fish Crow
46) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
47) Red-legged Thrush ***
48) Gray Catbird
49) Northern Mockingbird
50) Common Myna
51) European Starling
52) Northern Parula
53) Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler
54) Black-and-white Warbler
55) Yellow-throated Warbler
56) Prairie Warbler
57) Pine Warbler
58) Palm Warbler
59) Ovenbird
60) Common Yellowthroat
61) American Redstart
62) Black-faced Grassquit ***
63) Northern Cardinal
64) Red-winged Blackbird
65) Boat-tailed Grackle
66) Spot-breasted Oriole
67) House Sparrow

*** denotes life bird.

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