Back in late October of last year, Red-legged Honeycreepers were reported at several sites in Florida. Mike Schall and I drove down there to try for them, but they all suddenly dispersed to parts unknown and we came up empty. Then in late March of this year, a female was being routinely seen at Brewer Park in South Miami, so Jason Horn, Rick Wiltraut, and I decided to drive down there and hopefully see it.
Saturday, April 15, 2023
We rented a car and left at 10:45 AM and began the 18+ hour drive to the tiny South Miami park. Unfortunately, as in October, there were no positive reports of the bird during our long drive down there.
Sunday, April 16, 2023
We reached Brewer Park at around 6:45 AM and started searching for the honeycreeper. Eight Orange-winged Parrots were in the adjacent pines.
A pair of Eastern Screech-Owls were roosting in a private yard across the street.
A pair of Chestnut-fronted Macaws were seen at a nest site in a broken-off palm trunk just outside the park.
Some very loud squawking led to a pair of Blue-and-yellow Macaws. They did a quick 'fly'by', so I was only able to get these two photos of them.
A few Yellow-crowned Night-Herons were present at the pond and one was in a tree in the park.
A group of noisy parakeets that flew into one of the trees turned out to be Red-masked Parakeets.
During the 3-3/4 hours spent there, other notables included Common Gallinule, Green Heron, White Ibis, Ovenbird, Yellow-rumped and Palm Warbler, Painted Bunting, and 'fly-by's of Egyptian Goose, Anhinga, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Egret, Swallow-tailed Kite, and Purple Martin. Among the lizards seen there were Green Iguana and Peter's Rock Agama.
Since there was no sign of the honeycreeper, we decided to drive the hour-and-a-half up to Torry Island to see if we could find Tricolored Munia for Jason and Rick. Cattle Egrets and Gray-headed Swamphens were in the area around the campground.
The reservoir held Anhinga, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Tricolored and Green Heron, and American Coot.
A Brown Basilisk, also known as a "Jesus Christ" Lizard because it can run significant distances across the surface of the water, was spotted by Jason at the base of the observation tower.
Birds seen from atop the tower included Snail Kite, Great and Snowy Egret, Purple Gallinule, Eurasian Collared-Dove, and Red-winged Blackbird.
Other birds found in the vicinity of the tower included Mottled Duck, Sora, Common Gallinule, American Coot, Wood Stork, Little Blue Heron, White and Glossy Ibis, White-eyed Vireo, Common Yellowthroat, and Common Ground Dove, but we couldn't find the munias.
A small group of trees held a Palm Warbler, a Cape May Warbler, and a Prothonotary Warbler that only allowed me to get some fleeting photos.
Thunderstorms were building to the west and were headed our way. On the way back to the car, a Red-shouldered Hawk and an Osprey posed for photos.
Two Limpkins were in the marsh along the road near the airboat dock.
The storms hit soon after we reached the car in the parking lot. Heavy rain and very strong, gusty winds shook the car. I booked a room in nearby Clewiston where we spent the night.
Monday, April 17, 2023
We drove back to Torry Island for another chance at finding the Tricolored Munia. We walked out past the tower and along one of the channels where a Black Skimmer was seen.
Belted Kingfisher, Marsh Wren, Sora, and Gray-headed Swamphen were also present. Marsh Rabbits were feeding in the grassy edges along the dikes.
Back at the observation tower, we saw a calling Least Bittern. A Purple Gallinule balanced on stalks while Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks flew by.
Eastern Kingbird, Loggerhead Shrike, and Orchard Oriole were found back at the parking lot.
We returned to Brewer Park for one last try for the Red-legged Honeycreeper. Birds found there were pretty much the same as the day before.
We did see two White-winged Doves and a few warblers that included Prairie Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, and Northern Parula.
A young Common Gallinule followed its parent across the pond.
One of the Eastern Screech-Owls was roosting in a little different position than before.
I also got a couple more photos of the multi-colored Peter's Rock Agama.
We left Brewer Park with no luck on the honeycreeper and headed north for Jetty Park in Port Canaveral to try and find the Bahama Mockingbird for Rick. As we parked the car, the bird was perched on the fence at the northwest corner of the campground.
It flew back into the campground while being harassed by Northern Mockingbirds. Eventually, it came back out to the fence and hopped within three feet of me!
It flew right past my leg and again perched on the fence.
The nearby boat launch produced Brown Pelican and Great Black-backed, Lesser Black-backed, Herring, and Laughing Gull.
A late day stop at nearby Avocet Lagoon yielded Mottled Duck, Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plover, Brown Pelican, Great Egret, Tricolored and Green Heron, Osprey, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Waterthrush, and Common Yellowthroat.
At sunset, good numbers of Black-crowned Night-Herons along with Least and Royal Tern, Snowy Egret, White and Glossy Ibis, and Loggerhead Shrike were seen at the adjacent Canaveral Locks. We stayed at a motel along I-95 near Titusvile.
Tuesday, April 18, 2023
We began the roughly 16-hour drive back home. During a lunch stop, a wooded area behind Popeye's Chicken near Walterboro, South Carolina held Great Crested Flycatcher, Yellow-throated Vireo, and Carolina Chickadee.
Near the end of the day, we stopped at the Cumberland County rest area in North Carolina and tallied Brown-headed Nuthatch, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Cedar Waxwing, American Goldfinch, White-throated and Chipping Sparrow, Orchard Oriole, and Pine and Yellow-rumped Warbler.
Wednesday, April 19, 2023
We got home around 5:30 AM. The trip spanned 2855 miles and produced 111 species. More photos can be found in
my Florida Photo Album.
Florida Trip ~ April 15-19, 2023
1) Canada Goose (FL)(GA)
2) Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (FL)
3) Mottled Duck (FL)
4) Egyptian Goose (FL)
5) Brown Pelican (FL)
6) Anhinga (FL)(GA)
7) Double-crested Cormorant (FL)(GA)
8) Least Bittern (FL)
9) Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (FL)
10) Black-crowned Night-Heron (FL)
11) Green Heron (FL)
12) Tricolored Heron (FL)
13) Little Blue Heron (FL)
14) Cattle Egret (FL)(GA)
15) Snowy Egret (FL)(GA)
16) Great Egret (FL)(GA)
17) Great Blue Heron (FL)(GA)
18) Wood Stork (FL)(GA)
19) Glossy Ibis (FL)
20) White Ibis (FL)(GA)
21) Roseate Spoonbill (FL)
22) Turkey Vulture (FL)(GA)(SC)(NC)
23) Black Vulture (FL)(GA)
24) Osprey (FL)
25) Swallow-tailed Kite (FL)
26) Snail Kite (FL)
27) Bald Eagle (FL)(GA)
28) Cooper's Hawk (FL)(GA)
29) Red-shouldered Hawk (FL)
30) Red-tailed Hawk (FL)
31) Limpkin (FL)
32) Sora (FL)
33) Purple Gallinule (FL)
34) Gray-headed (Purple) Swamphen (FL)
35) Common Gallinule (FL)
36) American Coot (FL)
37) Black-bellied Plover (FL)
38) Semipalmated Plover (FL)
39) Killdeer (GA)(SC)
40) Black-necked Stilt (FL)
41) Laughing Gull (FL)
42) Ring-billed Gull (FL)
43) Herring Gull (FL)
44) Lesser Black-backed Gull (FL)
45) Great Black-backed Gull (FL)
46) Royal Tern (FL)
47) Least Tern (FL)
48) Black Skimmer (FL)
49) Rock Pigeon (FL)(GA)
50) Mourning Dove (FL)(GA)(SC)(NC)
51) Eurasian Collared-Dove (FL)(GA)
52) White-winged Dove (FL)
53) Common Ground Dove (FL)
54)
Red-masked Parakeet (FL) ***
55) Orange-winged Parrot (FL)
56) Chestnut-fronted Macaw (FL)
57) Blue-and-yellow Macaw (FL)
58) Eastern Screech-Owl {red morph} (FL)
59) Chimney Swift (FL)
60) Belted Kingfisher (FL)
61) Red-bellied Woodpecker (FL)
62) Downy Woodpecker (SC)
63) Great Crested Flycatcher (SC)
64) Eastern Kingbird (FL)
65) Loggerhead Shrike (FL)(SC)
66) White-eyed Vireo (FL)
67) Yellow-throated Vireo (SC)
68) Blue Jay (FL)(SC)
69) American Crow (GA)(SC)(NC)
70) Fish Crow (FL)
71) Tree Swallow (FL)
72) Purple Martin (FL)
73) Northern Rough-winged Swallow (FL)
74) Barn Swallow (FL)(GA)(NC)
75) Cliff Swallow (GA)
76) Carolina Chickadee (SC)(NC)
77) Brown-headed Nuthatch (NC)
78) Carolina Wren (NC)
79) Marsh Wren (FL)
80) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (SC)(NC)
81) Eastern Bluebird (GA)(SC)
82) American Robin (NC)
83) Gray Catbird (FL)
84) Northern Mockingbird (FL)(GA)(NC)
85) Bahama Mockingbird (FL)
86) Cedar Waxwing (NC)
87) European Starling (FL)(GA)
88) Prothonotary Warbler (FL)
89) Northern Parula (FL)
90) Cape May Warbler (FL)
91) Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler (NC)
92) Black-and-white Warbler (FL)
93) Prairie Warbler (FL)
94) Pine Warbler (NC)
95) Palm Warbler {western form} (FL)
96) Ovenbird (FL)
97) Northern Waterthrush (FL)
98) Common Yellowthroat (FL)
99) Chipping Sparrow (NC)
100) White-throated Sparrow (NC)
101) Northern Cardinal (FL)(SC)(NC)
102) Indigo Bunting (FL)
103) Painted Bunting (FL)
104) Red-winged Blackbird (FL)(GA)
105) Common Grackle (FL)(GA)(NC)
106) Boat-tailed Grackle (FL)
107) Brown-headed Cowbird (FL)
108) Orchard Oriole (FL)(NC)
109) House Finch (FL)(NC)
110) American Goldfinch (FL)(NC)
111) House Sparrow (FL)
