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Florida Keys

12 - 19 December 2011

Observers: F. Simpson

Introduction

Following some field work in the Keys in 2010, I returned for a another week in mid-December 2011. Several mornings before breakfast I walked to the brackish lagoon on East Shore Drive then on to the small freshwater pool on Katherine Street. What follows is a list of casual observations and a birder with more time could discover more wintering species on Summerland Key.

 Highlights

Brown Pelican · Magnificent Frigatebird · Great White Heron · Reddish Egret · Tricolored Heron · Little Blue Heron

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron · White Ibis · Roseate Spoonbill · Wood Stork · Bald Eagle · Royal Tern · Blue-gray Gnatcatcher · Gray Catbird · Florida Prairie Warber · Palm Warbler · Bay-breasted Warbler · Yellow-throated Warbler Ovenbird · Northern Waterthrush.

Literature, references & site guides used

•     Trip reports were obtained from Travellingbirder.com (the Internet portal to birding travel and birdwatching trip

•     reports)

•     Pranty, B. 2005. A Birder's Guide to Florida. American Birding Association, Inc.

•     Sibley, D. 2000. The North American Bird Guide. Pica Press.

•     Sunquist F & M, Beletsky, L. 2008. Travellers' Wildlife Guides: Florida. Chastleton Travel.

Species List - Florida Keys  12-19 December 2011

Pied-billed Grebe  Podilymbus podiceps

3, East Shore Drive lagoon, Summerland Key, 16/12.

1, Katherine Street freshwater pond, Summerland Key, 16-19/12.

1, East Shore Drive lagoon, Summerland Key, 17/12.

5, East Shore Drive lagoon, Summerland Key, 18/12.

Brown Pelican  Pelecanus occidentalis

1, Niles Channel, 13/12

5, Summerland Key, 13/12

7, Cudjoe Key, 13/12.

1, resting on bridge connecting Summerland Key and Cudjoe Key, 13/12.

2, Mote Marine Lab, Summerland Key, 14/12.

1, Mote Marine Lab, Summerland Key, 15/12.

6, Cudjoe Bay, 15/12.

1, over US-1, Summerland Key, 16/12.

3, East Shore Drive lagoon, Summerland Key, 16/12.

3, on bridge Cudjoe Key, 16/12.

1, East Shore Drive lagoon, Summerland Key, 17/12.

2, East Shore Drive lagoon, Summerland Key, 18/12.

6, Cudjoe Bay, 18/12.

1, East Shore Drive lagoon, Summerland Key, 19/12.

37, Summerland Key-Key Largo (bus trip), 19/12.

Magnificent Frigatebird  Fregata magnificens

1, over Sugarloaf Key, 15/12.

1, over Katherine Street freshwater pond, Summerland Key, 19/12.

6, Summerland Key-Key Largo (bus trip), 19/12.

Double-crested Cormorant  Phalacrocorax auritus

Common.

1-2, Mote Marine Lab, Summerland Key, daily.

23, Niles Channels, 13/12.

18, on a pier in Cudjoe Bay, 15/12.

3, over East Shore Drive lagoon, Summerland Key, 16/12.

335, Summerland Key-Key Largo (bus trip), 19/12.

Anhinga  Anhinga anhinga

1, Katherine Street pond, Summerland Key, 18/12.

1, over Cudjoe Bay, 18/12.

Great Blue Heron  Ardea herodias (dark morph)

2, Sugarloaf Key, 15/12.

1, Upper Sugarloaf Key, 16/12.

1, East Shore Drive lagoon, 16/12

1, Katherine Street freshwater pond, 16/12.

1, East Shore Drive lagoon, Summerland Key, 17/12.

1, over US-1, Summerland Key, 17/12.

1, East Shore Drive lagoon, 18/12.

Great White Heron  Ardea herodias (white morph)

1, Little Torch Key, 13/12.

2, Sugarloaf Key, 14/12.

4, Sugarloaf Key, 15/12.

1, landed in a boat at night c21:00, Mote Marine Lab, Summerland Key, 15/12; later calling at 23:04.

1, North Harris Channel, 16/12.

1, East Shore Drive lagoon, 17/12.

1, East Shore Drive lagoon, 18/12.

Great Egret  Ardea alba

1, East Shore Drive lagoon, Summerland Key, 16/12.

1, East Shore Drive lagoon, Summerland Key, 17/12.

4, over East Shore Drive lagoon, 18/12.

2, over Cudjoe Bay, 18/12.

1, Mote Marine Lab, Summerland Key, 19/12.

6, Summerland Key-Key Largo (bus trip), 19/12.

2, Key Largo-Miami (bus trip), 19/12.

Snowy Egret  Egretta thula

18, East Shore Drive lagoon, Summerland Key, 17/12.

16, East Shore Drive lagoon, Summerland Key, 18/12.

2, 17, East Shore Drive lagoon, Summerland Key, 19/12.

27, Summerland Key-Key Largo (bus trip), 19/12.

3, Key Largo-Miami (bus trip), 19/12.

Reddish Egret  Egretta rufecens (dark morph)

1, Sugarloaf Key, 15/12.

1, East Shore Drive lagoon, 18/12.

Tricolored Heron  Egretta tricolor

1, Sugarloaf Key, 14/12.

1, Sugarloaf Key, 15/12.

7, East Shore Drive lagoon, 17/12.

11, East Shore Drive lagoon, 18/12.

Little Blue Heron  Egretta caerulea

1, Sugarloaf Key, 15/12.

1, Upper Sugarloaf Key, 16/12.

1, East Shore Drive lagoon, 18/12.

2, Summerland Key-Key Largo (bus trip), 19/12.

Cattle Egret  Bubulcus ibis

1, Key Largo-Miami (bus trip), 19/12.

12, Key Largo-Miami (bus trip), 19/12.

Green Heron  Butorides virescens

1, Sugarloaf Key, 14/12.

1, Sugarloaf Key, 15/12.

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron  Nyctanassa violacea

1, Cudjoe Key, 13/12.

1, Sugarloaf Key, 15/12.

1, East Shore Drive lagoon, Summerland Key, 19/12.

White Ibis  Eudocimus albus

2, Mote Marine Lab car park/US-1 verge, Summerland Key, daily.

1, Cudjoe Key, 13/12.

2, Sugarloaf Key, 15/12.

5, over West Shore Drive, Summerland Key, 16/12.

2, Upper Sugarloaf Key, 16/12.

7, East Shore Drive lagoon, 17/12.

1, Katherine Street freshwater pond, 17/12.

8, Mote Marine Lab quayside, Summerland Key, 17/12.

5, East Shore Drive lagoon, Summerland Key, 18/12.

4, over Mote Marine Lab, Summerland Key, 18/12.

5, Katherine Street freshwater pond, Summerland Key, 18/12.

6, Katherine Street freshwater pond, Summerland Key, 19/12.

17, East Shore Drive lagoon, Summerland Key, 19/12.

13, Summerland Key-Key Largo (bus trip), 19/12.

Glossy Ibis  Plegadis falcinellus

2, South Dixie Highway (Key Largo-Miami bus trip), 19/12.

Roseate Spoonbill  Ajaia ajaja

4, South Dixie Highway (Key Largo-Miami bus trip), 19/12.

Wood Stork  Mycteria americana

14, South Dixie Highway (Key Largo-Miami bus trip), 19/12.

Wood Duck  Aix sponsa

pr, Katherine Street freshwater pond, Summerland Key, 16-19/12.

Blue-winged Teal  Anas discors

14, Katherine Street freshwater pond, Summerland Key, 16-17/12.

3, Katherine Street freshwater pond, Summerland Key, 18/12.

20, Katherine Street freshwater pond, Summerland Key, 19/12.

Red-breasted Merganser  Mergus serrator

1, flew over Cudjoe Bay, 15/12.

1, East Shore Drive lagoon, 18/12.

American Coot  Fulica americana

3, Katherine Street freshwater pond, Summerland Key, 16-19/12.

Turkey Vulture  Cathartes aura

Singles or pairs noted over most keys.

4, Sugarloaf Key, 14/12.

4, Sugarloaf Key, 15/12.

1, perched Katherine Street freshwater pond, Summerland Key, 16/12.

7, Upper Sugarloaf Key, 16/12.

6, Cudjoe Bay, 18/12.

59, Summerland Key-Key Largo (bus trip), 19/12.

80, over Long Key, 19/12.

7, Key Largo-Miami (bus trip), 19/12.

Black Vulture  Coragyps atratus

1, Key Largo-Miami (bus trip), 19/12.

Cooper's Hawk  Accipiter cooperii

1, Summerland Key, 13/12.

Broad-winged Hawk  Buteo platypterus

1, 40th Street, Summerland Key, 18/12.

Short-tailed Hawk  Buteo brachyurus

1, Upper Sugarloaf Key, 17/12.

Red-tailed Hawk  Buteo jamaicensis

1, Key Largo-Miami (bus trip), 19/12.

Bald Eagle  Haliaeetus leucocephalus

1st-cy, over Mote Marine Lab, Summerland Key, 18/12.

Osprey  Pandion haliaetus

1, over Mote Marine Lab, Summerland Key, 13/12.

1, Niles Channel, 13/12.

1, Big Pine Key, 13/12.

Pr at nest, Sugarloaf Key, 15/12.

Pr at nest, East Shore Drive, Summerland Key, 16-19/12.

1, over nest, Upper Sugarloaf Key, 16/12.

1, over Mote Marine Lab, Summerland Key, 18/12.

1, Cudjoe Bay, 18/12.

9, Summerland Key-Key Largo (bus trip), 19/12.

1, 2.5 miles south of Miami Airport, 19/12.

American Kestrel  Falco sparverius

1, Mote Marine Lab, Summerland Key, daily.

1, East Shore Drive, Summerland Key, 16/12.

3, US-1, Summerland Key, 17/12.

1, East Shore Drive, Summerland Key, 17/12.

1, East Shore Drive, Summerland Key, 18/12.

1, East Shore Drive, Summerland Key, 19/12.

11, Summerland Key-Key Largo (bus trip), 19/12.

4, Key Largo-Miami (bus trip), 19/12.

Peregrine Falcon  Falco peregrinus

1, East Shore Drive, Summerland Key, 19/12.

American Coot  Fulica americana

3, Katherine Street freshwater pond, 16-19/12.

2, Key Largo-Miami (bus trip), 19/12.

Greater Yellowlegs  Tringa melanoleuca

8, East Shore Drive lagoon, Summerland Key, 17/12.

Ruddy Turnstone  Arenaria interpres

2, Cudjoe Bay, 15/12.

Laughing Gull  Larus atricilla

Regular past Mote Marine Lab, Summrland Key, daily.

1, North Pine Channel, 13/12.

10+, Cudjoe Bay, 15/12.

6, over US-1, Summerland Key, 16/12.

266, Summerland Key-Key Largo (bus trip), 19/12.

4, Key Largo-Miami (bus trip), 19/12.

Ring-billed Gull  Larus delawarensis

2, over US-1, Summerland Key, 16/12.

3, East Shore Drive lagoon, Summerland Key, 16/12.

2, Mote Marine Lab, Summerland Key, 16/12.

1, over US-1, Summerland Key, 17/12.

1, East Shore Drive lagoon, Summerland Key, 17/12.

2, Mote Marine Lab, Summerland Key, 19/12.

2, Key Largo-Miami (bus trip), 19/12.

American Herring Gull  Larus smithsonianus

1 E, Mote Marine Lab, Summerland Key, 13/12.

1, Upper Sugarloaf Key, 16/12.

5, Summerland Key-Key Largo (bus trip), 19/12.

2, Key Largo-Miami (bus trip), 19/12.

Lesser Black-backed Gull  Larus fuscus

1 E, Mote Marine Lab, Summerland Key, 19/12.

Royal Tern  Sterna maxima

5, Summerland Key, 13/12

6, Sugarloaf Key, 15/12.

18, on pier in Cudjoe Bay, 15/12.

2, Summerland Key, 15/12.

Mourning Dove  Zenaida macroura

50 W in two flocks, Summerland Key, 13/12

7, Mote Marine Lab, Summerland Key, 15/12.

2, East Shore Drive, Summerland Key, 16/12.

2, US-1, Summerland Key, 17/12.

2, Mote Marine Lab, Summerland Key, 18/12.

3, US-1, Summerland Key, 19/12.

27, Summerland Key-Key Largo (bus trip), 19/12.

White-winged Dove  Zenaida asiatica

2, US-1, Summerland Key, daily.

2, Katherine Street freshwater pond, 18/12.

Eurasian Collared Dove  Streptopelia decaocto

Common.

7, US-1, Summerland Key, 16/12.

17, US-1, Summerland Key, 17/12.

32, US-1, Summerland Key, 19/12.

Feral Pigeon  Columba livia

Small numbers noted in urban areas on most keys.

48, Summerland Key, 13/12.

100+, Summerland Key, 18/12.

White-crowned Pigeon  Columba leucocephala

1 E, Summerland Key, 13/12

Belted Kingfisher  Ceryle alcyon

2, seen while kayacking along mangroves of Summerland Key to Cudjoe Key, 13/12.

1, Mote Marine Lab, Summerland Key, 13/12.

7, Sugarloaf Key-Cudjoe Bay, 15/12.

1, North Harris Channel, 16/12.

3, Upper Sugarloaf Key, 16/12.

2, Keys Marine Lab, Summerland Key, 16/12.

1, East Shore Drive lagoon, Summerland Key, 17/12.

2, Cudjoe Bay, 18/12.

2, Summerland Key-Key Largo (bus trip), 19/12.

1, South Dixie Highway (Key Largo-Miami bus trip), 19/12.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  Sphyrapicus varius

1, Mote Marine Lab, Summerland Key, 19/12.

Red-bellied Woodpecker  Melanerpes carolinus

1, Mote Marine Lab, Summerland Key, 13/12.

1, East Shore Drive, Summerland Key, 16/12.

1, US-1, Summerland Key, 17/12.

2, US-1, Summerland Key, 18/12.

2, East Shore Drive, Summerland Key, 18/12.

2, Katherine Street, Summerland Key, 18/12.

1, Katherine Street freshwater pond, Summerland Key, 19/12.

Great Crested Flycatcher  Myiarchus crinitus

1, Katherine Street, Summerland Key, 18/12.

Loggerhead Shrike  Lanius ludovicanianus

1, Miami Airport (runway), 12/12.

Northern Mockingbird  Mimus polyglottos

1, Mote Marine Lab, Summerland Key, 14/12.

2, US-1, Summerland Key, 16/12.

1, East Shore Drive, Summerland Key, 16/12.

1, US-1, Summerland Key, 17/12.

1, East Shore Drive, Summerland Key, 17/12.

1, East Shore Drive, Summerland Key, 18/12.

1, Summerland Key-Key Largo (bus trip), 19/12.

European Starling  Sturnus vulgaris

1, US-1, Summerland Key, 16/12.

2, US-1, Summerland Key, 17/12.

19, US-1, Summerland Key, 18/12.

7, Summerland Key-Key Largo (bus trip), 19/12.

485, Key Largo-Miami (bus trip), 19/12.

Common Myna  Acridotheres tristis

1, Mobil garage, US-1, Summerland Key, 16/12.

1, Mobil garage, US-1, Summerland Key, 17/12.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  Polioptila caerulea

2-3, Katherine Street freshwater pond, Summerland Key, 16-18/12.

1, 45th Street, Summerland Key, 18/12.

Gray Catbird  Dumettela carolinensis

2, Katherine Street freshwater pond, Summerland Key, 16/12.

2, East Shore Drive, Summerland Key, 17/12.

1, Katherine Street, Summerland Key, 18/12.

Myrtle Warbler  Dendroica coronata

1, Summerland Key, 13/12.

Florida Prairie Warbler  Dendroica discolor paludicola

1, calling on Sugarloaf Key, 15/12.

1, Upper Sugarloaf Key, 16/12.

Palm Warbler  Dendroica palmarum

1, Mote Marine Lab, Summerland Key, 14/12.

2, Mote Marine Lab, Summerland Key, 15/12.

2, East Shore Drive, Summerland Key, 16/12.

1, US-1, Summerland Key, 17/12.

1, East Shore Drive, Summerland Key, 18/12.

2, Katherine Street freshwater pond, 18/12.

Bay-breasted Warbler  Dendroica castanea

1, Katherine Street, Summerland Key, 18/12.

2, 45th Street, Summerland Key, 18/12.

Yellow-throated Warbler  Dendroica dominica

1, Katherine Street, Summerland Key, 18/12.

Ovenbird  Seiurus aurocapillus

1, 40th Street, Summerland Key, 18/12.

Northern Waterthrush  Seiurus noveboracensis

2, Upper Sugarloaf Key, 17/12.

Northern Cardinal  Cardinalis cardinalis

1, East Shore Drive, Summerland Key, 16/12.

Pr, East Shore Drive, Summerland Key, 18/12.

Red-winged Blackbird  Agelaius phoeniceus

10+, US-1, Summerland Key, 16/12.

8, East Shore Drive lagoon, Summerland Key, 16/12.

2, Mote Marine Lab, Summerland Key, 16/12.

35, US-1, Summerland Key, 17/12.

12, East Shore Drive, Summerland Key, 17/12.

60, US-1, Summerland Key, 19/12.

12, Key Largo-Miami (bus trip), 19/12.

Common Grackle  Quiscalus quiscula

20+, Miami Airport, 12/12.

Boat-tailed Grackle  Quiscalus major

50+, Miami Airport, 12/12.

All photographs © 2011  F. S. Simpson

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