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Posted by Dan Irizarry on 11:51:53 05/03/10
Hey Everyone,
22 birders set out from Fort Myers Beach for a weekend of birding at Dry Tortugas National Park. For many (including myself), this was their first visit to an amazing birding location. 72 species were seen, and I had 9 lifers!
Just before we left, we were greeted by a Bald Eagle across from the boat. Signs of a great trip to come!
Here's the final list of birds seen by our group while in Dry Tortugas National Park:
Masked Booby (lifer)
Brown Booby
Northern Gannet
Brown Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Magnificent Frigatebird
Great Egret (1 on Loggerhead Key)
Cattle Egret (several on Garden Key)
Green Heron
Osprey
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Black-bellied Plover
Whimbrel (1 on pilings near campground)
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull (1 first-year bird)
Royal Tern
Sandwich Tern
Roseate Tern (lifer)
Brown Noddy (lifer)
Eurasian Collared Dove
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo (trash bird of the park - over 26 birds seen in ONE tree plus many more scattered throughout Garden Key)
Common Nighthawk
Antillean Nighthawk (lifer. 1 on Garden Key. We had great looks at both Common and Antillean)
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (1 on Garden Key)
Eastern Wood-Pewee (1)
Eastern Kingbird
Gray Kingbird
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Bank Swallow (surprisingly, a lifer)
Veery
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
Gray Catbird
White-eyed Vireo
Warbling Vireo (lifer)
Philadelphia Vireo (lifer)
Red-eyed Vireo
Black-whiskered Vireo (lifer)
Tennessee Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Palm Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Worm-eating Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Scarlet Tanager (1 female on Garden Key)
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak (a lifer! I've had such a hard time finding these!)
Indigo Bunting
Painted Bunting (1 female)
Bobolink (1 male)
Orchard Oriole (immature male and a female)
Baltimore Oriole (1 male)
After our return on Sunday, a group headed to Cape Coral, where we got great views of Burrowing Owls.
9 lifers, 16 Warblers, and a 5-Vireo day in Florida!
To quote the great Paul Bithorn...
LIFE IS GOOD.....
Dan Irizarry
Bradenton, FL
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