Posted by Myra Berk on April 09, 2002 at 11:39:44:
For those of you getting ready to go on the TAS Dry Tortugas trip, here’s a preview. We visited Fort Jefferson for the day on Friday, 4/5. Also on the trip was Stuart Pimm, Professor of Conservation Biology at the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation at Columbia University in New York. He was there leading a class and since my husband and I are beginning birders, we got to learn a lot by eavesdropping a little.
In the courtyard in the center of the fort, there were several species of migrating birds. We saw the following:
Hooded Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Eastern Kingbird
Gray Kingbird
Orchard Oriole
Wood Thursh
Palm Warbler
Kestral
Ruddy Turnstones were in the picnic area.
In the nesting area on Bush Key, there were Sooty Terns in abundance, as well as Brown Noddy, Royal Terns, Brown Pelicans, and several Magnificent Frigatebirds were flying overhead. Also seen were many Barn Swallows and a flock of Cattle Egret.
On the way to the Dry Torugas, brown booby were spotted flying along side the boat.
During the car ride down to the Keys, we spotted Common Myna and Red bellied Woodpecker at the Florida Keys Outlet Mall. American Redstart and Cardinal at the Botanical Site in Key Largo. Greater Yellow Legs, Tricolored Heron and Ibis on Big Pine Key off of US1. A Reddish Egret, Red Bellied Woodpeckers, Black Necked Stilts on Sugarloaf Key; and white-crowned pigeon at Plantation Key.
Good birding. Hope you have a good time...we did.