Pelagic Birding in Molly and Larry's Big Year Pelagic Birding

Bird Vanning across the United States Part 2

Fulvous whistling duck Alabama

 The South including Birding in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina

After leaving Texas we birded the panhandle of Mississippi, Alabama and Northern Florida.  

Throughout these states we enjoyed consistent Southern hospitality.  Being called sir and ma'am felt pretty darn good, even when you mess up.   One morning we were in a hotel.  A group of boys came down to breakfast.  As I was serving my free breakfast one of the boys said, " Excuse me, sir but you should not use the same spoon for eggs and bacon."  I told him he was right.

Molly and I were impressed with the campgrounds down south including Blackwater river state park in the Florida panhandle and Dauphin Island state park in Alabama. In the evening you can grab excellent inexpensive Shrimp dishes along the Panhandle.  

Blackwater River State Park (One of several excellent panhandle campgrounds)

Logtown, Missisissppi is a ghost town  near the Louisiana border.  It was woodsy bottomlands lightly birded put we found some darn fine birds.  We found our first of two yellow tinged warblers:  Yellow-throated and Prothonotary.

Yellow-throated Warbler

Armadillo

Prothonotary Warbler

Logtown also netted us our first Fish Crow and Tufted Titmouse of the year.

After Logtown, we birded in Mississippi for a couple of days and then headed to Dauphin Island, Alabama.  At Dauphine we found some interesting ducks congregating by a household feeder.  Which one of the ducks below is not the same species as the others?  Check out the tan bill of the Tropical fulvous whistling duck mixed in with the usual Black-bellied Whistling Ducks.

We left Alabama and entered Florida.  The laid back Florida Panhandle felt similar to the areas we just pass through and very different from the fast-paced Miami area from earlier Florida trips.

 Our first Piggly Wiggly May 2.

During the next couple of days on the North Coast of Florida we added several local specialities including Chuck Will's widow, Red cockaded woodpecker and Brown headed nuthatch.  In fact in most of our campgrounds starting with South Llano State park though Cape Hatteras Frisco campground in North Carolina, included a serenading Chuck Will's widow.

May 3 in Florida was a big day in a Big year.  

5:30 Am.  Our first list started at our campsite at Blackwater River State park at 5:30 am where in addition snapping this photo of the grosbeak we snagged our first Red cockaded woodpecker of the year.

1:45 pm. Next we birded Okeheepkee Praire Park Florida.  Molly and I walked around the park pond and  three Mississippi kites emerged out of the sun to the west.  I believe the kites were my last breeding North American raptors to identify.

At 4:27 pm we started our search for the the elusive Swainson's warbler.  The shy warbler, a brownish heavy body warbler of the understory of southern swamps, was the last local bird I need for not only this year but my whole  darn life.  We headed deep into the swamp of the Ebird hotspot Aucilla WMA--Western Woods.   These are the  same swampy woods that Seminole Indians fled into to avoid forced displacement from Florida one hundred and fifty years ago. 

The swampy muggy area was unlike anywhere else we had ever birded.  Hardwood forrest, limestone feature with sinkholes made the driving a little treacherous (we lost part of the van).  But during a walk I peered into a bog and saw my first and only Swainson's warbler flashed through the understory.  I really did.  But no photo.  I would love a photo.  I just asked Molly want she remembered from that day and she said,  "It was intense, lots of mosquitos, we lost part of the van and fun."

We left the Piggly Wiggly and the Florida Panhandle and drove all the way to Key West.  We pulled into a crowded campsite on the 4th excited for the next day.

May 5: Dry Tortuga's National Park.  Awesome!!!

This might have been my favorite day of the birding year up till now. From Key West, the most southern city of the continental USA, hop on the Yankee Freedom, including breakfast and lunch, to the island of Garden Key in the Dry Tortugas National Park.  But buy your tickets early and factor in a place to stay in Key West.

As you approach the island the boat slows down and the  birding starts:  On our starboard side we viewed Hospital Key and its colony of Masked Booby. 

 This is the only breeding colony of Masked boobies in the 48 contiguous states.Then we looked up and started counting the frigate birds.

About 50 Magnificent frigate birds graced the sky.

Sooty terns with the cutest chicks.

Black throated blue warbler always has a little white pocket. 

Bridled tern was my favorite bird of the day, a life bird and was one of four species of terns on the island, including Royal tern, Sooty, and Roseate.

You are always wandering into surprise critters at the Dry Tortugas.

After the Dry Tortugas we headed back to Key West to get the obligatory Antillean nightjar and White crowned pigeon.  Key west is the only place I know of in the US to spot these rarities. 

White crowned pigeon Key West

We stayed at an RV park in Key West.  The hardest part of visiting Key West is finding accommodations that don't break the bank.  

Harns Marsh

On the 7th we hit my favorite Florida non-Dry Tortugas spot for birding.  Harns Marsh is home to Snail Kites and almost all the waders you will see in Florida, including the invasive Gray-headed swamp hen which looks like a Purple Gallinule on steroids.  I still love it even though a couple of years ago it was the site where I had to fend off on-leash dog with the legs of my spotting scope .  Don't know if the dog had anything to do with multiple dead Black Vultures that littered the ground around me that year.  But dog or no dogs the birds are the stars.

Anhinga

First a few of the waders:

White ibis

Sandhill Cranes

Reddish egret

But the real star of Hans Marsh of this and every year are the Snail Kites.

Yumm apple snails taste good.

                                                  Come to Florida

                                                                       

Molly and I then headed back north always looking for year birds.  We found a couple good ones.

On May 8th we accomplished a Florida have-to the Florida scrub jay and later in the day viewed and took a photo 

Florida Scrub Jay. Oscar Scherer State Park

Whooping crane Paynes Prairie (as close as could get)

The Whooping crane was our last Floridian bird.  We left a few behind and during a big year they stick to you like Mangrove cuckoo, Streaked-backed oriole, and Bachmann's sparrow.

Georgia

We overnighted in the Georgian at Savage State Park (best campground name of the trip).  In the morning there were the usual excellent birds including our first Blackpoll Warbler and Eastern Wood Pewee.

North Carolina

Molly and I rolled into North Carolina on May 10th for our first ever East Coast Pelagic trip.  While we did not score a lot of new bird species we did add Murphy's Petrel, Black Petrel, Northern Gannet, Great Black-backed gull (very common on the East coast later), and Red-necked Phalaropes for the year. (I talked more about pelagic birding in our summertime post)

Murphy's Petrel Hatteras Pelagic.

The next day we did equally well finally seeing and hearing our first Seaside Sparrows at Pea Island NWR We finished our quick swing through North Carolina with an awesome visit to Kitty Hawk North Carolina the home of the first human flight and a salute to the Wright Brother's who were definitely influenced by birds.

Now it was time to turn Northwest head up to Ohio, bird the heartland and then head home to prepare for Alaska.  Read all about it in the finale blog of Bird Vanning Across the Country

Ken Kaufman on warblers:  Recommended reading:

https://www.audubon.org/news/ask-kenn-what-exactly-warbler