Florida Birding Trip

Florida Birding Trip - 2007

This page contains information and photos from the third out-of-state birding trip for the "Wagtail Senior Birding Club". The trip took place March 17-27, 2007 Central and Southern Florida. Our itinerary:

March 17 - Fly from St. Louis into Tampa, and bird/drive from Tampa Airport to Busch Gardens, bird at Busch Gardens, take VIP tour of Serengeti Plains, bird/drive to Fort DeSoto, bird at Fort DeSoto - Stay overnight in Clearwater;

March 18 - Bird/drive to Honeymoon Island via Dunedin Parkway, bird at Honeymoon Island State Park, bird/drive Pasco County, bird at Moon Lake Park, Pasco County, stay overnight in Brooksville;

March 19 - Bird at Withlacoochee State Forest, Merritt Island NWR, Canaveral National Seashores - stay overnight in Cocoa;

March 20 - Bird at Viera Wetlands, Cocoa, Joe Overstreet Landing, Three Lakes WMA, and Kissimmee State Park - stay overnight in Sarasota;

March 21 - Bird at Myakka State Park and Ding Darling NWR - stay overnight in North Ft. Myers;

March 22 - Bird at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Green Cay Wetlands, and Wakodahatchee Wetlands - stay overnight in Homestead;

March 23 - Bird at Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park, John Pennekamp State Park, Long Key State Park, Bahia Honda State Park, and Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park - stay overnight in Key West;

March 24 - Bird on Freedom II Ferry on way to/from Ft. Jefferson - Dry Tortugas, bird at Dry Tortugas National Park, Fort Zachary Taylor - stay overnight in Homestead;

March 25 - Bird at Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park - stay overnight in Homestead;

March 26 - Bird at Kendall, Pinecrest, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida City and Homestead - stay in Homestead;

March 27 - Leave for flights back to St. Louis and Atlanta.

"Wagtail Senior Birders" at Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay, FL - from Left to Right:

Judy Weymouth, Terry Weymouth, Dave Pierce, "Eva" the Hippo, Dency Kahn, "Yours Truly".

Wagtail Senior Birders" at Larry Manfredi's backyard in Homestead, FL - from Left to Right:

"Yours Truly", Terry Weymouth, Judy Weymouth, Dave Pierce, Larry Manfredi (Guide)

Click Here to see favorite photos from this trip.

Birds seen (176 different Species over the 10 day period, including 31 North American life birds for me):

3/17/07	3/18/07 (cont.)	3/21/07
Tampa Airport to Busch Gardens	Pasco County - Ridge Road	Myakka State Park
Rock Pigeon	Sandhill Crane	Great Crested Flycatcher
Cattle Egret	American Crow	Solitary Sandpiper
Boat-tailed Grackle	Brooksville - Highways 50 & 19	Long-billed Dowitcher
Purple Gallinule	Short-tailed Hawk (white morph)	Ding Darling NWR
Black Vulture	Cedar Waxwing	White Pelican
Snowy Egret	3/19/07	Black-bellied Plover
Tri-colored Heron	Croon Tract - Withlacoochee State Forest	Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Northern Mockingbird	Red-cockaded Woodpecker	3/22/07
Busch Gardens - Africa	Carolina Chickadee	Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
Wood Stork	Pine Warbler	American Redstart
Laughing Gull	Blue Jay	Yellow-throated Warbler
Brown Pelican	Yellow-throated Vireo	Louisiana Waterthrush
Palm Warbler	Tufted Titmouse	Green Cay Wetlands
House Sparrow	Bachman's Sparrow	Wood Duck
White Ibis	Plieated Woodpecker	Wakodahatchee Wetlands
Eurasian Collared Dove	Silver Lake - Withlacoochee State Forest	Black-bellied Whistling Duck
Monk Parakeet	Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher	3/23/07
Mottled Duck	Limpkin	Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park
Fish Crow	Greater Yellowlegs	White-crowned Pigeon
Glossy Ibis	Red-shouldered Hawk	Long Key State Park
Black-crowned Night Heron	Swallowtail Kite	Magnificent Frigatebird
Great Egret	Field- 4 miles from Highway 50	Northern Harrier
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	Burrowing Owl	Zenaida Dove
Green Heron	Tree Swallow	Bahia Honda State Park
Common Moorhen	Red-tailed Hawk
Yellow-rumped Warbler	Brown-headed Cowbird	Ft. Zachary Taylor State Park
Turkey Vulture	Merritt Island NWR	Prairie Warbler
House Finch	Ruddy Turnstone	White-winged Dove
Causeway & Drive to Fort DeSoto	Dunlin	Common Yellowthroat
Double-crested Cormorant	American Coot	Swainson's Warbler
Osprey	Northern Flicker	Key West Streets
Anhinga	Merritt Island - Scrub Trail	Red Junglefowl
Little Blue Heron	Florida Scrub Jay	3/24/07
European Starling	American Avocet	Freedom II Ferry - on way to Dry Tortugas
Mourning Dove	Merritt Island - Driving Trail	Northern Gannet
Loggerhead Shrike	Lesser Yellowlegs	Black-capped Petrel
Fort DeSoto Park	Baird's Sandpiper	Sooty Tern
Barn Swallow	Least Sandpiper	Brown Noddy
Ring-billed Gull	American Golden Plover	Dry Tortugas NP - Fort Jefferson
Hermit Thrush	Semipalmated Plover	Gray Kingbird
Eastern Phoebe	Pectoral Sandpiper	Song Sparrow
Ruby-throated Hummingbird	Common Tern	Dry Tortugas NP - Hospital Key
Gray Catbird	Blue-winged Teal	Masked Booby
Northern Cardinal	Pied-billed Grebe	3/25/07
Northern Parula	Ring-necked Duck	Big Cypress National Preserve - Cypress Bend Boardwalk
American Kestrel	Green-winged Teal	Barred Owl (heard)
Common Ground Dove	Black-necked Stilt	Ovenbird
Great Blue Heron	Bald Eagle	Northern Waterthrush
Hooded Merganser	Canaveral National Seashores	Big Cypress Loop Trail
Willet	Sanderling	Hairy Woodpecker
Royal Tern	Greater Shearwater	3/26/07
Black Skimmer		Kendall, Florida
Red-winged Blackbird	3/20/07	Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
Tennessee Warbler	Viera Wetlands	White-winged Parakeet
Black & White Warbler	Savannah Sparrow	Muscovy Duck
Magnolia Warbler	Purple Martin	Red-Mitred Parakeet
Killdeer	Belted Kingfisher	Red-whiskered Bulbul
Common Grackle	Wilson's Snipe	Spot-breasted Oriole
3/18/07	Northern Rough-winged Swallow	Pinecrest, Florida
Dunedin Parkway	Sora	Brown Thrasher
Black-hooded Parakeet	Caspian Tern	Hill Myna
Cooper's Hawk	Crested Caracara	Ft. Lauderdale, Florida - Old Griffin Road
Herring Gull	Swamp Sparrow	Smooth-billed Ani
Honeymoon Island	Cocoa - Indian River Subdivision	Pembroke Pines Subdivision
Downy Woodpecker	Common Loon	Least Bittern
Red-bellied Woodpecker	Lesser Black-backed Gull	Purple Swamphen
Carolina Wren	Spotted Sandpiper	Florida City, Florida
White-eyed Vireo	Joe Overstreet Landing	Common Myna
Forester's Tern	Snail Kite	Homestead, Florida
American Oystercatcher	Three Lakes WMA to CR523	Brewer's Blackbird
Lesser Scaup	Wild Turkey	Shiny Cowbird
Reddish Egret	Kissimmee State Park	Bronzed Cowbird
House Wren	American Robin
Great Horned Owl	Eastern Towhee
Painted Bunting
Pasco County
Eastern Bluebird
Moon Lake Park
White Wagtail

Favorite Bird Photos From this Trip (place pointer over Thumbnail for caption - click on any photo thumbnail to view full size):