Day 1 / April 25 – Key West
Heading down the keys Debbie and I came across a sub adult Greater Flamingo in a shallow pond between Boca Chica and Key West. With no reports of flamingo this winter from Florida Bay, this bird was not only a great find but also provided wonderfully close looks for those that came to see it. With everyone in the group arriving in Key West from different directions and by various means, we all meet on Stock Island at 7pm and headed straight to see the flamingo – new for everyone in the group.
Greater Flamingo
© A&J Binns
© A&J Binns
Returning back to Stock Island before dusk we eagerly awaited the arrival of Antillean Nighthawks, but alas on this evening they would not show. It was then onto the dock to board the ‘Tiburon’ (Spanish for shark) and meet the crew, Tim, Jackie and Richard.
At 03:50 the bell rung, the engines started and we began our journey on the Tiburon to the Dry Tortugas. Though most of us were awoken by the noise, it wasn’t long before we were back to sleep as the seas were extremely calm. By 0715 all of us had finished our breakfast and headed for the upper deck where under a gentle rocking and rolling we watched the endless blue ocean for anything that would tweak our curiosity. As time passed the birds were few and far between, beginning with a distant Brown Booby followed shortly after by one that was close enough to identify. In one 20 minute period we encountered a small flock of Bridled Terns feeding along a very sparse and scattered weed line and Tom spotted our first Audubon’s Shearwater a short distance from the bow seconds before it took off. We all got to see both birds very well. A second flurry of activity produced about the same numbers of birds and species very shortly after and this was then followed by wonderful looks at a Pomarine Jaeger coming straight towards to the boat and flying right past where we could clearly see the spoons at the end of the tail. From here in, which was about the next 3 and ½ hours things were very slow. Only one frigatebird along the way! A 7 foot Hammerhead Shark was very exciting as were the 2 Atlantic Bottled Nosed Dolphins that swam in front of the bow. Loggerhead Turtle was also seen.
After lunch we resumed our watch as we approached the 7 islands that make up the National Park. East Key, Middle Key and Hospital Key, all narrow elongated sand islands, were in succession. One of the few markers that survived the onslaught of hurricanes in the fall of 2005 produced 3 Brown Boobies, including one adult. This was also the time that we first got our introduction to the seabirds that nest on the islands. Oodles of Brown Noddies and Sooty Terns made frequent forays back and forth to Bush Key while Magnificent Frigatebirds effortless graced the skies between Garden and Long Key, where they nest.
Sooty Terns and Brown Noddies
© A&J Binns
© A&J Binns
We certainly could have welcomed any breeze on this hot day as we looked around Garden Key to see what was about. Shade was at a premium as a great many of the Butttonwood trees had been striped of the upper canopy of vegetation thanks to those ladies, Wilma and Katrina. Needless to say, we could not blame the slow birding on the women, but on the fact that for the past 10 days the winds been out of the south or south east, hence most the birds had left and with favorable wind conditions few were enticed to ‘drop in’. Having said that, we would encounter a few Palm Warblers and American Redstarts along with one or two Black-and-whites, Black-throated Blues, Cape Mays, Magnolias and individual Prairie and Ovenbird. A Gray Catbird and Gray-cheeked Thrush sulked in the new heavy growth along the lower half of Buttonwood trunks while a Yellow-billed Cuckoo or two flew from one tree to another and 2 Gray Kingbirds ran sorties from lower elevation branches. Swallows were well represented with a single Cliff and Tree and a couple of Barns and Rough-winged and a couple of minor surprised included two rail species! Yes, a Sora and a juvenile Purple Gallinule that decided to stake claim to the water fountain by walking along the fountain lip doing his (or was it a she) best imitation of the Eastern Bloc goosestep. In the campground we, along with another group and some day birders, spent some time studying an empid which was giving us all fits. Now there’s a shock! Alder, Willow, Least, Crescent-eyed Pewee, the list went on and on….and though it certainly showed characteristics of all it was likely a Least Flycatcher, a very good bird for the islands.
While the women opted to cool off by going for a refreshing swim off the back of the boat, the men scanned a heavily denuded Bush Key, though surprising still in full use, from the top of the fort. We came across a preening Black Noddy near the top of the dead bush line, which allowed for a great comparison with its close neighbor and relative the Brown Noddy, which nest in the low shrubs. However the was a short lived disappointment when it took off only to return within 5 minutes. Unfortunately by the time the ladies had made back to Garden Key by zodiac and reached the top of the fort, it took off again and never returned.
We landed on Garden Key at first light and were greeted by a juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, and were soon treated to a gorgeous deep orange sun rising above the water and through the dark sky, as a backdrop to the noisy and swirling terns and noddies around Bush Key. It looked as though some of yesterdays birds had taken off during the night and some had arrived. Most noticeable were the additional Cliff Swallows and one Cave that unfortunately could not be relocated. A nice find was a Lincoln’s Sparrow that was very cooperative feeding in the open grass between Sea Grapes. A Peregrine came sweeping through the fort which put some of the Yellow-billed Cuckoos on edge. A Veery and Gray-cheeked Thrush, along with a number of Gray Catbirds were seen well, and some in the group got sporadic looks at a Swainson’s Thrush.
After a couple of hours around Fort Jefferson we boarded the Tiburon for the short ride over to Loggerhead Key. By the time we reached the island a weak, basically unnoticeable front had come through and the winds had shifted from the south to the north west. After Richard dropped us off at the north western end of Loggerhead and we had our fill of checking out the various ingenious Cuban rafts that had made it to US soils over the passed 3 months, we began to work our way through the sea oats quickly locating a very cooperative Short-eared Owl, the golden Caribbean race known as the ‘Arawak Owl’, after the indigenous Indians of that region. The island was really devoid of birds on this morning with the exception of a pair of Shiny Cowbirds that Debbie found hunkered down on the support beam of the porch of one houses; a juvenile Broad-wing Hawk; a couple of Bobolink and Mourning Doves and a Northern Waterthrush. Returning to the boat we had lunch while still anchored before heading to Hospital Key.
The Masked Boobies on Hospital Key were rather subdued today. Though we were able to get in close to view them, they were very quiet and we missed out on hearing the females grunt and males whistle. The number in this colony has grown each year that I have been coming here and we counted over 60 including 5 chicks of various ages, though all still with their downy feathering. At one stage we had about a dozen birds take off and circle the Key seemingly just to stretch their wings before landing again. We did get to see a couple of groups one consisting of about 9 birds well out at sea no doubt going on a feeding foray.
We spent the remainder of the afternoon on Garden Key, where we quickly joined the Wings group and all other birders that arrived on the day boats to look at the Black Noddy roosting on Bush Key, which meant that the whole group had now seen it – hooray! – but not after painstaking work to figure out exactly where it was in the tangled brush. The front actually bought in some birds that were not here during our morning walk through the fort. Tennessee and Yellow Warbler were quickly added as were a pair of Scarlet Tanagers. Noticeable was an increase in redstarts and magnolias as well as thrushes with Gray-cheeked, Swainson’s and Veery all seen well. Bob found a Spotted Sandpiper along the wrack line by the North coaling dock and a couple of Whimbrel’s were on the South coaling docks with a handful of Royal Terns and two Black-bellied Plovers. Most of us opted to sit at the water fountain to see what came in. Along with a steady parade of warblers, there was a female Indigo Bunting and a Dickcissel.
During the late afternoon and early evening, when the light is magical, we all piled into the zodiac with Richard at the helm and slowly made our way towards Bush Key to get close looks at the two nesting species and also see some of the dark juvenile Sooty Terns that were now wondering about on their own. It’s hard to image that once they are able to take flight that it’ll be 5 years before they land again, likely returning to the same spot to breed. Heading towards Long Key, we encountered one of those magical moments, one which I had never witnessed before, as sooties and noddies proceeded to fly right over our heads in droves as they circled back to the colony.
Magnificent Frigatebird colony
© A&J Binns
© A&J Binns
With the vegetation stripped on Long Key it made it very easy to see the entire frigatebird nesting colony, numbering about 100 pairs. A couple of fluffy white young chicks were seen very well and we watched encounters between males with their inflated bright red gulars get excited when a female ventured near. A couple of Peregrines were using the bare trees as roosting sites and on one occasion we got to see one tearing through the island buttonwood and mangroves chasing some unknown species. Roberta picked out a very well algae camouflaged 10 foot American Crocodile right out in the open basking on the algae covered shoreline. Once it realized that it had been spotted it quickly ran into the water and glided away from us.
As it got dark and under a light cloud cover, though some stars and Jupiter were certainly in full view, Peg, Bob, Debbie and Kathi joined me in walking around the moat. It was not the most productive of walks compared to some we have taken, but did included fantastic close looks at a huge Starfish and Spiny-tailed Lobsters, one of which would have made a great feast for a large party. The tail end of a Green Moray Eel was a teaser and we got to see corals, sea fans, sea cucumbers, Spiny Urchins and a quickly retreating Bristle Starfish. But, where were all the Upside-down Jellyfish?
The winds were firmly out of the North West all night and we hoped for a decent fall out, but with the exception of larger numbers of thrushes, cuckoos and swallows including Banks and Cliffs, the warbler numbers never materialized.New species this morning included Eastern Wood Pewee, a female Orchard Oriole; male Indigo Bunting; Northern Waterthrush; a Black-whiskered Vireo; a likely (only because of a brief look at the underbody) Canada Warbler; a tired looking Yellow-throated Warbler of the albilora race, and an exhausted Ovenbird. Two male and a female Bobolink were still around and we got unbelievable looks at the Short-eared Owl that eluded us at Garden Key yesterday, as it flew around the parade ground. |
© A&J Binns |
We made one last search for the Black Noddy, helping some birders that had camped out and had yet to see it. Though the light at this time of the morning is horrendous we were able to pick it out perched only a few feet from where we saw it yesterday.
The journey back to Key West began a little rough as we had choppy 1-3 seas, but shortly after we passed Rebecca Shoals they began to smooth out and the remainder of the sail was very pleasant. The birds, unfortunately, were few and far between with only a couple of Brown Boobies seen early on. By the time Key West was in sight Atlantic Bottle-nosed Dolphins and Loggerhead Turtles had outnumbered birds, and there were only 2 of the former! It took us until the last marker before the tip of Key West to locate Roseate Terns. A group of about a sixteen was resting along with half a dozen Sandwich and a Royal Tern, which allowed for wonderful comparisons of size and structure.
A great surprise and a most enjoyable way to end the trip was having a Manatee swim right up to the stern of the boat and take the water hose in its mouth to get a drink of fresh water. Richard jumped in with his underwater camera to film it and Tim soon followed, as we all took turns in reaching into the water to stroke this most docile of mammals. By nature they are naturally curious, and there was plenty of evidence of its unfortunate encounters with propellers, with scars of various sizes on its back. In spite of this, this was a wonderful encounter with nature that everyone relished.