Florida 2000

Monday, May 1st
What a relief to finally take the other shoe off.

If you ever want me to plan a birding trip for you, today's report may make you change your mind. I had planned to get up at 4:30 (did go to sleep early last night) but for some reason the alarm did not go off (did I turn it off or set it wrong) so I didn't get up until about 5:15 AM. I checked out of the hotel and started on my way at 6:00 AM. There was a very light drizzle as I left but it soon stopped.

I saw my first Wood Stork of the trip on the side of I-95 in North Miami Beach. I drove along the Tamiami Trail (that is the name of the highway) towards the Shark Valley Area of Everglades National Park. The highway is a two-lane road with a fairly high speed limit that seems to be commonly exceeded. (The state advises that you have your headlights on so you can tell whether the car in your lane is traveling in your direction or one that is passing another and coming at you at high speed). Bearing that in mind, I had trouble keeping my eye on the road because I was looking for birds in the trees and canals. Saw a number of the "common" birds - egrets, herons, Anhinga, etc. Did get a good look at an Osprey and a quick view of a Red-shouldered Hawk. There were an incredible number of Black Vultures in the trees, on poles, and on the ground. Surprisingly, I did not see one Turkey Vulture while driving until I entered the Big Cypress Preserve area. You may ask why was I at the Big Preserve area of the road when it is past the entrance to Shark Valley. Simple. The park doesn't open until 8:30 and I arrived at 8:00. (Good thing that I hadn't gotten up at 4:30 as I intended.) I drove on to kill a little time. (The Snail Kites were not present at the Miccosukee Restaurant).

The Shark Valley area is on the northern section of the park. The original Everglades extended much further north, but a lot of it has been developed. (Loxahatchee is part of the Everglades, but not the park). I had been to Shark Valley in February 1982 and March 1984 and had tried to go in the 1990s but that section of the park was closed because of severe flooding caused by a hurricane. The water levels at those times of the year were higher than today. In fact, there were many dry areas that had been under water in the earlier months of the year. The birds usually raise their young in the drier seasons as the food sources are concentrated in the remaining pools (many of which are created by alligators). Anyhow, I had another hour to kill as the first tram did not leave until 9:30. Private vehicular access to the park is restricted to prevent overcrowding. Therefore, one can only go in on foot, bicycle or on the tram.

Baby alligator Watched an alligator and some large schools of fish in the waters by the visitor center. Most of them just stayed in one place, but some would occasionally jump and splash. I believe most were gar. A large number of Green Herons flew overhead. The tram was filled with several classes of students, but I managed to get a whole row to myself (so I could slide from side to side to take pictures). The driver/guide pointed out the wildlife as we went along and gave some information the animals and about the park itself. We saw a baby alligator that was less than a foot long - it had stripes and was less than a year old. Alligators may grow a foot a year and keep their stripes for several years. After the age of five, the growth varies so age cannot be determined by size. I believe the guide said that the record Florida alligator was about 17 feet long.

We came upon three River Otters on the road. The guide said she had never seen any on the road before. We also looked at Soft-shelled Turtles and Red Sliders. Green Herons continued to be abundant, but White Ibis were the number one species seen. I picked up a Pied-billed Grebe (which no one else saw) as a trip species. I called out to the guide that I saw a rail and she said something about a female Boat-tailed Grackle. I don't know if she was looking at something else, but I am positive it was a Sora. Added American Crow to the trip list also - not a very exiting find, but all the others I had seen so far were Fish Crows.

Alligator I won't mention all the herons and egrets I saw since they were the usual ones. However, this was the first time that I had seen adolescent Little Blue Herons in flight. The patterns of white and blue were quite attractive but could be extremely confusing. Saw my first confusing sandpipers of this trip - yellowlegs. I identified them as Greaters by bill size and calls. Enjoyed watching Wood Storks in flight. Very attractive and graceful in the air (if one ignores their faces). While the guide was showing a King Rail to the group (a species I have seen only once before), "I" found a Limpkin on the other side. We would come upon a few more in a little while. We saw several families of Common Moorhens - the views were not as good as I had yesterday.

The tram stopped to look at several alligators. One pool had two large specimens. The guide said it was very unusual to see two adults together except in mating season. By the way, the female will stay by the nest while the eggs are incubating and then with the young after they hatch. She is very protective of her brood. (Males may eat the young.) We came upon an alligator that was missing part of its tail and its left front leg. The guide said this gator had survived in this condition for years.

More birds - Several Black-necked Stilts were probing in the mud. Really elegant birds. Then a large mixed flock of white birds took off. Mostly White Ibis, a good number of Snowy Egrets mixed in. The guide said there was a Roseate Spoonbill in with them. I don't know how I couldn't find a pink bird amongst the white, but I couldn't. I was very disappointed. A little later, we came upon another flock which also took off. The spoonbill in this flock must have been brighter, so I was able to find it. Got a good look at it in the air and an even better one once it landed. Great views of its odd bill. The final bird on the tram ride was a Black-crowned Night-Heron. As the tram approached the viewing tower, the guide announced that for the first time birds were using the area around the tower as a rookery

The First Florida Page At the Observation Tower

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