We both had business on the east coast of Florida, which presented the perfect opportunity to combine work with our passion for birding. Our primary targets were the colorful, non-native parrots and parakeets that thrive in the South Florida urban jungle.
The Bananaquit Chase
Our quest began with a drive to Richardson Historic Park in Fort Lauderdale, where a Bananaquit had been reported almost daily for weeks. We arrived around 5:00 p.m. and met a nice lady birder from Maine who had been looking for the bird for three days without success. We quickly learned our target bird had moved on a few days before we got there. The birding wasn’t a total bust, however. As the sprinklers came on, we spotted a female Blue-throated Warbler, a male and female Painted Bunting, and a flyover of Blue-crowned Parakeets.
From Work to a Manatee
Friday was all work and no play between the Graphics of the Americas and the Miami International Boat Show. While at the docks, Mike spotted a manatee that drew quite a crowd, a fun non-birding highlight. Later, we saw the always-reliable Monk Parakeets on Lincoln Road, a perfect lead-in to our weekend parrot hunt.
A Weekend of Parrots and a Mega-Rarity
On Saturday morning, we got up early to look for parrots at an area known as Miller Roost, near Brewer Park. We could hear the squawks as soon as we arrived and found both Mitred Parakeets and Red-masked Parakeets in the kumquat trees. It was a great opportunity to learn the difference between the two species: Mitred have a red forehead with some speckling, while Red-masked have a full red hood and red on the bend of the wing.
Our friend Joe Welch, who is relatively new to birding, joined us, and he deserves kudos for correctly identifying our first-ever Orange-winged Parrot in flight—not an easy task! We walked around the neighborhood and followed the sound of the Chestnut-fronted Macaw, but didn’t get to see them this year. Previously, they nested in a palm tree, now occupied by European Starlings. We also saw our first-of-year Ruby-throated Hummingbirds.
We still had over an hour before the boat show opened, so we decided to go for a mega-rarity: a reported Kirtland’s Warbler at Bill Baggs State Park. Excellent directions were posted online, and we arrived to find about 30 other birders in the same spot. We knew our chances were low, and we weren’t disappointed when we didn’t see it. For Sharon, it was okay, as she’d prefer to see it for the first time in her home state of Michigan, where it breeds.
A Final Morning of Birding
On Sunday morning, we headed to the Ocean Bank eBird hotspot, another chase that involved driving slowly through a neighborhood listening for calls. This time, we were successful, locating many Yellow-chevroned Parakeets (a life bird!) and even a mating pair. We also found a vacant wooded lot full of winter warblers and a power station that had quite a few nesting Monk Parakeets.
Before the boat show, we stopped at La Sorpresa Supermarket for an amazing Cuban breakfast of homemade croissants and empanadas. Our final birding stop was Crandon Park. This is a great location for exotics, and we found an Indian Peafowl and an Egyptian Goose. We also had a nice surprise sighting of some Sandhill Cranes. A quick walk on the beach netted the usual gulls and terns, and a bonus Lesser Black-backed Gull.
This trip was a perfect blend of work and our passion for birds.
Trip Summary:
- Total Species: 45
- Life Birds: 2 (non-ABA countable)
Next up: Tree Swallow Murmuration
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