When Elissa and I go on vacation it is usually something we cautiously look forward to. We are bad vacationers. Period. Nothing ever seems to go right. Take our honeymoon for example. We go to Niagara Falls in January. It was -17 degrees out. I had a head cold the first leg of the trip and Elissa felt terrible in the second half. Our car got stuck in the snow, I had to talk a cop out of giving me a parking ticket (a story in itself), and had I not won some money at the casino we would have completely run out of cash. Being very much in love, however, seemed to melt away these cold conundrums. Additionally, we added a very cool life bird while ducking on the edge of Lake Ontario. Unfortunately, because of vacations like this, the idea of a trip to the alligator infested Everglades was greeted with much trepidation.
I am happy to report that our trip this past weekend was probably our most successful vacation ever. The adventure started last Thursday. When our flight was delayed an hour we immediately began to think it was a sign of future misfortune. We got down to Orlando-Sanford International Airport around 9pm. We got our car and drove about three and a half hours down to Hollywood, Florida where we crashed for the night. Friday morning we dragged ourselves downstairs for a basic breakfast and hit the road for the Everglades. We had about an hour and a half drive left to get to the Ernest Coe Visitor Center.
Once in the park we started our journey down towards Flamingo. While making stops along the way Elissa and I soon realized that my Big Year was going to get much bigger as a result of visiting the Everglades. On our first day of birding in Florida we added 34 different species. The day included a fortunate viewing of the endangered Wood Stork. I also added three life birds (Laughing Gull, Black Skimmer, and Marbled Godwit). Another highlight of the day was our stop at the Anhinga Trail in Royal Palm. Here people can view nesting Anhinga’s, along with Double-crested Cormorants, multiple types of wading birds including Tri-Colored Herons, and an insane number of alligators in an uncomfortably close proximity to the trail. The day ended in Flamingo where we discovered those Black Skimmers and Marbled Godwits hiding in a group of shorebirds known as Willet. Sufficiently tired, Elissa and I headed to the Travelodge in Florida City to get some much needed rest. We were due to wake up at 5:30 the next morning for our tour of Florida Bay with Captain Dave Hunt.
When birding in a foreign land (and let’s face it, South Florida is vastly different from Northwest Ohio) it is necessary to seek out expert advice. Master Captain and Florida Master Naturalist Dave Hunt was our expert. Dave grew up in the Everglades. That’s really not an exaggeration. As a young boy he hunted barefoot through the swampy terrain and spent many nights in a self-constructed walk-in cabin deep in the park. Yep…we took a boat ride with the Tarzan of South Florida.
Before we had even made our way out of the marina Dave pointed out an immature Yellow-crowned Night Heron. On the trip we saw Reddish Egrets, Bald Eagles, Little Blue Herons, a Magnificent Frigatebird, numerous shorebirds, and three different kinds of Terns. Dave spotted a flock of feeding Royal Terns a short distance from one of the islands in the bay. He drove the boat out to the group of birds without spooking them, and put us right in the middle of the feeding frenzy. Elissa got a few great shots of the birds as they dive bombed into the water for their food. My favorite part of the trip, oddly enough, was not the discovery of some elusive species of bird but the impressive sight of a 15 foot saltwater crocodile. I’ve seen big animals before in a zoo or sanctuary, but when there isn’t a barrier between you and the beast it is scary, exciting, and sobering.
After 5 plus hours on the water, (I think Dave would have stayed out there all day with us…he wanted me to see as many Florida birds as possible) we rode back to the Coe Visitor Center and parted ways with Captain Dave. A six hour drive back to the Orlando area awaited us. As we made our way back through Miami and all the other Atlantic coast towns, Elissa and I discussed how great the trip had been, but we weren’t completely satisfied. Two great days in the Everglades only left us wanting more. Several years ago we, along with Elissa’s sister and her husband, took a trip to Merritt Island. The island is on the Atlantic coast east of Orlando and is a neighbor to the NASA launch site at Cape Canaveral. After looking at Google Maps I decided that it was completely feasible for us to take a trip to Merritt Island early Sunday morning and have plenty of time to get back for our flight.
Two days in a row of waking up at 5:30am on a vacation is most definitely something I had never done before. My morning sick and pregnant wife wasn’t a huge fan of it either. Although both of us were exhausted we were determined to make every minute of this vacation count. With a second baby on the way who knows when we’ll be able to do this again.
We arrived at Merritt Island at 7am. It was beautiful. The morning sun draped over the refuge’s wildlife like a warm blanket. I know that kind of description may be too flowery for a blog, but the sun really was acting like a warm blanket. We added 13 species to the list at Merritt Island, including the Florida Scrub Jay, which is only indigenous to Central Florida. On our drive back to the airport we added Sandhill Crane to the list. About a dozen of these gigantic birds were feeding in a field next to a group of cattle.
When we reached the airport, we found that we still had about 50 minutes to kill. I jumped on Maps to see if there were any parks nearby, found Lake Jessup Park, and raced over to see if we could squeeze in a few more Florida birds. When we got there a Limpkin was hanging out in the grass right next to the boat ramp. We also spotted several Cattle Egrets in the same location. With these final two sightings our birding in Florida was officially over. I had come down to the Sunshine State with 48 species on my list. I added 63 different kinds of birds to bring my total to 111. The trip allowed me to see 10 birds I had never seen before.
After going on such an adventure it may be natural for some to feel a little down in the dumps. I mean…it’s over. What now? I’m not sure if I will have the opportunity to take another trip like that this year, but I sure hope it’s possible. The next post will be the first of what I will be calling my Birds in Profile series. I hope you enjoy it. I also will be posting my current bird count and pictures from the Everglades trip. As always, I welcome any questions or suggestions. Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!
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