With great enjoyment I traveled with Fort Myers Birding Commandos, Vince McGrath and Stan Damon, on 12 October from Fort Myers to Miami. Our first stop was A. D. Barnes Park. This was actually immediately after observing Red-masked Parakeets, a lifer for Stan, just west of Barnes.
Warblers were prolific with a few other subjects capturing my attention. An effort was made to re-find the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher reported at A. D. Barnes Park the day before, but the specialty remained elusive. This bird would have been a lifer for me.
With Vince leading the way, no part of the park remained unexplored. I was particularly pleased with the elevated boardwalk on the west side of the park that Stan had mentioned earlier. It is here that eye level views of warblers could be readily appreciated.
After more than three hours of observations at A. D. Barnes we made our way to try to find some Red-whiskered Bulbuls. As I've found typical when looking for them, they were elsewhere. Native to Asia, the Red-whiskered Bulbul is otherwise found in California and Hawaii in the United States.
We also visited the Baptist Hospital of Miami looking for parakeets and Egyptian Geese which were unseen with a quick drive through. This was the first time that I have not seen parakeets at this "venue."
Our next stop was Kendall Indian Hammocks Park with a particular interest in finding a Bell's Vireo that had been reported by Brian Rapoza the day before our arrival. While there were again a very good number and variety of warblers observed at this park, the Bell's Vireo wasn't seen.
After otherwise rewarding observations at Kendall Indian Hammocks Park we were again on the road approaching mid afternoon. We made a stop at the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk. Stan told me of the Black Bear that had climbed dozens of feet up a tree to get to a cache of honey from a bee's nest (see image 23). The bees were observed to be feverishly rebuilding the nest on our visit.
The birds were seemingly taking a siesta along the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk at Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park. A Pileated Woodpecker, however, flew very low over the boardwalk directly in front of us. A Northern Flicker was also observed at this amazing place.
A flooded field at the JB Ranch south of Immokalee offered a view of a large quantity of Lesser Yellowlegs. Apple Snail egg casings were observed adjacent to the drainage canal, so it was not surprising to see Limpkins in very good numbers along this stretch of road. Glossy Ibis, Common Grackle, and White Ibis were observed in large flocks traveling south.
Our last primary stops were along rural roads still south of Immokalee. With the sun setting we were able to observe large numbers of waders that were already at, and flying toward, their roost. Crested Caracara, Indigo Buntings and Painted Bunting were unexpectedly observed by me. The last observation of the day was of a family of Black-bellied Whistling-Duck.
With Stan navigating, and Vince offering his birding expertise, this trip became one of my favorite wildlife adventures of the year.
