In Search Of Miami Parakeets

The lush tropical vegetation in the Miami area is very conducive for large numbers and a great variety of parakeets and parrots that can be readily observed visually and audibly.

The Mitred Parakeet above (image 1) was photographed at Baptist Hospital of Miami in March 2016.

On 12 March I made a trip to Miami with the company of Frank Constantin, Suzanne Lanthier and Réal Jauvin, all visiting from Quebec. Our first stop was the Baptist Hospital of Miami offering a pair of Egyptian Geese as the first bird species seen. Mitred Parakeets could be heard overhead. There were in excess of 70 in a single flock before breaking up into smaller groups.

The Egyptian Goose above (image 2) was photographed at Baptist Hospital of Miami in March 2016.

The Graylag Goose (domestic type) above (image 3) was photographed at Baptist Hospital of Miami in March 2016.

The Swan Goose (domestic type) above (image 4) was photographed at Baptist Hospital of Miami in March 2016.

The Egyptian Goose above (image 5) was photographed at Baptist Hospital of Miami in March 2016.

The Rock Dove above (image 6) was photographed at Baptist Hospital of Miami in March 2016.

After photographing other species of birds at hand we followed the call of the Mitred Parakeets to the west side of the property. The parakeets were obviously very wary of the presence of an American Kestrel. At one point the parakeets took refuge in a berry laden tree before once again taking flight to keep a distance from the kestrel's approach of them.

The Egyptian Goose above (image 7) was photographed at Baptist Hospital of Miami in March 2016.

Réal Jauvin, Francois Constantin and Suzanne Lanthier (l-r) above (image 8) were photographed at Baptist Hospital of Miami in March 2016.

The Fish Crow with nesting material above (image 9) was photographed at Baptist Hospital of Miami in March 2016.

The Eurasian Collared-Dove above (image 10) was photographed at Baptist Hospital of Miami in March 2016.

The Mitred Parakeet above (image 11) was photographed at Baptist Hospital of Miami in March 2016.

Our next stop was the University of Miami where we were asked to leave by campus security as we did not have authorization to visit. A call of parakeets could be heard where we had parked, but they were not seen thus remaining unidentified. We next visited A. D. Barnes Park which was nearly completely devoid of birds save a pair of Black Vultures, a Northern Mockingbird, a Mourning Dove and a Blue Jay.

The Mitred Parakeet above (image 12) was photographed at Baptist Hospital of Miami in March 2016.

The American Kestrel above (image 13) was photographed at Baptist Hospital of Miami in March 2016.

The Mitred Parakeet above (image 14) was photographed at Baptist Hospital of Miami in March 2016.

The Mitred Parakeet above (image 15) was photographed at Baptist Hospital of Miami in March 2016.

The Mitred Parakeet above (image 16) was photographed at Baptist Hospital of Miami in March 2016.

Castellow Hammock Park was our next stop with hopes of photographing the Buff-bellied Hummingbird that was discovered by Colorado birder Connie Kogler. Word quickly got out about the rare to Florida hummingbird with eBird reports first appearing on 2 January. This was my second attempt to photograph the Buff-bellied Hummingbird, and was only fortunate enough to definitively see and hear it on this trip.

The Mitred Parakeet above (image 17) was photographed at Baptist Hospital of Miami in March 2016.

The Mitred Parakeet above (image 18) was photographed at Baptist Hospital of Miami in March 2016.

The Mitred Parakeet above (image 19) was photographed at Baptist Hospital of Miami in March 2016.

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird above (image 20) was photographed at Castellow Hammock Park in March 2016.

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird above (image 21) was photographed at Castellow Hammock Park in March 2016.

In the company of the Buff-bellied Hummingbird were no less than four Ruby-throated Hummingbirds which favored the depths of an approximately 15 foot tall by 35 foot wide Chinese hat plant. Again a parakeet was heard, but not seen. A White-winged Dove was a pleasure to find as I had not photographed this species in quite some time.

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird above (image 22) was photographed at Castellow Hammock Park in March 2016.

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird above (image 23) was photographed at Castellow Hammock Park in March 2016.

The White-winged Dove above (image 24) was photographed at Castellow Hammock Park in March 2016.

The Palm Warbler above (image 25) was photographed at Castellow Hammock Park in March 2016.

The Northern Cardinal above (image 26) was photographed at Castellow Hammock Park in March 2016.

Onward in the direction of home we made a brief stop at the Shark Valley Visitor Center where the water level was very high in the canals due to January's rainfall. The expected wading birds were absent as a result.

The Mourning Dove above (image 27) was photographed at Castellow Hammock Park in March 2016.

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The Ruby-throated Hummingbird above (image 28) was photographed at Castellow Hammock Park in March 2016.

6 Days At Ding Darling's Wildlife Drive: Part IV

This final chapter of a series highlights a variety of bird species that can be seen at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge's Wildlife Drive at opportune times.

The Northern Cardinal above (image 1) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

Images presented were captured on the mornings of 25 November and 10 December. If you look closely at the image immediately above, you can see the reflection of a male Northern Cardinal that was perched on the side view mirror of the car when the picture was taken. Cardinals and Florida Scrub-Jays are particularly entertained by their reflections in mirrors and glass.

The Ring-billed Gull above (image 2) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Tricolored Heron above (image 3) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Green Heron above (image 4) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Double-crested Cormorant above (image 5) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Osprey above (image 6) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Osprey above (image 7) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Osprey above (image 8) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Green Heron above (image 9) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The juvenile Snowy Egret above (image 10) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The White Ibis above (image 11) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Snowy Egret above (image 12) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Snowy Egret above (image 13) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The White Ibis above (image 14) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Little Blue Heron above (image 15) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The juvenile Snowy Egret with prey harassed by Laughing Gull above (image 16) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The White Ibis above (image 17) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Greater Yellowlegs above (image 18) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The White Ibis above (image 19) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Little Blue Heron above (image 20) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Reddish Egret above (image 21) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Great Blue Heron above (image 22) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Great Blue Heron above (image 23) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The White Ibis above (image 24) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The American White Pelican above (image 25) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The Great Blue Heron above (image 26) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in November 2015.

The American White Pelican above (image 27) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Common Ground Dove above (image 28) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Ring-billed Gull above (image 29) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The juvenile Snowy Egret above (image 30) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Laughing Gull with prey above (image 31) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The American White Pelican above (image 32) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The banded American White Pelican above (image 33) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The banded American White Pelican as seen above and below was the first I have seen in my nearly nine years of wildlife photography. The banded pelican was seen by wildlife enthusiasts and photographers France Paulsen and Gail Campbell at the Refuge in preceding days. The best I could discern was that the code color of the tag was black indicating that the pelican was banded in Minnesota or South Dakota. The tag and code colors will indicate other possible Northwestern states where the pelicans are banded.

The banded American White Pelican above (image 34) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The American White Pelican above (image 35) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Wood Stork above (image 36) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The American White Pelican above (image 37) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The American White Pelican above (image 38) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Ring-billed Gull with prey above (image 39) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Ring-billed Gull with prey above (image 40) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The White Ibis above (image 41) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Great Egret above (image 42) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Ring-billed Gull above (image 43) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The American White Pelican above (image 44) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Little Blue Heron above (image 45) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Osprey above (image 46) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Laughing Gull above (image 47) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Laughing Gull above (image 48) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The White Ibis with Laughing Gull and Snowy Egret above (image 49) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Snowy Egret with White Ibisabove (image 50) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The White Ibis with Laughing Gull above (image 51) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Laughing Gull with White Ibis above (image 52) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The immature Bald Eagle above (image 53) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

The Dunlin above (image 54) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

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The Double-crested Cormorant above (image 55) was photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in December 2015.

Please also see 6 Days At Ding Darling's Wildlife Drive: Part I
Please also see 6 Days At Ding Darling's Wildlife Drive: Part II
Please also see 6 Days At Ding Darling's Wildlife Drive: Part III