Frank and I return tonight after 8 days of birding. ?Since my last report, we hit the Keys and the Dry Tortugas and then a day plus in Central Florida.
We ended up with 186 species (including a number of not yet countable exotics). ?Best new birds were Mangrove Cuckoo (3 and maybe 4), Sooty, Brown Noddy, Sandwich, Roseate, Royal and Bridled Terns plus Black Skimmer, Masked Boobies (50+), Antillean Nighthawk (perched in the open in daylight), many more Snail and Swallow Tailed Kites, more Short Tailed Hawks, Bachman's Sparrows, Red Cockaded Woodpeckers, Florida Scrubjays, more Limpkins (and all other waders) and more Black Whiskered Vireos. ?
We only had 13 warbler species (expected as many as 20) and amazingly only a single Gull species and a single Sparrow species. ?After a very slow start, we ended up with 18 shorebird species.
It was often almost unbearably hot and humid (high of 95 degrees and 93% humidity). ?We had absolutely torrential rains for several hours that made for scary driving and made birding impossible. ?I took thousands of photos so some inevitably came out ok and I have at least ID photos of most species seen. ?I will try to post some next week. ?We ran into birders from all over the U.S. which is always fun.
Lots of great birds but some notable misses as well. ?The worst were Fork Tailed Flycatchers and Bahama Mockingbird (missed by a day) and Smooth Billed Ani (rain limited our options).
Very sleep deprived. ?Looking forward to cool Seattle - even if wet.

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