Bird Walk Wrap-Up: Everglades National Park

Cool weather is hard to find in South Florida, but when it does happen, you can bet birders will be out in droves. This was no exception when on November 16th, twelve Phoebes and two Blue Jays (male birders and Phoebes supporters) congregated at the Royal Palm Visitors Center in Everglades National Park for the tail end of migration season.

Our first birds of the day were impossible to miss. Black Vultures and Turkey Vultures swarmed the parking lot, landing on cars and eyeing the weather stripping. These birds are notorious for pecking at rubber! Luckily, the park provides tarps to cover visitors' cars. While it looked silly, it was a small price to pay to keep the vultures, and our cars, safe.

To start our walk, we headed out on the Gumbo Limbo Trail, named for the peeling Gumbo Limbo trees that loomed above us. A hush fell on the group as we began our walk, the cloudy weather and tree heavy canopy creating a somber mood. We spotted a few birds while scouting solution holes and turning our binoculars at every rustle in the trees. A Northern Cardinal here, a Great Crested Flycatcher there. Our birding picked up as our path intersected with a grassy service trail and the sun began to peek through the trees.

Behind-the-scene images courtesy of Ana Lima.

*Blue-gray Gnatcatcher by Kirsten Hines*

We spied a small, brown bird hopping in the grass, a Northern Waterthrush! This charismatic little bird coaxed us down the service road and led us to trees full of gnatcatchers, warblers, and vireos! Among these Florida staples, we encountered a small yellow bird with gray-black wings darting in the sun dappled leaves. To our surprise it was a Scarlet Tanager, a winter migrant and an uncommon bird in the area according to eBird! Was is a female? A male? We weren't sure, as both male and female Scarlet Tanagers have yellow plumage during the winter.

Our birding only got better from there. We continued our bird walk along the Anhinga Trail, a boardwalk path that leads into the sawgrass marsh. The sun finally came out and there were birds everywhere. Phoebes were finding birds at every turn of the trail. Great Egrets stalked in the grass, White Ibis flew overhead, Green Herons perched on tree roots! Not only was it a great place to bird, but to share our love for birds as well.

As we clustered together to spot birds, other park attendees grew curious and the Phoebes took them under their wing! They pointed out Common Yellowthroats hopping through mangroves, showed people how to use binoculars, and chatted with long-time visitors about the Purple Gallinules balancing on lily pads. In times like these I feel incredibly lucky to count the Phoebes as my friends and fellow birders.

As we headed back to our cars we encountered one final surprise, a Red-shouldered Hawk perched above the trail! Thank you to everyone who joined us on the trip. I look forward to seeing you on our next adventure!