FLORIDA 13TH - 27TH MARCH 2008

I'm just back from a terrific two weeks in the warm sunshine of Florida - it really feels cold by comparison, as since we've been back,we haven't yet hit a single night time temperature over there during the day here! This was undoubtedly a family holiday, so my birding was for once restricted and we spent a lot of time at the Orlando Theme Parks. I freely admit to enjoying these far more than I expected too, especially the Epcott, the Superman ride at Universal and the Kennedy Space Centre! I was quite surprised to see plenty of birds in and around the parks, especially raptors, egrets and herons, whilst Merritt Island was home to large numbers of shorebirds and Least and Stilt Sandpipers and Lesser Yellowlegs in particular. The birding really took off though when I was fortunate enough to be taken out by Larry Albright, who I met in Morocco last year. Larry as well as being great company was a font of knowledge and helped me to find my target birds. Florida Scrub Jay, Snail Kite, Bachmann's Sparrow, Wood Stork and Limpkin were all exactly where he said they would be and he surpassed himself by stopping at the exact spot at Fort deSoto to allow me to find my own Magnificent Frigatebird circling above its roost site - the only one we saw before we encontered our only rain during the whole trip... The woods held a few early Northern Parulas, Black and White and Pine Warblers, hundreds of Yellow-rumped Warblers and uncountable numbers of Palm Warblers, as well as a few Common Yellowthroats, Hooded Warbler, Prairie Warbler and Worm-eating Warbler, but the majority of migrants had yet to arrive. Other highlights included several Pileated Woodpeckers, many more Bald Eagles than I could ever have imagined including eight together at one point, big flocks of Tree Swallows, Blue-grey Gnatcathcers, Royal Terns, Black Skimmers and a couple of Swallow-tailed Kites; the most elegnat of raptors in a total of 114 species, as well as a close up encounter with a Racoon and a few Alligators. Oh, and how could I forget the mound of Strawberry Shortcake that we ate to celebrate our good fortune! I am currently investigating the possibilities to do a tour that combines the best of Florida birding along with a few days on the Dry Tortugas timed for maximum migration in mid April 2010/2011 and will announce details as soon as the itinerary is complete. As an introduction to North American birding, it is a hard to beat destination with great weather too.