[TN-Bird] (Out of area) Photos from recent FL trip

  • From: Michael Todd <birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: TN Birds <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Tue, 21 May 2013 12:49:01 -0700 (PDT)

Friends,

Though I haven't been able to bird practically any in TN this spring, a 2 week 
trip to south FL in mid thru late April was very nice consolation. I outlined a 
trip for myself and 2 friends from TX, one of whom had never birded FL, to get 
the maximun number of FL specialties and exotics. We spent 10 days from Tampa 
to 
Key West (and basically ran out of birds before we ran out of time), followed 
by 
a 3 day trip out to the Dry Tortugas. This is peak tour season down there, and 
I 
think we ran into practically every company that runs a tour down there, which 
was nice and great to be able to trade info. Even ran into fellow TN birder and 
hometown native Donna Ward as she was starting her VENT tour!

I've placed about 200 photos of the mainland portion of the trip in a new 
gallery, with a seperate gallery to come for the Dry Tortugas. These photos are 
in chronological order, as basically a running trip narrative on most of our 
interesting birds of the trip, and luckily we photographed just about every one 
of the targets. Many species are represented multiple times, and basically 
randomly. The gallery is here: 
http://upload.pbase.com/edit_gallery/mctodd/south_fl_2013 with photos best 
viewed at the original file size.

We had ZERO misses on the expected FL specialties, with a nice exotics list 
including 9 psittacids in total and I got a better than hoped for 11 
ABA/lifers; 
though we did have to work hard for a couple of these. Unfortunately we were a 
few days ahead of a Black Noddy that started being seen out on the Tortugas, 
and 
if I had one more day would have been in great shape to pick up the Black-faced 
Grassquit that showed up. But, on a set date trip very happy with 3 good 
rarities in Thick-billed Vireo, Western Spindalis, and White-cheeked Pintail, 
to 
go along with my other trio of most wanted birds: Mangrove Cuckoo, Antillean 
Nighthawk and Shiny Cowbird. Other new birds were Budgerigar (hardest bird of 
trip, and likely to be removed from ABA anyway....), new additions Nanday 
Parakeet and Purple Swamphen and then Masked Booby and Brown Noddy out at the 
Tortugas.

It's been great to see the number of excellent birds found by TN birders here 
this spring, even if I haven't been able to enjoy any of them; especially hated 
missing that Purple Gallinule (=nemisis bird!) May give Memphis a go tomorrow 
if 
it works out though, love to get some shots of the Fulvous, plus get a few year 
birds this spring. Maybe the weather will ground that Whimbrel I've been 
looking 
for.........will be strange birding Memphis without Jeff though.

Apologize to anyone that wasn't interested in a mostly out of area post, but at 
least it was this continent this time! :")

Good Birding!!

Mike Todd
McKenzie, TN
birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.pbase.com/mctodd

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  • » [TN-Bird] (Out of area) Photos from recent FL trip - Michael Todd