Back in New Jersey the 80 degree temperatures of Florida were a distant memory as I thought about my next shot at my 500th ABA area bird. (Well, my 500th total as I have never birded outside of the ABA Area, but it sounds cooler if I reference the later :)) There was a Swainson’s Hawk in Cape May that I had missed on all my trips out west so wouldn’t that be an ironic twist? So, as soon as Thanksgiving passed I had planned to head down to Cape May and try my luck. Speaking of which, as luck would have it, an Ivory Gull was found in Cape May on Friday November 27th by Jim Dowdell. This would be an amazing number 500 and only the 4th or 5th occurrence of the bird in NJ since recording started and the last was back in the 80s! Could I get down there in time to see it? Would my luck allow for such a thing after missing the Mangrove Cuckoo in FL for 500? Was it possible, I was “supposed” to get this bird in New Jersey?

You never know how these things turn out. For me, it is one of the most exhilarating parts of birding and also one of the most frustrating. A chase of a bird, although wonderful when it works out, can make for some long drives home when you miss one. As I pulled into the parking lot of the Breezy Lee Marina (wonderful directions to the bird provided by many with a big thanks to the Director of Birding Programs for CMBO Don Freiday with some excellent instruction listed on the RBA) I saw many New Jersey birders with scopes, bins and heavy clothing. The wind was pretty strong but if the bird was there I wouldn’t even notice. I got out and saw some familiar faces all looking content but not very “active.” This usually means 1 of a few things. 1. Everyone got the bird and he left. 2. The bird isn’t around and bird watching as turned into bird talking to make the time go by as everyone waits or 3. (and this is the best and rarest of the bunch) Everyone got the bird, he is still around and close, and they have just gotten SO much of him that the often described “twitch” has passed. Well, today my luck rolled a 3 and sure enough the gull flew closely overhead and seemed to enjoy the onlookers and attention. I took hundreds of pictures and came back a second time just for another look of this amazingly beautiful bird before heading home happy and in possession of number 500. Freaking Great Day!

Snail Kite:

So it was the middle of November and I was itching to get 500 Life Birds by the end of 2009 (I started my first life list in May of 2007). I had 490 at that point and was trying to find a relativley easy (and inexpensive) way to pick of the last 10 birds. I have never been on a Pelagic trip so that was an option, but 10 new birds is a lot to ask from a single trip for offshore birds. So, with some vacation time to burn and nice weather as an added bonus, I decided to give South Florida a shot. I had been to the central/west coast in Florida in April of 2008 (To see more on that trip click HERE) but never got down to the Everglades or the Miami area.

My first day out was Friday Nov 20th. I decided to drive through the Everglades to take in the natural beauty of the area and to stop off at some of the “birdier” spots. My first lifebird of the trip was a beautiful Purple Gallinule at Royal Palm on the Anhinga trail. Just feet away from floating gators this guy quickly brightened an overcast morning. I drove the rest of the way to Flamingo at the end of the Everglades and also came across a flock of White-crowned Pigeons at Mahogany Hammock. Not a bad start to the trip. On the way back to the hotel I picked up a third LB in, off all places, a McDonald’s parking lot. The Common Myna (just recently added as a countable ABA bird) apparently loves fast food like the rest of us.

White-crowned Pigeon:

Day 2 was to start by meeting up with one of Florida’s best birders Larry Manfredi (check out his website at http://southfloridabirding.com/) to track down some Miami area specialties. Larry has been birding in Florida for many years and has contributed to many of it’s birding knowledge, guides, and documentation. Larry quickly got us on some wonderful Yellow-chevroned Parakeet hanging out with a few Monk Parakeet in a tree. Although not “countable” yet, the Yellow-chevroned could some day be added to the ABA list so this one would have to remain as “one in the bank” for now. (which later became 2 when we saw a plumply perfect Purple Swamphen) Next, Larry put us on the spectacularly curious and energetic Red-whiskered Bulbuls! What great birds. I could have spent the whole day watching these guys work their way gregariously around the neighborhood. But, new birds beckoned and we soon saw two bright Spot-breasted Orioles and even got to hear one sing! Another White-crowned Pigeon posed for pictures and a flock of Mitred Parrots squawked their presence into our wonderful Miami birding morning! We next looked for Smooth-billed Ani in vain (a Spring trip for breeding birds would be more productive for birds like the Ani and Mangrove Cuckoo which I missed) but quickly rebounded with two talkative Limpkin and a great comparative look at Purple Gallinule to Purple Swamphen. A quick stop also picked up a distant Snail Kite (2 actually) but much more was to come with the Snail Kite on the next day. We wound up the day back at Larry’s feeders for Shiny Cowbird wrapping up a successful day of birding with 5 new birds for me that day bringing my trip total to 8 (498).

Red-whiskered Bulbul:

I decided I would do 2 things with the rest of my time in Florida. One, I would try to get a better look at Snail Kite (my most wanted bird of the trip) and two I would search for Mangrove Cuckoo. I knew I could get a Wilson’s Plover, a relativley easy to find Florida resident, as a life bird so how cool would it be to get Mangrove Cuckoo for number 500!? So the next morning I headed out to the spot that Larry and I had seen the Snail Kite. On the way there is a super busy gas station as the only one and a last stop for miles around. I stopped in for coffee and gas. As I was getting back in my car, across the street I saw a Snail Kite sitting on a stick (one of the 2X2s they tie a ribbon two and stick in the ground as a marker of some sort). Awesome. Could I get across and off to the side to get pictures? As I pulled over the Kite took to the air and I thought I had scared him away. I should have known better based on his (I am not sure if it is male or female so I am just ignorantly using “his”) location next to a busy (for Everglades FL anyways) road as instead he stopped, “Kited” and then dropped onto a Snail! How cool was this? I got to see a Snail Kite catch his name sake and got some pretty cool pictures of him sitting and eating the snail using that perfectly curved bill before discarding the shell. 1 Down 1 to go!

Along the way I had picked up the Wilson’s Plover so it was 499 with a day and a half to find the Mangrove Cuckoo. Larry had told me about a spot that had a recent sighting but 3 trips there didn’t pan out. I also tried some Everglades spots along Snake Bite trail and even a quick trip to Key Largo to look around some of their Mangrove. As birding sometimes goes I ended up not seeing a Cuckoo and headed home with 499 Life Birds. Jeanette had booked a Pelagic trip for my birthday, Dec 6th, so I knew I would get to 500 before years end. Florida was a nice trip with some great birds and a return must be had for the Cuckoo that got away.

Spot-breasted Oriole:

Vesper Sparrow:

I finally tracked the Vesper Sparrow down today. After two straight Falls where I would just miss seeing a relativley easy to find but uncommon NJ Visitor I finally got to see this guy (probably saw 2 different ones actually). After being pointed in the right direction by fellow NJ Birder (and amazing photographer) Jim Gilbert, I promptly scared the bird off trying to say hello as he was attempting to take its picture. (It was an accident true, but it’s a horrible feeling none the less. Sorry Jim :)) I was able to out wait some parked cars that were blocking the prime viewing area (back right corner of the lot near a seed path) and was rewarded with some great views of the Vesper along with many Savanna, Song, and White-crowned sparrows (1 Adult and at least 4 juveniles) sparrows. Glenhurst Meadows is a great sparrows location in Central Jersey!

Fork-tailed Flycatcher:

Jeanette and I found the draw of this ridiculous bird (meant in a ridiculously good way) too much to ignore and we used it as an excuse to take our first trip to the Cape Cod area Sat night. We planned to be up first thing on Sunday and on location for the previously reported bird. A few tenuous hours of waiting in awful light and with moderate fog (100 yard visibility at times) finally paid off and we got stunning views of this amazing bird. We got to meet some great MASS birders along with Edna and Ray who are fellow NJ Birders and although the photos weren’t great, the twists and turns of the bug chasing flycatcher “doing it’s thing” made up for it. All in all, the 5 states in 5 hours was well worth it to experience our first slice of New England with the Fork-tailed Flycatcher being the icing on the proverbial cake.

Northern Wheatear:

Finally tracked this guy down. Missed two last year, both one day wonders. This one was unbelievably cooperative and a joy to watch. Also, this was my first trip to Dekorte. Really nice place.