South Florida 2010

I had never realized how easy it is to go birding in Florida. Herons, egrets, ibis and other waders are everywhere, wintering warblers and other passerines drip from the trees, and countless vultures soar overhead. You really don't have to work that hard. I just came back from a great trip to South Florida, mostly along the Atlantic Coast (though I didn't get to do any shore birding). Unfortunately, I did not get the specialties I was looking for (Snail Kite, Short-tailed Hawk, Limpkin, Purple Gallinule etc.) but I got to see some great birds, like a unexpected flock of Cedar Waxwings and a couple Palm Warblers in the middle of crowded Disney World! I also got a bunch of lifers. White Ibis and Turkey Vulture were absolutely ubiquitous where I was. There was a La Sagra's Flycatcher and a Black-throated Gray Warbler reported close to where I was staying, but I didn't get to see them. I birded mostly around the suburban area where I was, but I got a chance to visit Loxahatchee NWR one afternoon, though it wasn't very birdy over there. I will be posting photos from the trip soon on my flickr page.

My Flickr photostream
Here is a list of the birds I saw:

~Pied-billed Grebe -Podilymbus podiceps 1
~American White Pelican - Pelecanus erythrorhynchos 1
~Double-crested Cormorant - Phalacrocorax auritus 10
~Anhinga-Anhinga anhinga 5
~Great Blue Heron-Ardea herodias 2
~Little Blue Heron-Egretta caerulea 1
~Tricolored Heron-Egretta tricolor 3
~Great Egret-Ardea alba 15
~Snowy Egret-Egretta thula 2
~Cattle Egret-Bubulcus ibis 3
~Green Heron-Butorides virescens 5
~Glossy Ibis-Plegadis falcinellus 20
~White Ibis-Eudocimus albus 100
~Wood Stork-Mycteria americana 11
~Black Vulture-Coragyps atratus anywhere between 5-30
~Turkey Vulture-Cathartes aura 300 (very conservative estimate)
~Osprey-Pandion haliaetus 4
~Red-shouldered Hawk-Buteo lineatus 1
(~Egyptian Goose(escape?)-Alopochen aegyptica 1)
~Mottled Duck-Anas fulvigula 8
(~Domestic Muscovy Duck-Cairina moschata 15)
~Mallard-Anas platyrhynchos 4
~Common Moorhen-Gallinula chloropus 7
~American Coot-Fulica americana 4
~Laughing Gull-Leucophaeus atricilla 10
~Ring-billed Gull-Larus delawarensis 2
~Rock Pigeon-Columba livia 20
~Mourning Dove-Zenaida macroura 5
~Eurasian Collared-Dove-Streptopelia decaocto 5
~Belted Kingfisher-Megaceryle alcyon 1
~Red-bellied Woodpecker-Melanerpes carolinus 1
~Yellow-bellied Sapsucker?-Sphyrapicus varius 1
~Eastern Phoebe?-Sayornis phoebe 1
~Blue Jay-Cyanocitta cristata 7
~American Crow-Corvus brachyrynchos 1
~Blue-gray Gnatcatcher-Polioptila caerulea 5
~Cedar Waxwing-Bombycilla cedrorum 50
~Northern Mockingbird-Mimus polyglottos 4
~European Starling-Sturnus vulgaris 5
~Northern Parula-Parula americana 1
~Pine Warbler-Dendroica pinus 1
~Palm Warbler-Dendroica palmarum 3
~Northern Cardinal-Cardinalis cardinalis 1
~Boat-tailed Grackle-Quiscalus major 10
~House Sparrow-Passer domesticus 10

Also
Zebra Longwing
Common Buckeye (pretty sure, not a butterfly expert)