Chasing Species January 2010
I must admit to some ambivalent feelings about chasing species, as the very act of seeking out birds can waste gas, damage the environment I wish to preserve and it gambles away my valuable time. However, my friend Pat can be quite persistent and he was into chasing two rare birds that were being seen often by those who went looking. My arm was twisted, so with my Florida Snow Bird Birding Gang, Pat from Michigan, Larry from Queens and a new member, Fred from Pennsylvania, headed down to the Miami area to Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park in search of the La Sagra’s flycatcher that had been present there in one particular area for several days. The chances were good that we could actually see this rare visitor from the Bahamas. Larry mentioned that this bird has only been seen 8 or 9 times here in South Florida.
The park is located at the end of Key Biscayne where we arrived before the gate was opened, so we went to a near by beach called Crandon Park where we saw Caspian and Royal terns, four gull species, a few shorebirds and a mayonnaise commercial being shot in the early morning light. And people think birding isn’t interesting! When we got back to Bill Baggs there were several out of state plates in the parking lot which had the smell of chasing species. I had a map from a website showing the locations where the bird had been seen. The boys finally listened to me and we were off on the right trail. When we arrived at “the spot,” there were three guys already there, and one man that was just leaving, who had seen the bird a few moments ago. (My heart sunk and a few four letter words went through my head.) The seven of us strung ourselves out along the path and waited. The bird called! Weep, weep, weep in a higher pitch than a great crested flycatcher and more pure toned. As an ear birder, I was so glad to hear that lovely call. We all looked in the direction of the sound. No sighting of it, however, and we waited some more. It called a second time and the excitement level rose again as we converged on that sweet sound. No sighting. Some of us were moving along the path when suddenly Pat and Larry spotted the bird and waved us in to their location. Pay dirt! It is smaller than our great crested and duller but it does have rufus on its primaries that showed up well in the morning light that shone on the bird. Ka-ching! Life bird for all of us.
One very interesting thing about Biscayne Bay are the fishing shacks out in the water built on platforms and stilts. They are a throw back to another time. No new ones can be built anymore, so if destroyed in a storm, a piece of the past disappears. We experienced another time warp, too. Several years ago, by accident, Pat and I stumbled on an enclave called Jimbo’s on Virginia Key, an island near Key Biscayne. It had made such a strong impression on us that lasted the years that we had to find it again. The words throwback, funky, off beat, marginal, heavy on the sixties come to mind. It is a collection of characters, derelict cars and a wildly painted school bus, ramshackle cottages, old cable spools used as tables, broken down furniture, tents, fishing boats and history. That it shares a neighborhood with a sewage treatment plant just adds to the ambiance. Pat says that both Flipper and Miami Vice had segments filmed there. Its also a place to have a cold beer and we were welcomed to sit a spell.
Our next target rarity was a young red-footed booby, another tropical species, that had been rescued, brought to a seabird rehabilitation institute in North Miami, nursed to health and released. I guess we are all looking for a free lunch and this bird keeps coming back for a hand out around two o’clock, when it would have been fed as a patient there. We had gotten excellent directions from one of the guys at the La Sagra sighting and it was kind of like shooting fish in a barrel. We were there just before two and the bird was already hanging out waiting. What we waited on was a good photo opportunity as the booby just sat on a fence, feet turned away from our cameras. Joining us in this pursuit and the one that followed was a man named Chris doing a Big Year. He had been and will continue to travel around the country seeing and chasing birds and visiting friends.
The last stop was to find the scarce resident smooth-billed ani. They are sometimes to be found near the Fort Lauderdale airport. The area where I have seen the bird is not the best, part industrial and part slum with a weedy field and canal side tree line the birds use. Alas, it was not a three for three target bird day. Still, I can’t complain. Two lifers without really having to leave town, a great day with fine companions, meeting interesting people, new experiences and a great weather day, its all good, man. I was a lucky woman.
I’m not done with chasing tales here. There has been a black throated gray warbler, a western species, at Green Cay for a couple of weeks. I had seen one once before a few years back in a pocket park near the condo so I did not have a life bird itch. If I was over that way, I’d pop in a have a look around. No luck in a few attempts. Still, the Year List bug was calling me so I intentionally went out to go seek it. I met several birders and photographers that morning doing the same thing, Larry and Fred among them. Bingo! Got it. Done for now. Until the next thing to chase.
Red-footed Booby. Photo by Jody Levin.