
Everglades - Anhinga Trail
Experience the Everglades Up-Close
Welcome to the next tour in our Birding Tour USA collection. On a map, the finger-like state of Florida protrudes prominently from the continental United States, reaching south towards the Caribbean until it just barely misses being in the tropics. To the north, frost-hardy temperate deciduous forest dominates, while warm bodies of water surround the rest of the state. Together, both climate and geography isolate Florida from the rest of the country.
Because of its geographically unique position, Florida is a crossroads between the temperate northern latitudes and the sultry Caribbean tropics. Indeed, about a dozen bird species of West Indian origin reach the northern limits of their range here, while many species more typical of more northern latitudes reach the southern edge of their range. Many of the West Indian species live nowhere else in the United States. We also time our tour in late April, when spring migration peaks, potentially augmenting our trip list with a wide variety of colorful warblers and charismatic waders.
On this Birding Tour USA adventure, we cover the southern two thirds of the state comprehensively in search of the many specialty birds on offer. We begin by exploring Miami, a city with a decidedly Caribbean flair, in search of several established exotics such as Spot-breasted Oriole, White-winged Parakeet, and Red-whiskered Bulbul. In the central part of the state, pinelands feature a specialized avian community, including Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Brown-headed Nuthatch, and Bachman’s Sparrow.
We also explore nearby oak scrub for Florida’s only endemic bird, Florida Scrub Jay. On the last leg of our journey we explore the tropical hardwood hammocks and mangrove swamps of the Florida Keys in search of Caribbean specialties such as Mangrove Cuckoo, White-crowned Pigeon, and Black-whiskered Vireo. We also take a day trip to Dry Tortugas National Park, where Sooty Tern and Brown Noddybreed in the thousands. With some luck, many of the sites we visit on this Birding Tour USA excursion can be alive with migrant songbirds, and there is always a chance for a vagrant from the Caribbean, like La Sagra’s Flycatcher or Western Spindalis, to show up.
Duration: 9 days
Limit: 4 – 8
Date: 27 April – 05 May 2024
Start: Miami, FL
End: Miami, FL
Price:
US$4690 per person sharing assuming 4 – 8 participants
Deposit: 25% of full tour price
Single supplement: US$990
We can run the same trip at a price similar to the larger group price for 2 tour participants, if they rent their own vehicle and pay for fuel – please e-mail [email protected] for details.
Experience the Everglades Up-Close
Alligator mississippiensis
Isolated and Beautful
Where the Pine Species are Found
Another successful Birding Ecotours’ South Florida Specialties Tour has wrapped up! Though a few species eluded the group early on, our persistence and perseverance paid off in the end with incredible looks at all of the South Florida target species. In addition to the birds, we spent some time with American Alligator, American Crocodile, and Wil got down and dirty with the Tarpon on Marathon Key. Florida treated us very kindly with sunny skies, great food, and 164 total bird species – including 15 warbler species and many other migrants. In all, we traveled over 1800 miles from downtown Miami to the central pine forest, along the west coast to the Everglades, through the Keys, and out to the remote Dry Tortugas.
Click the here to download the Florida Peninsula and The Florida Keys – April/May 2018 Trip Report.