Sunday 3/11:
Today was a very good, although very long day. I woke up early and realized that with daylight savings time starting, it would be dark until at least 7:30. After lounging around, I got moving and started for Tigertail Beach, stopping to buy breakfast on the way.
At Tigertail, I enjoyed a few of the close herons and egrets and then started working my down the beach. It quickly became too wet, so I found a gap in the bushes and then a trail through the vegetation (picking up my only Rambur’s Forktail of the trip on the way). Back on the beach, a few Regal Darners were flying around.
Most of the birds were on the opposite shore, easily scopable but not great for pictures. Plovers were abundant and I quickly had my fill of Wilson’s. Snowy took more effort, but I eventually found two (which were flushed before I could even attempt pictures). At one point, I had almost every Charadrius possible in one pan of the scope. Also lots of dowitchers, Willet, Dunlin, Western Sandpipers, etc.
After Tigertail, I headed back north towards Corkscrew Swamp. Not a whole lot on the way (couple interesting hawks where I couldn’t stop, a few Wood Storks just outside the sanctuary entrance). I did a full loop here, which took two hours (in the middle of the day). Overall, I didn’t see a whole lot, Swallow-tailed Kites and Yellow-crowned Night-Herons being the highlights of the birds, Ruddy Daggerwing among the insects.
I found a Burger King for lunch (and got White-winged Dove in the parking lot) before deciding to head to Miami for a recently reported Black-throated Gray Warbler. The ride across Alligator Alley was easy. I made one stop on the way, pulling into one of the rest areas and checking the water (getting Florida Bluet).
Reaching Greynolds Park, I discovered my GPS directions went to a different entrance from the directions to the bird. I bumbled around a bit and after checking a map, took a guess at the spot. Nothing was immediately obvious, so I wandered a trail through the trees a bit. Returning, I found someone standing around looking like a birder. I quickly asked if I was in the right spot and not only was I, but this was Smith, the finder of the bird. We poked around for a couple minutes and Smith picked the bird up a short distance away. Views were a bit tough as it was way up, but satisfactory, especially after missing the Everglades one.
I then got a short tour of the park, adding Louisiana Waterthrush and Indigo Bunting to the trip list, along with another Yellow-crowned Night-Heron. Conditions were deteriorating, so we both headed out. I got back on the highway and started north, aiming to reach the Jupiter area. Check out Smith’s photos (he has much better ones of the BT Gray back a ways).
Traffic wasn’t great and I eventually pulled off to find food, settling on a Pollo Tropico, which is a fast food chicken and salad chain. Not too bad. Back on the way, I found a La Quinta in Jupiter, which was a bit on the high side but I wasn’t about to start looking around.