Florida Birding Trip Report - Day 9 (Homestead & Eagle Lakes Community Park)

Having a much needed lie in after a busy past couple of days, we left the luxury of our apartment hotel a lot later than usual, taking full advantage of our free room upgrade and admiring the beautiful Florida Keys scenery that surrounded us. 

Small species of crab drifted in the tide

The ocean key views around the hotel were stunning!

With Alex spotting our second Yellow-throated Warbler as he packed the car, we were eventually on our way back up north, our first stop being SW 203^rd Avenue in Homestead where there had been a recent flurry of both Bronzed and Shiny Cowbird records.  Apparently the home of an extremely keen bird enthusiast and guide, we parked up on the roadside and started scanning the immediate area.

With a wealth of bird activity in the well-stocked garden, our first birds of note were two Western Kingbirds, their small bills and grey breasts separating them from the tricky to distinguish Tropical Kingbirds. Our first Baltimore Oriole of the trip was also a nice surprise, as was a single Ruby-throated Hummingbird busy nectaring on the flowers in the shrubbery. 

Baltimore Oriole

As well as the usual garden visitors such as Gray Catbirds, Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles and Northern Cardinals, we got great views of several Purple Martins soaring over the house, a large Purple Martin nest box erected on the back lawn the source of these colourful hirundines.

Purple Martin with nestbox!

With the bird feeders the Cowbirds had been feeding on sadly out of sight behind a large fence, we luckily got a glimpse of a male Bronzed Cowbird mixed in with the Brown-headed Cowbirds perched in one of the trees, quickly being joined by another before flying over the gardens. Over the course of the next hour we got further views of around 8 of these bull-necked birds, foraging on the grass by the side of the road but sadly always relatively distant and obscured by a heat haze. 

Bronzed Cowbird!

Similar to Shiny Cowbirds but differing in their thick-set appearance, wide neck and diagnostic red eye, despite an extensive search of the area we unfortunately couldn’t locate any of the rarer Shinies.

With the non-birding neighbours probably thinking we were casing the street out for a robbery, especially as we were repeatedly driving slowly around the same square of houses armed with binoculars, we cut our losses with the Shiny Cowbirds and headed up to our next location, Eagle Lakes Community Park – a site that was on route to our overnight stop at Fort Myers. Failing to see any Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks near Miami, Alex had found through e-bird that the lake here still held these attractive ducks in good numbers, with records just a few days earlier.

Driving along the long Tamiami Trail through the Big Cypress Preserve and heart of the everglades, we kept our eyes peeled for Florida Panthers, but several Alligators and raptors soaring overhead were all we could muster.

Alex decided he wanted to tuck in to a bit of local cuisine en-route...Turkeys beware!

Arriving at Eagle Lakes and making the short walk from the car park, we immediately connected with our target – several Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks upended in the water and dabbling for food. With their quirky red bills and black bellies, this was a distinctive species of duck, and we watched from the welcome shade of the wooden shelter as they went about their business.

Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks - complete with photobombing Mottled Duck

The lake was also alive with a number of other bird species – a pair of Black-necked Stilts probed in the mud in front of us, while Anhingas soaked up the rays on the banks in their familiar open winged posture.

Black-necked Stilt

Along with the usual American Coots and Common Gallinules, there were also a number of Blue-winged Teals and Mottled Ducks lazing on the water’s surface, while Snowy Egrets, Little Blue & Tricoloured Herons stalked the reeds silently in the search for prey.

Little Blue Heron hunting for fish

After spending several hours in Homestead searching out Bronzed Cowbirds, it was therefore a surprise to see 3 individuals right next to the shelter at Eagle Lakes, two males displaying in earnest to a female. Much closer than around the gardens at Homestead, we were at least able to get some better photographs as they flitted between the grass and the trees.

Beautiful male Bronzed Cowbird

Taking a short walk around the lake’s edge, we encountered another Southern Black Racer snake basking on the bank before disappearing in to the undergrowth, as well as some extremely large fish in an adjacent pool. 

Fish sp!

With the weather still exceptionally hot and with no additional birds at the lake, we headed back to the car, stopping to admire a young Mourning Dove on the way – a plumage neither of us had seen before. An obliging American Crow also provided our best views yet of this species – before now just seen in flight.

Juvenile Mourning Dove - the plumage threw us off for a bit!

With the Tuesday having been set aside as mostly a driving day in order to get out of the Keys and back further north, we had done pretty well with our two additional lifers, and continuing on the long drive up to Fort Myers we had no further birds of note.

Reaching our hotel for the night and tucking in to some Cracker Barrel home-cooked chicken at the restaurant next door, we were able to relax and look forward to another leisurely day’s birding planned for the following day – the white sandy Fort Myers beaches and the opportunity to enjoy some Florida waders whilst soaking up the sun.