South Florida Rare Bird Update
Compiled by Brian Rapoza
Last updated September 21, 2020
Please post updates on the TAS Bird Board, positive or negative, for the following:
Recent Reports
Baird's Sandpiper
Flamingo, Everglades National Park, Monroe County: Last reported September 21 (personal communication) Photo
Directions: From the intersection of Florida's Turnpike and US 1 in Florida City, turn right on Palm Drive (SW 344 Street) and drive west 1.6 miles. Turn left on SW 192 Avenue and drive south 2 miles. Turn right on SW 376 Street (SR 9336) and drive west 5 miles to the park entrance. From the fee station (currently no fee), continue west 38 miles to Flamingo. Just before the campground entrance, bear left to the amphitheater at the end of the road. The bird has been seen near the amphitheater. Map
Smooth-billed Ani
Danell Lane, Hialeah, Miami-Dade County: Reported September 20 (eBird) Photo
Directions: From Florida's Turnpike, exit at Okeechobee Road (US 27, Exit 35). Drive north 4.8 miles to Krome Avenue (FL 997). Turn left and drive south 0.8 miles to Danell Lane (at the Mack's Fish Camp sign). Turn right and drive north 0.1 mile to a water control structure. Three birds were seen along the canal that leads north from the water control structure. Map
Aerojet Road, Homestead, Miami-Dade County: Reported September 19 (eBird)
Directions: From the intersection of Florida's Turnpike and US 1 in Florida City, turn right on Palm Drive (SW 344 Street) and drive west 1.6 miles. Turn left on SW 192 Avenue and drive south 2 miles. Turn right on SW 376 Street (SR 9336) and drive west 4.5 miles to Aerojet Road (SW 232 Street, closed to vehicular traffic, park at the locked gate). Walk south 1.0 mile to a second locked gate. The bird was seen around the canal that crosses under the road, just south of the gate. Map
Thick-billed Vireo
Long Key State Park, Monroe County: Reported September 19 (eBird) Photo
Directions: The park entrance is at MM 67.5 on US 1 in the Florida Keys (fee, open 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM). Turn left after the entrance station to reach the Golden Orb Nature Trail parking area. The bird was seen along the first 300 feet of the trail; enter from the trailhead on the north side of the parking area. Map
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Sem-Chi Rice Mill, Palm Beach County: Reported September 19 (eBird) Photo
Directions: From Florida’s Turnpike in West Palm Beach, exit at Southern Boulevard/SR 80. Drive west 13.5 miles to CR 880. Turn left and drive west 4 miles to the Sem Chi Rice Mill entrance road. Turn left and drive 0 .7 miles to the rice mill. The bird was seen among other blackbirds and cowbirds. Please bird from the road and don't trespass onto the mill property. Map
Neotropic Cormorant
Wakodahatchee Wetlands, Delray Beach, Palm Beach County: Reported September 16 (eBird) Photo
Directions: From Florida's Turnpike, exit at Atlantic Avenue (Exit 81). Drive east 1.7 miles to Jog Road. Turn left and drive north 1.5 miles to the entrance (no fee, open sunrise to sunset). No specific location has been provided for this sighting. Map
Willow Flycatcher
Aerojet Road, Homestead, Miami-Dade County: Reported September 16 (eBird) Photo
Directions: From the intersection of Florida's Turnpike and US 1 in Florida City, turn right on Palm Drive (SW 344 Street) and drive west 1.6 miles. Turn left on SW 192 Avenue and drive south 2 miles. Turn right on SW 376 Street (SR 9336) and drive west 4.5 miles to Aerojet Road (SW 232 Street, closed to vehicular traffic, park at the locked gate). The bird was seen on the east side of Aerojet Road,just north of Lucky Hammock, which is 0.3 miles south of the locked gate on the west side of the road. Map
Hudsonian Godwit
Curry Hammock State Park, Little Crawl Key, Monroe County: Reported September 15 (eBird) Photo
Directions: The park entrance (fee, open 8:00 AM to sunset) is on US 1 at mile marker 56.5. The bird was seen along the park's shoreline. Map
Older Reports
Long-tailed Jaeger
Offshore, Miami-Dade County: Reported September 13 (eBird) Photo
Directions: Four birds were seen during a boat trip offshore. Map
Boynton Inlet, Boynton Beach, Palm Beach County: Last reported September 12 (eBird) Photo
Directions: From I-95 in Boynton Beach, Exit at Woolbright Road (Exit 56). Drive east 1 mile to SR A1A. Turn left and drive north 2 miles to the inlet. Free parking is available at Ocean Inlet Park, just south of the inlet on SR A1A. The bird has been seen offshore from the inlet. Map
Thick-billed Vireo
R. Hardy Matheson County Preserve, Miami-Dade County: Last reported September 11 (eBird) Photo
Directions: From the Don Shula Expressway (CR 874), exit at Killian Parkway. Drive east 5 miles (Becomes Killian Drive/SW 112 Street) to Red Road (SW 57 Avenue). Turn right and drive south 0.3 miles to Old Cutler Road. Turn left and drive east, then north 0.4 miles to the preserve entrance on the east side of Old Cutler Road (no fee, open sunrise to sunset, street parking only). The bird has been seen on the left side of the main gravel path, about 50-100 yards past the yellow entrance gate. Map
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Robert King High Park, Miami-Dade County: Last reported September 9 (eBird) Photo
Directions: From the Palmetto Expressway (CR 826), exit at Flagler Street. Drive east 0.7 miles to the park entrance (no fee, open sunrise to sunset.) The bird has been seen on bare branches of Australian pines that line both the east and west sides of the park. Map
South Florida as defined here includes the following counties: Broward, Collier, Hendry, Lee, Miami-Dade, Monroe and Palm Beach. Click here for locations to see regularly-occurring south Florida specialties. Click here for directions to those locations. BirdBoard reports for these species are also appreciated. If any errors are found in this report, please email Brian Rapoza.