I traveled to the east coast on Thursday morning, leaving around 9:30.  I arrived in the Fort Lauderdale area around noon.  I decided to look for the Anis that had been sighted on the South Perimeter Road of the Fort Lauderdale International Airport.  Once I found Perimeter Road, I had no problem sighting the three Anis.  They were along the bottom of the hedges on the north side of the road.  Since there is no room to pull off and traffic is fairly continuous, I didn’t get good looks.  However, on Griffith Road I found the entrance to the linear park that is on the south side of Perimeter Road.  After parking, I quickly found the Anis again and took pictures through the chain link fence.  Two birds were Smooth-billed Anis and one was a Groove-billed Ani.

I then traveled north to the Del Ray Beach area and visited the Green Cay Wetlends, which was opened to the public last month.  There are two elevated boardwalks, a 1-mile loop and a ½-mile loop, around the wetlands.  I saw the usual wading birds, such as Egrets, Herons, and Ibises.  Hundreds of Tree Swallows were flying around the area most of the afternoon.  Ducks observed included Mottled Ducks, Blue-winged Teal, and a Northern Shoveler.  Black-necked Stilts and both species of Yellowlegs were also seen.  I suspect that in two or three years, this place may be as good as or better than Wakodahatchee for observing and photographing birds.

On Friday morning, I visited the Wakodahatchee Wetlands, also in the Del Ray Beach area.  I addition to the usual Anhingas, Cormorants, Coots, Egrets, Herons, Ibises, and Moorhens, several Purple Gallinules, Mottled Ducks, Blue-winged Teal, Green-winged Teal, and Pied-billed Grebe were observed.  .  There were also nesting Anhingas and Great Blue Herons.  Tree Swallows, Roughed-winded Swallows, and Forster’s Terns were observed flying over the Wetlands.  A Purple Martin house had several residents.  This is a wonderful place in the morning for photographers because one is so close to the birds.  It is also a very popular place.

After a quick lunch, I traveled over to the Loxahatchee NWR, my first visit.  I walked the trail around the first cell. In addition to the normal wading birds, I saw several Purple Gallinules.  I was surprised when I saw another purple bird that looked liked a Gallinule, but was quite a bit larger.  After consulting Sibley’s, I realized it was a Purple Swamphen, my first sighting of this species.  A highlight of the afternoon was the witnessing of an Alligator munching a Soft-shell Turtle.  I left the area around 2:00 and headed for home.

After heavy rain yesterday, I thought it might be a good time to check Fort DeSoto for migrants.  My first stop was the east point turn-around where an American Golden Plover had been sighted the day before.   Not a bird; the tide was low, so shorebirds were further out on sandbars.  I then stopped at the east beach woods and took a quick walk through.  Not a bird.  I stopped along east beach to take some pictures of the flock of gulls and shorebirds that usually can be found there.

My next stop was the area around the mulberry bushes.  Finally a few birds.  Saw the common residents, such as Cardinal, Palm Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Mockingbirds, and Catbirds.  Very few migrants, although I did see two Black-and-white Warblers and a Northern Parula had been reported.  Saw a Ruby-throated Hummingbird come to the feeder several times.

Next stop was the radio tower area.  Dead.  Then the north lagoon.  Again, because of the low tide, the few birds that were present were in the far corner.  Did see two Oystercatchers and two Red-breasted Mergansers.  Talked to one birder who indicated there was some migrant activity in the Arrowhead Picnic area.  Stopped there and ran into a small group pf birders, including Lyn Atherton.  They were seeing some migrants, such as Prothonary and Hooded Warblers, Northern Parulas and Red-eyed Vireos.  They were deep into the woods and not easy to spot, much less photograph.

We visited some friends, who live near Alva, to see their Purple Martin colony.  They have two Purple Martin houses, each consisting of a dozen gourds.  At the time of our visit, the gourds were about 60% occupied, although more birds keep arriving daily.  The Martins are gathering nesting materials in preparation for nesting season.  I’m thinking about starting a Purple Martin colony and received some valuable pointers.

I traveled to Kissimmee Prairie Preserve today, about a 2-hour drive (95 miles) each way from Punta Gorda.    When I arrived, Park personnel were conducting a controlled burn on a large section of land on the east side of the main road.  I continued on to the Park office where I picked up some literature and talked to a ranger about some target birds I was interested in.  The Grasshopper Sparrow is very hard to find; one should be there at daybreak.  The most likely place to find these birds is along Grasshopper Road, which is restricted, that is, the general public is not allowed in that area.  Another bird of interest is the White-tailed Kite, which is quite rare and seldom seen.

There are only two roads on which vehicles are permitted.  Although there are a number of trails, most are accessible only by foot or by horseback.  For example, the west side of the Park is bordered by the Kissimmee River; however, one must walk more than five miles to reach it.  I did see a few birds, including Red-shouldered Hawks, Caracara,  a Wild Turkey, Eastern Meadowlarks, Red-winged Blackbirds and Lesser Yellowlegs.