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USA - Florida: Spring Migration & Specialities

© Blue-winged Warbler by George L. Armistead
USA - Florida: Spring Migration & Specialities

USD4,900 - No Spaces Available

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Tour Leader: Local Leader

Pricing notes : Please see BirdingDirect link for spaces and updated pricing.

Tour price (Per person): USD4,900 * GBP3,683 * EUR4,318 * AUD7,690

For enquiries & bookings, please following this link:  Birding Direct - United States

This tour is operated by High Lonesome BirdTours in partnership with BirdingDirect.
These are large group tours (up to 16 guests with multiple tour leaders), and will have guests from both Highlonesome as well as BirdingDirect.

Florida is unique among the 50 states with its geology, geography, flora, and fauna offering a fascinating mix of north and south, with a flavour of the Caribbean, and a major flyway for Neotropical migrants. This short and relaxed tour combs through Southern Florida’s highlights with visits to the world-famous Everglades, the beautiful Keys, the central pine barrens and the remote Dry Tortugas. The Everglades are a one-of-kind natural wonder among southern Florida’s many wild treasures and the Keys offer spectacular beaches, plus unique hardwood hammocks home to numerous bird specialties. We will also spend a day in the Dry Tortugas amidst spectacular seabirds and we will witness the heartbeat of Spring migration here.  Even within the greater Miami area nature still survives and thrives among burgeoning development and we will visit local migrant hotspots and seek some of the ABA countable exotic species (always a fun and interesting venture).

Southern Florida harbours a large number of bird specialties, species that are absent or difficult to find in other parts of the ABA area, including Magnificent Frigatebird, Masked Booby, Sooty Tern, Brown Noddy, ‘Great White’ Heron, Short-tailed Hawk, Snail and Swallow-tailed Kites, Purple Gallinule, Limpkin, Mangrove Cuckoo, Antillean Nighthawk, White-crowned Pigeon, Florida Scrub Jay, Grey Kingbird, Black-whiskered Vireo, ‘Golden’ Yellow Warbler, and ‘Cape Sable’ Seaside Sparrow.

During this tour we will stand excellent chances of seeing all south Florida specialties plus a wide variety of neotropical migrants with excellent photo opportunities of the myriad water birds and shorebirds. The warm, tropical climate of the region also supports populations of many exotic and feral species, some of which are countable on the ABA list, including Grey-headed Swamphen, Monk, White-winged and Nanday Parakeets, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Common Myna and Spot-breasted Oriole. We will spend some time adding these to our list and it is always fun to see what else is flying around the Miami area. With luck one or two strays from the Caribbean could be present and we will make a special effort to find these, rare possibilities could include La Sagra’s Flycatcher, Bahama Mockingbird, Thick-billed Vireo, Bananaquit and Western Spindalis, but these species are only sporadically present.

 

Top Birds

Florida Scrub Jay, Magnificent Frigatebird, Masked Booby, Sooty Tern, Brown Noddy, Short-tailed Hawk, Snail & Swallow-tailed Kites, Purple Gallinule, Limpkin, Mangrove Cuckoo, Antillean Nighthawk, White-crowned Pigeon, Grey Kingbird, Black-whiskered Vireo, ‘Golden’ Yellow Warbler, ‘Cape Sable’ Seaside Sparrow, Bachman’s Sparrow, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Sandhill Crane, Painted Bunting. Warblers: Northern Waterthrush, Blue-winged, Black-and-white, Tennessee, Blackpoll, Cape May, Magnolia, Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green, Prairie, Yellow-throated, Prothonotary & Palm Warblers Introduced species: Grey-headed Swamphen, Monk, White-winged & Nanday Parakeets, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Common Myna, Spot-breasted Oriole Vagrants: La Sagra’s Flycatcher, Bahama Mockingbird, Thick-billed Vireo, Bananaquit, Western Spindalis.

Top Mammals

West Indian Manatee

Habitats Covered

urban parks, lakes, swamps, grassland, pine forest, sawgrass prairie, pelagic, sandy iselts

Expected Climate

warm and humid conditions with mosquitoes in the Everglades and sunny conditions in the Keys

Max Group Size

14 with 2 Tour Leaders

Tour Pace & Walking

relaxed pace with a few shorter walks (possibly an optional longer walk if flamingos are present)

Accommodation

comfortable hotels & lodges, 2 or 3-star

Ease of Birding

generally easy

Number of Species Expected

170

Other Attractions

American Crocodile, American Alligator, Everglades National Park

Photographic Opportunities

good

What our clients say about us

Stephan Lorenz
JA, Texas 2021

Stephan was a great birding guide and tour manager. He knew his patch and worked tirelessly to find and ensure all participants had good birds views. He located all the key 'target' birds. He and his partner produced great al fresco dining and ensured all arrangement worked well, not easy in these COVID impacted times. As always with RJ, I had a most enjoyable trip and satisfied my birding wishes. Well done RJ and Stephan/Claudia. Than you all.

Stephan Lorenz
JB - Colorado 2022

Thanks for an outstanding tour! Stephan is an excellent leader: great at finding and getting everyone on the birds, sharing information about the birds and the areas where we travelled, and handling the tour logistics. We had a few logistical difficulties, which Stephan handled beautifully. Both he and Claudia were excellent travel companions, and I would be happy to bird with them anywhere.

Stephan Lorenz
BS, Texas 2021

An excellent tour, and Stephan and Claudia were both very knowledgeable guides. I was also very grateful to them for so conscientiously researching the options for the Covid test I needed to travel back to the UK (following the UK Government’s announcement after I had already left for the tour) and ensuring I got the test. All in all a very enjoyable experience and with lots of good birds!

Stephan Lorenz
SC, USA - The Lower 48 2023

Stephan Lorenz is an excellent guide, very knowledgeable, attentive to his clients. Always making sure that everybody has the opportunity to see the birds and other mammals. He made an excellent trip report which is very much appreciated.

Forrest Rowland
PJ, Montana

By selecting the northern part of the NP, we avoided most of the huge traffic jams and could focus on the wildlife; also well-planned were the days outside of the NP. Forrest Rowland is extraordinary: total mastery of the area from the daily routes to the trails and what is where when, to substantive knowledge about the ecology, public policies governing land and water use, all of which is seamlessly integrated throughout the course of the day and week. He's able to handle difficult situations, such as the approach of a bear, to tour members who could be distracting. Days were planned, integrating sufficient down time, and flexible to utilize unique opportunities that arose with the appearance of target species. Each day proved enjoyable, filled with cumulative knowledge gained through good views of species and time to absorb the environmental context.

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