Gavin Bieber on his just-concluded tour of South Florida

South Florida may conjure up images of sandy crowded beaches, traffic, and Cuban food, but for the visiting naturalist it offers so much more.  Our 2014 tour just wrapped up combining the best of the Keys, Dry Tortugas, Greater Miami, the Everglades and the Southwest coast of this dynamic state.  From the approachable endemic Florida Scrub-Jays and portly Gopher Tortoises of the arid interior pine forests, to hordes of wading birds in the cypress swamps and backwaters of South Florida, there were birds at every turn.  This year we were treated to unparalleled views of Purple Gallinule and Shiny Cowbird in the Everglades, an excellent visit to the Keys and Tortugas that produced nearly all of our target birds (including Mangrove Cuckoo), and even a Caribbean stray in the form of a LaSagra's Flycatcher!  I look forward to the tour every year, with its great combination of migration, an interesting suite of local specialities, and the chance for a rarity or two; and this year certainly did not disappoint!

Florida Scrub-Jay

Gopher Tortoise

Egrets in a drainage canal - a Florida scene

Purple Gallinule

Shiny Cowbirds

La Sagra's Flycatcher