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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 * GBP3,470 * EUR4,013 * AUD7,261

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
MC, Colorado & Texas 2022

I would just like to say how much I enjoyed both the tours - I saw lots of new birds, and our guide Stephan Lorenz was fantastic - extremely knowledgeable, and very patient, and made sure we all saw the birds. His wife Claudia was also extremely helpful in so many ways. I certainly hope I will do another tour with them in the not too distant future. The groups on both tours were friendly and easy to get on with. It was cold in Colorado, but it is a beautiful part of the world!

Stephan Lorenz
JS, Texas 2021

We enjoyed the tour. Stephan was great in every way and Claudia also terrific. The locations were interesting. The Lost Maples area was really lovely. The bat cave experience was amazing!

Stephan Lorenz
WW, Texas 2021

Stephan Lorenz is a fantastic leader. This is my second trip with him and the reason I booked this trip. His attention to details and relentless searching for sought after birds makes any trip with him well worth the time. He and his wife, Claudia work well together as a dynamic team solving any problem that arise. We missed our connections and were late for the first day and efforts were made and resolved for us to join the group quickly. Despite the stormy weather we were able to see the target birds. This trip was selected because of the shorter amount of days making it easier to fit into our schedule. During this pandemic we felt safe traveling with this group and with the conditions of lodging and take out meal dining. I look forward to my next trip with Stephan.

Stephan Lorenz
DH, Texas 2021

This was my 4th tour with Stephan, and he continues to be welcoming, caring, and on-point the entire trip. He always goes the extra mile to ensure everyone has a chance to see the birds and is very informative throughout the tour, always slipping in identification characteristics, sounds, or habitats that will help us in the future. He does all this with a very easy-going manner despite his high energy level and excellent people skills to ensure comraderie within the group. Despite the varied skill levels of the group’s participants, he is able to make each of us feel special, whether it is for me as a beginner birder with limited name associations to the species and a brain that doesn’t recall the information from day to day, all the way for those who are excellent at spotting birds and already knowing the species, perhaps due to a career in the field. This tour provided more challenges with some restaurants and toilets closed due to the pandemic or limited hours which did not mesh with the tour route, but Stephan and Claudia did an excellent job of rounding up food, supplies, meals, drinks, and toilet breaks. Because of the intense nature and number of miles/hours required each day to see the target species, they arranged for one vehicle to return to lodging each night at dinner time to provide an early night for those of us who needed a bit more sleep or for those whose abilities limited nighttime walking on uneven surfaces! I really appreciated that effort and concern, even though I love to see owls, etc. They are wonderful guides and friends!!!

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!

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