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Systematic list - part 4: Bitterns, Herons and allies

 

Least Bittern Ixobrychus exilis (4)

1 Green Cay 25th and 1 plus 2 well-grown chicks Wakodahatchee 27th.

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Least Bittern, Green Cay, 25th April

 

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Least Bitterns, Green Cay, 25th April

 

Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias herodias (104)

Common at many locations away from the Keys. Other than Great White Herons (see below), only 1 seen in the Keys: 1 Lake Edna 19th.

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Great Blue Herons, Corkscrew Swamp, 15th April (left) and Sanibel Causeway, 16th April (right)

 

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Great Blue Heron, Tamiami Trail Loop Road, 14th April

 

Great White Heron Ardea herodias occidentalis (3)

The white form of Great Blue Heron proved harder to find than I expected with 1 Dry Tortugas (Bush Key) 21st, 1 Fort Zachary 23rd and 1 Lake Edna 23rd.

Also an intergrade/hybrid type, Würdemann's Heron, Dry Tortugas (Long Key) 21st.

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Great White Heron, Bush Key (left) and Würdemann's Heron, Long Key (right), Dry Tortugas, 21st April

 

Great Egret (Great White Egret) Ardea alba (250)

The commonest heron in most areas. Largest counts were 38 Fort Myers Beach (Holiday Inn lagoons) 17th, c. 50 distantly off Flamingo (Everglades, seen from Snake Bight Trail and Amphitheater) 24th and c. 30 Wakodahatchee 27th.

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Great Egrets, Garden Key, Dry Tortugas, 20th April (left) and 21st April (right)

 

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Great Egrets, Wakodahatchee, 27th April

 

Snowy Egret Egretta thula (130)

Small numbers at many locations; larger counts were 80 Tamiami Trail (S-334) 14th and 20 Loxahatchee 26th.

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Snowy Egrets, Loxahatchee, 26th April (left) and Green Cay, 25th April (right)

 

Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea (20)

Best count was 8 Ding Darling 16th; otherwise 1-2 at several well-spread locations including some well inland.

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Little Blue Herons, Ding Darling, 16th April

 

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Little Blue Heron, Loxahatchee, 26th April

 

Tricolored Heron Egretta tricolor (40+)

Small numbers at many different locations, the most being 10 Wakodahatchee 27th.

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Tricolored Heron, Ding Darling, 16th April

 

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Tricolored Herons, Dog Beach, 17th April (left) and Sugarloaf Key, 23rd April (right)

 

Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens (17)

On the west coast 2 Ding Darling 16th and 7 Fort Myers Beach 17th. In the Keys 1 Ohio Key 19th, 1 Key West airport 22nd, 1 Sugarloaf 23rd, 4 Bahia Honda State Park 23rd and 1 Lake Edna 23rd. Only those at Ohio Key and Key West airport were white morphs although several of the others (including at Fort Myers Beach and Bahia Honda State Park) showed varying amounts of white in the flight feathers.

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Reddish Egrets, Sugarloaf Key, 23rd April (left) and Key West airport, 22nd April (right)

 

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Reddish Egrets, Fort Myers Beach, 17th April

 

Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis (120)

Best counts were 28 over Washington Loop Road 14th, 30 over Babcock-Webb 15th, up to 25 Dry Tortugas (Garden Key) 20th-22nd and 10 Wakodahatchee 25th. Apparently the majority of migrants landing on Garden Key die - certainly several of the birds present seemed in a pretty poor state.

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Cattle Egrets, Wakodahatchee, 25th April (left) and Flamingo Amphitheater, 18th April (right)

 

Green Heron Butorides virescens (32)

Small numbers at numerous locations, the best counts being 8 Anhinga Trail (Everglades) 18th and 4 Green Cay 25th.

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Green Heron, Shell Creek, Washington Loop Road, 14th April

 

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Green Herons, Anhinga Trail, Everglades, 18th April

 

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Green Heron, Green Cay, 25th April

 

Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax (12)

7 Tamiami Trail 14th (1 S-334, 2 Miccosukee, 4 Loop Road), 1 Babcock-Webb 16th, 1 Everglades (Anhinga Trail) 18th and 3 Loxahatchee 26th.

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Black-crowned Night-Heron, Tamiami Trail Loop Road, 14th April

 

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Nyctonassa violacea (1)

1 Ding Darling 16th was, surprisingly, the only one seen.

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Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Ding Darling, 16th April

 

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