339. Northern Gannet

Date         November 23, 2022

Location    Gulf of Mexico near Dry Torguas National Park, Key West, FL

On the boat ride from Key West to Dry Tortugas, I was standing on the outside deck right at the front of the bow. Off to port and forward some distance ahead I saw three birds flying. All three clearly had the white body and black wing tips seen here. I could not discern the warm buffy tones on the heads. They flew together for quite a long time, maybe 10 minutes, just over the surface of the ocean, and gradually moved out of site.

I didn't have my field guide with me, and I postulated in my head that I had seen some sort of shearwater or maybe even an albatross due to the size. They definitely had long wing spans. These were large birds.

I finally got home to investigate, and I was surprised that this bird fit the description. For some reason I had thought that these were roughly the size of a gull, but in fact they are, as the Cornell guide states in the first sentence of the description, "nearly as large as an albatross." Combined with the clearly discernable color pattern, and range, I was able to identify my trio of birds as Northern Gannets.

I think from the tip of the bill to the base of the neck, this is one of the most beautiful birds out there. So while I have officially ticked this species off, I do want to see them again up close. They are featured in the film Winged Migration and I am always struck with their beauty.

Cornell: Northern Gannet

338. Snowy Plover

Date         November 22, 2022

Location    Key West Nature Preserve, Key West, FL

This nature preserve is quite small, consisting of a trail that goes right by a condo on the left (as you walk toward the beach) from a trailhead on a street with no parking, and a marsh to the right. There is a boardwalk that leads to a viewpoint in the marsh, but it was blocked off due to hurricane Ian damage. That looked like a productive spot, but I was only able to see a little bit of the water through the thick trees.

The trail goes for no more than a quarter mile and ends at the beach, where there is a viewing platform above the surface of the beach but no access to the beach itself. So while there was a great view and a good variety of birds there, there is no way to get any closer to something if you wish.

Such was the situation as a I was able to spot several of these plovers. They were just close enough to able to discern their color and behavior. These things and the range confirmed that they were Snowy Plovers. The beach was very much like what is seen in the photo above.

Cornell: Snowy Plover