Tuesday, January 07, 2014

14C in Florida Keys

Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) - from a sunny day on a previous trip!

I'm in the Florida Keys again on field work and today the current Arctic air mass, which is gripping much of the US, also seems to be impacting on conditions this far south. The maximum temperature in Summerland Key was around 14 degrees Celsius but together with the wind and wet conditions in the kayak, it felt much colder than this. Not that I minded as it felt much like a typical summer's day in Scotland.

Best birds from the kayak today were two Ruby-throated Hummingbirds feeding around a large flowering bush overhanging one of the channels near Caribbean Drive East.

Other good species seen on Summerland Key this week have included Magnificent Frigatebird, Great White Heron, Tricolored Heron, Little Blue Heron, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, nesting Ospreys, Killdeer, Royal Tern, Belted Kingfisher, White-eyed Vireo, and various warblers.

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