Large-billed Tern: the thrill of the chase

In the middle of May, 2023, an amazing story unfolded in south Florida. Two Large-billed Tern, a South American species of larid, turned up simultaneously on both coasts of Florida. An adult was found in a Wildlife Management Area in Indian River County near Vero Beach on Florida’s Atlantic Slope while an immature bird was detected at an inland canal near Tampa on the Gulf Slope. 

I had seen the species in Colombia, Peru and Argentina in its native habitat of tropical inland lagoons and sluggish rivers. It is anybody’s guess how these magnificent terns came to Florida, but I like to imagine that the pair had been caught up in bad weather which blew them out to sea where they got lost and disoriented and separated. Either that or they were vacationing in Florida and had an argument about which way to turn on the expressway. Remarkably, several weeks later, both birds had remained present at or very near to their original discovery locations. 

These birds are striking in their plumage and appearance. In flight, they exhibit a wing pattern recalling Sabine’s Gull with black, white and gray triangles on the upper side of each wing. They are large birds, the size of Ring-billed Gull or Royal Tern. But the most outstanding feature is the massive yellow bill, which gives them a kingfisher or toucanette vibe. Clearly this bill evolved to allow them to catch bigger fish than other species of terns, which allowed them to carve out a niche for their survival in a dog-eat-dog world. 

My tour schedule hadn’t permitted me to make an attempt to chase this ABA Code 5 species until July. Having done well on filling my species gaps in New England, I was able to dedicate several days to a Florida chase trip. I arrived early at Miami on the morning of July 5, 2023. I had consulted with Bill Kaempfer about my itinerary. Bill is a transplanted Coloradoan birder now living in Tampa. He explained to me the access issues for the two terns and advised me on the most accessible locations for several psittacine species (parrots, parakeets, macaws, etc.,) that had evaded me in May. 

I also wanted to try my luck again for the uncooperative La Sagra’s Flycatcher south of Miami near the Mangrove Reserve at Biscayne National Park. Larry Manfredi, the Grand Wizard of South Florida birding, had predicted that it would return and he was right. In fact two days earlier, Alex Lamoreaux (another Big Year birder) had posted to eBird explicit instructions for finding the bird. If I couldn’t find that one (again), another had been discovered at the parking lot of Long Key State Park by Erik Nielsen, whom I knew from my teenage years in Massachusetts. My Colorado friends Kathy Kay and Graham Ray had already chased that one successfully after ticking the immature Large-billed Tern near Tampa. 

So I picked up a trashy cheap rental car near the Miami Airport and off I went. First stop was Coral Reef Park in Paradise City south of Miami. Bill Kaempfer told me that a pair of Blue-and-yellow Macaws visits the park each morning at 10 AM.  I had ticked this species in Puerto Rico earlier in the year but I hoped to add it to my ABA area and Lower 48 year lists in eBird even if not officially countable. The ABA requires documented breeding for 15 consecutive years before it will add an exotic species to the official ABA Checklist. The macaw was not

yet considered naturalized. I arrived at 11 AM and found no macaws. I did see an apple snail-eating Limpkin and dozens of recently fledged Muscovy, Egyptian Goose and Common Gallinule. It was a great place to be a baby waterfowl! The Muscovy and Egyptian Goose, like the macaw, are exotic species in Florida but have been considered naturalized and therefore are included in the ABA checklist, and are formally countable for my biggest year list.  

Next stop was Larry Manfredi’s worksite to look for the La Sagra’s Flycatcher. I arrived about 2 pm on Wednesday afternoon. The environmental remediation work had terminated for the hottest part of the day. I explored the entire area, hiking 4 miles over 4 hours with no sign of any Myiarchus species flycatchers. Aargh, not again. This was my fourth attempt to find this flycatcher. The La Sagra’s flycatcher was quickly becoming a leading candidate for my nemesis bird in 2023. 

I had hunted too long for the La Sagra’s Flycatcher and was not going to have enough daylight to tick the Large-billed Tern before sundown. I eventually arrived at the Ave Maria housing/golf resort development near Tampa around 8:30 PM. I searched the area for an hour in the dimming light. No sign of the Tern. Uh oh. I figured that if I missed it the following morning I could drive the 4 hours across the peninsula to Vero Beach and get the adult that same afternoon. 

I spent the night in the cheapest, grungiest, most cockroach infested dump I could find in nearby Immokalee, FL. The cost was $90 which seemed exorbitant to me. But that’s inflation for you. 

The next morning I returned to Ave Maria and immediately found the immature Large-billed Tern loitering with a Black Skimmer flock near one of the many man-made lagoons in the development. This was Biggest Year-Bird number 721! 

My next target was Tricolored Munia, an exotic species that was believed to have spread to Florida from Cuba where it was originally introduced from South Asia. A small flock had been present over the winter at the south end of Lake Okeechobee in central Florida. The last detection in eBird was from March. After missing the one at the Fort Jefferson water drip by minutes (seconds?), Cliff, Irene and I failed to find one in the same area of Lake Okeechobee in early May. 

I was 90 minutes away. When I arrived the area was impacted by severe thunder storms so I made a half-hearted effort to locate one of these tiny estrildid finches near the lake shore. I found Limpkin, Gray-headed Swamphen, and Anhinga but no Munia. So I drove south towards Miami with the aim of watching parrots and macaws arrive to the Brewer Park Parrot Roost, a hotspot location in eBird. I arrived at sunset but to my disappointment I found few psittacines. One small macaw landed in a distant palm but my attempts to get closer to the tree for better views failed. This was probably a Crimson-fronted macaw, another exotic species resident in south Florida but not yet established for 15

years. This was another species that got

away from me but I was not too concerned because of its non-naturalized status. 

I stayed at a nearby motel intending to return to the parrot roost site in the morning but I overslept, so I went straight to Larry Manfredi’s worksite on Friday morning hoping to find the La Sagra’s Flycatcher (or Larry himself). I found the latter. Larry seemed happy to see me. This would be his chance to redeem his promise to find me this bird after the bird failed to show for Irene, Cliff and me with Larry in early May. But alas, it was not in the cards again. My success rate for finding this ABA code 3+ species was now 0 for 5. Larry was a gentleman and drove me to my car parked a mile and a half away, saving me from a grueling hike in the sweltering heat. Consolation birds included a singing Carolina Wren (rare in eBird), Pileated Woodpecker (I never get tired of this regal species), a flyover Short-tailed Hawk (rare), and killer looks at Common Nighthawk roosting on the ground along the trail. 

It was about noon on my last day in Florida. With just one afternoon left for chasing new year birds my next move was a no-brainer. I could reach Long Key State Park in less than 2 hrs of driving. I arrived at 2 PM. The La Sagra’s Flycatcher hadn’t been reported in three days but I was optimistic. However, after scouring the trail system I came up empty again-0 for 6. At 5 PM I  headed to Brewer Park for the parrot show but misjudged the time. I arrived after dark. 

When I got to the airport for my 6 AM flight I was delighted to learn that it was cancelled and the next available flight was in 24 hrs. I rented a car for the day and was arriving at the Brewer Park Parrot roost at dawn. To my delight I found parrots here. Six Orange-winged Parrots (722) perched high in a bare limb. A couple of Yellow-chevroned Parakeets flew by. I decided to return to Coral Reef park for the Blue-and-yellow Macaw and I am glad I did. I found a dozen roosting in one tree. I also found a pair of White-eyed Parakeet (723), as well as Mitred and Red-masked Parakeets. I explored this park more fully and was amazed to find an extensive protected patch of piney woods with palmetto understory in the heart of suburban south Miami. After a relaxing morning in the park, I felt energized to try again for the Biscayne La Sagra’s Flycatcher. Three hours in the heat of the day was all I could muster. I found a rare Gray Catbird and a panting Great Crested Flycatcher but remarkably no La Sagra’s Flycatcher. 0 for 7!  This might be my nemesis bird this year. 

During the afternoon I drove to various parrot locations in south Miami and Miami Beach. I found the mother load in the heart of Miami Beach, where hundreds of parakeets were staging in preparation to visit a communal roost. Most appeared to be White-eyed Parakeet but I also got photos of a couple Blue-crowned Parakeet (724). 

The extra day enabled me to add several species of exotic psittacines to my eBird totals. However many of these are not yet formally accepted as naturalized or established by the ABA and therefore will not be countable for my ABA totals. I believe my ABA area list in eBird for 2023 contains 10 such species. I’ll worry about these adjustments at the end of the year when I submit my Big Year totals to ABA Listing Central. 

Audio and photos of these Florida birds will eventually be uploaded to the eBird checklists which can be viewed at the eBird Trip Report here: https://ebird.org/tripreport/149433.