On 16 February we drove up Highway 1 to Key Largo where we stayed the night at the Bayside Inn. Here we enjoyed the sunset of our last night in the Florida Keys.
The following morning we an early breakfast at Doc’s Diner, which was just a short walk from our hotel.
We then drove to the nearby Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge, which disappointingly, we discovered was largely closed to the public. However, they did have a small butterfly garden where we had good views of a Julia Heliconian. And we also saw a Yellow-rumped Warbler and a Northern Parula.
Zac Babbit one of our guides on our Tropical Birding trip to Oman the previous November helpfully suggested that we should try to see the Mangrove Cuckoo at Black Point Park on the edge of Biscayne Bay south of Miami. We stopped there for a couple of hours on the way back to Miami and walked along the spit of land that extends out into the bay. Unfortunately, it was a bit late in the morning to see the cuckoo, but it was a beautiful walk and we did see Prairie Warbler, Northern Mockingbird and Fish Crow. The very distinctive Peter’s Rock Agama were hard to miss on the paths.
On our way back to Miami we stopped at the magnificent Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, which was one of the highlights of our time in Florida. This is a very extensive parkland area with beautiful flower beds, forested areas and a number of lakes.
Here we saw lots of Monarch butterflies and a range of birds, including an attractive male Northern Cardinal and a Broad-winged Hawk.
After a very pleasant couple of hours we drove the short distance to Miami and checked in for a second night at the Candlewood Suites hotel close to the airport. This gave us a chance to revisit the excellent Basilico restaurant, which was only a short walk from out hotel. Early next morning we drove to the airport and returned our rental car and took the American Airlines flight to Belize City to join our birding tour.