We took a brief walk around Fort Jefferson, but there didn't appear to be any new arrivals. So after breakfast we weighed anchor and headed for the Gulf Stream passing Hospital Key for a final view of the Masked Boobies. The weather was not particularly inviting with winds that made the trip a rough one. We did pass a couple of Brown Boobies and saw a few Bridled Terns. The only new bird for the list was Audubon's Shearwater (web photo). We saw four of them. It eventually became rough enough that we had to come down from the upper level. I spent most of the remainder of the trip in my bunk. At present we're back in Key West. Tomorrow Nancy Spahr will fly home from here and John and I will get on the road. We have a couple of stops in south Florida and then the pedal goes to the metal as we motor toward Texas. The one new bird brings the list to 514.
Hopefully the oil from that BP rig disaster won't make it out to the Tortugas. Seems like it is going to destroy a huge swath of the Gulf Coast though.
ReplyDeleteHey Bob - Keep an eye out for noddies on the Upper Texas Coast as you head down - we photographed a subadult Black Noddy at Bolivar flats back in 1998! Very worried that Gulf currents will carry this oil into the Stream - the impacts are unimaginable. First boat trip is George Armistead's group May 18th. I will be down for some of the boats and hope to see you guys down there soon.
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