Fork-Tailed Flycatcher Seen in The Dry Tortugas
It’s been another spectacular week at The Dry Tortugas National Park and Fort Jefferson and the sun is warming the place up quite a bit. The snowbirds might have left the Florida Keys, and South Florida for the winter, but we keep seeing rare birds in the Dry Tortugas.
Our birdwatching visitors have been astonished with not only the amount of songbirds we have, but by also seeing some rare birds that do not tend to migrate in this region. With Spring ending, and the birds traveling north for the summer, we were worried about how it would affect our bird watching and bird sightings, but to our surprise, the Dry Tortugas National Park and Fort Jefferson has had amazing different species of birds stopping by.
Our favorite bird spotted this week is the Fork-Tailed Flycatcher we saw on the lines of Fort Jefferson. These unique birds have an unmistakable look, especially for their tail. This bird, which is also referred to as the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, has exactly that shape for their tail, a scissor, or elongated fork.
This bird is normally found in Central American countries such as Nicaragua, Belize, and Costa Rica during the Winter months, and then head up to Texas for Summer breeding. It’s a bit unusual for us to see the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher bird in the Florida Keys, and the Dry Tortugas National Park, but it is not the first time we have spotted them here. Perhaps, they got caught up in a gust of wind and were blown over this way.
These birds have a distinctive bird call to them as well, and can be described as a bubbling, squeaky calls. These birds are known as highly territorial and are infamous for chasing other birds out of our territories.
To have your chance to see the beautiful Fork-Tailed Flycatcher at the Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson, book our seaplane or ferry service for a tour around the national park.