Dry Tortugas

Dry Tortugas is a group of 12 tropical islands about 60 km west of Key West, actually being closer to Cuba than to the United States. The whole island group is a Natural Park. Garden Key is the island that is the most easily accessible by ferry from Key West. Best time to visit is during spring migration with a peak between 10 and 20 April.

Two impressions of Garden Key, the most accessible island of the Dry Tortugas. On the left you see Fort Jefferson and the plaza with some trees that are very good for warblers and other migrants. On the right, the peninsula with tons of breeding birds, including Brown Noddy, Sooty Tern and Magnificent Frigatebird.

Almost all birds present on the island are exceptionally tame. This juvenile Brown Pelican would not be disturbed from its nap and allowed an (extreme) close approach.

American Redstart coming to drink at the only fresh water source on the island.

We were a bit late for the migration peak but fortunately the migration was not completely over on Garden Key. We found quite some warblers, like this Black and White Warbler.

We were told that, due to the lack of other food, Cattle Egrets feed on migrating birds, picking them off the fresh water well at the centre of the island. Since they're not so good in catching birds a lot of them die from starvation.

One of the star birds of the trip: Black-throated Blue Warbler.

A first spring female Magnolia Warbler. The island also held a stunning male of this beautiful species.

Magnificent they are, these frigatebirds, soaring over the fortress like they own the sky.

Female and male Bobolink, quite a difference one might say.

A Palm Warbler showing off at the drinking place.

Two of the handfull of Northern Waterthrushes present on Garden Key during our stay.

The colony of terns, noddies, frigatebirds seen from Garden Key.

Two more birds that were very fond of the fountain, mainly for taking a bath: Cape May Warbler on the left and Northern Parula on the right, both charming little fellows that we would welcome on one of our Wadden Islands in the Netherlands in autumn. Both species were present in good numbers during our stay.

Barely visible but recognizable even from Garden Key: Masked Booby (right). The captain of the ferry was friendly enough to approach the island to give us better looks.