It used to take a trip to The Dry Tortugas in the spring to maybe see one or two Brown Boobies sitting way out on a channel marker, or maybe get lucky with a flyover. Back in 2012 I missed the Brown Booby on the Dry Tortugas and for my Big Year, and actually saw my first one in the Erie Basin, on the New York side of Fort Erie in 2013. Last year, at this time I was back in Toronto just days away from spinal surgery. But I am mostly recovered, working and, most importantly, birding. Over the last year or so a large group of Brown Boobies have settled in on a power tower in Tampa Bay, as viewed from Philippe Park, and I enjoyed a good look at them as I began Spring Training 2018, a couple of weeks ago. They are about 400 yards from shore and I was able to use my PhoneSkope iPhoneX digiscoping adapter to get some decent photos.
As for Florida rarities, a big surprise a few days ago, at Eagle Lake Park, was a Trumpeter Swan, a long way from home. This “snowbird” brought a lot of local and traveling birders out to see, what for most, including myself, was a Florida Lifer,(263 for the state):
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