Can you believe that mosquitoes are abundant in the Everglades in the summer?

In my typical birding fashion, I was too excited to sleep until the agreed upon time. I woke up Eva at 4:37AM, claiming that it was what we agreed on (which was really 5:37AM). She's a good sport.
We arrived at Dump Marsh in Cutler before in complete darkness, without bug spray. It was needed. Badly needed. So we went to a store and came back in time to be ready well before the sun got there. At about 6:15, my first bird of the year was a Killdeer. Pretty good, native, shorebird. I'll take it.

At the Annex by the Everglades, we struggled for quite a while trying to identify an Empid. Definitely an Alder or Willow Flycatcher, but the only reliable way to identify them is by call, and they felt like being silent. Other than that, the birding as quiet. It seemed that many of the warblers had moved out overnight.

In the Everglades, we had a few surprising, nice views. Chuck-will's Widow views, as well as a roosting Common Nighthawk. It's not often that you see one, never mind both of these in the daytime.

In total, Eva and I did pretty well seeing some birds that would be difficult to geet outside of South Florida. We saw a White-winged Dove, Spot-breasted Oriole, White-crowned Pigeon, and Common Myna. Some birds that eluded us that i will need to give another are the Black-whiskered Vireo, Short-tailed Hawk, and Red-whiskered Bulbul. I also missed seeing a Smooth-billed Ani with Rosana at one of the only reliable sites: near the Ft. Lauderdale Airport.