Tour Highlights

• Private birding charter aboard the MV Makai for 5-8 birders! All meals Day 2 through lunch Day 4 are included! There is plenty of space aboard for our group, guide, and crew! 

• Peak seabird nesting season at the Dry Tortugas for over 80,000 Sooty Terns, 5000 Brown Noddies, 200+ Magnificent Frigatebirds, 10+ Bridled Terns, and 20+ Masked Boobies! Occasionally, rarities like Black Noddy and Red-footed Booby have shown up too!

• Peak spring migration of neotropical migrants, with potential for notable fallouts! Cuckoos, nightjars, 20+ shorebird species, many eastern flycatchers, vireos, and thrush species, and over 30 warbler species are possible!

• Pelagic birding to/from the Dry Tortugas, with potential for seabirds like Brown Booby, Sargasso Shearwater, jaegers, Northern Gannet, Roseate Tern, and rarities like tropicbirds, storm-petrels, and Black-capped Petrel are possible! Flying fish, pelagic dolphin species, sharks, and sea turtles may be seen as well! 

• The Dry Tortugas are a magnet for rare species, including Caribbean vagrants! Many South Florida specialties are possible as well including Gray Kingbird and Black-whiskered Vireo!

Tour Description:

Spring migration and seabird nesting season on the Dry Tortugas is a bucket list experience for every birder! Located 70 miles west of Key West, Dry Tortugas National Park and the historic Fort Jefferson on Garden Key attracts thousands of nesting seabirds in addition to a wide diversity of migrant songbirds who use this small island archipelago as a stopover point during their long cross-Gulf journey from the Caribbean to mainland Florida!

Aboard the comfortable MV Makia, we’ll journey to the seven tropical islands that comprise the Dry Tortugas, and anchor near Garden Key for several nights! Even from a distance, the massive colony of Sooty Terns, Brown Noddies, and Magnificent Frigatebirds is evident - and we will get right into the cacophony of sound and flight swirling around the islands. For many of these seabird species, the Dry Tortugas is the only place in North America where they breed! Occasionally, rarities like Black Noddy and Red-footed Booby have shown up too!

Lucky birders visiting the Dry Tortugas have the chance to witness large numbers of songbirds and other migrants that drop-in for a much-needed rest and re-fueling. Many eastern warblers, vireos, thrushes, and other migrants can sometimes fall-out on the islands by the dozens! Close-up views and great photo opportunities make for an exciting three days of birding in this unique environment. Caribbean vagrants are a possibility too, including Shiny Cowbird, Yellow-faced Grassquit, Red-legged Honeycreeper, or Bahama Mockingbird! We’ve even had “Antillean” Short-eared Owl, Tricolored Munia, and Cuban Pewee so you never know what might show up! 

On the boat trip to and from the islands, we’ll look for other seabirds like Brown Booby, Sargasso Shearwater, jaegers, Northern Gannet, Roseate Tern, and rarities like tropicbirds, storm-petrels, and Black-capped Petrel are possible too! Flying fish, pelagic dolphin species, sharks, and sea turtles may be seen as well! 

Brief Itinerary:

Day 1: Arrivals to Key West International Airport (EYW), taxi/uber to Robbie’s Marine on Stock Island to board the MV Makai at 7pm. Night on the Makai.

Day 2: Pelagic birding as the Makai sails toward the Dry Tortugas! Afternoon birding at Fort Jefferson on Garden Key in the Dry Tortugas! Night on the Makai.

Day 3: Full-day birding at Fort Jefferson on Garden Key in the Dry Tortugas! Evening dinghy cruise to Bush Key and Long Key. Night on the Makai.

Day 4: Brief morning birding at Fort Jefferson, and then departing the Dry Tortugas with pelagic birding en route to Stock Island. We will return to the marina no later than 5pm. Taxi/uber to Key West International Airport (EYW) and evening departures.

Number of times run: 20

Average species total: 71

Arrive to Key West at your leisure, and make your way to Robbie’s Marina in time to meet your guide and the boat crew at 7:00pm. Board the MV Makai for the first of 3 nights. Note that the Makai is docked at Robbie’s Marina on Stock Island, not Key West, but this is a ~15 minute tax/uber ride from the airport.

We set sail before dawn. Daybreak will find us out in the Gulf Stream (weather permitting), where pelagic birding should reward us with sightings of Bridled Tern, Sargasso (Audubon’s) Shearwater, Northern Gannets, Pomarine or Parasitic Jaegers, and there is always the chance of a White-tailed or Red-billed Tropicbird! Roseate Terns often are seen on random buoys, as are Brown Boobies! Nearing the Dry Tortugas, dozens of Sooty Terns, Brown Noddies, and Magnificent Frigatebirds will become a common sight! This is the only place in North America where these 3 species nest! We will also make a special stop at Hospital Key or East Key to check on the Masked Booby colony! 

Note that all meals from breakfast on Day 2 to lunch on Day 4 will be provided by the Makai’s cook! There are also plenty of snacks, non-alcoholic drinks, and plenty of fresh water on board. All diets can be easily accommodated, just make sure to let us know ahead of time!

Once we reach the 15-acre Garden Key, the second largest of the 7 islands that make up the Dry Tortugas, most of our birding will be done within the remains of the impressive, 19-century brick Fort Jefferson. Here amongst the sea grapes, cottonwoods and Geiger trees we should encounter a wide variety of neotropical migrants, including Eastern Kingbird, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Red-eyed Vireo, and numerous warblers including Blackpoll, Cape May, Black-throated Green, Palm, and Magnolia! For those who are patient enough to sit by the water fountain, the only source of freshwater on the island, the rewards should be great! All songbirds in the area will eventually make their way down for a drink or to bathe in the fountain! The photo opportunities can be really good! Night on the Makai.

All of Garden Key, the campground, shrub-covered brick piles, coaling docks, and beaches, will be explored for additional songbirds that may have dropped in overnight! Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Black-whiskered Vireo, Ovenbird, Black-and-white Warbler, Wood Thrush, Common Nighthawk and many other species are possible! Shiny Cowbird, Orchard Oriole, Indigo Bunting, Blue Grosbeak, Common Yellowthroat, and Bobolink could be spotted as they try to avoid one of the many raptors patrolling the fort, including Sharp-shinned Hawk, American Kestrel, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, or Broad-winged Hawk! We can dedicate time scanning through the thousands of Brown Noddy to pick out the 1 Black Noddy that sometimes shows up! Not an easy task, but we have experience!

For those with an interest in marine life, a walk around the Fort’s moat can yield some fascinating creatures. Green Moray Eels, lobsters, jellyfish, starfish, octopus, various tropical fish, Nurse and Hammerhead Sharks have all been seen lurking amongst the sea coral in these tropical waters. Anyone interested in snorkeling (only allowed around the outside of the moat) can easily be arranged, but you will have to bring your own gear.

In the evening, we will utilize our zodiac/dinghy to see Magnificent Frigatebirds nesting up-close, and view nesting Sooty Terns and Brown Noddies from the spit adjoining Garden Key, Bush Key, and Long Key! This is a great evening activity, with excellent photo opportunities! Night on the Makia.

After breakfast, we’ll make a short visit to Fort Jefferson at Garden Key to check for any overnight migrants before heading back to Key West. Along the way we should encounter Brown Boobies perched on buoys along the park perimeter boundary; Bottle-nosed Dolphins; Loggerhead Turtles and Gannets, Royal, Sandwich and Roseate Terns, as we get closer to our destination.

We aim to return to Key West no later than 5pm. Arrange taxi/uber transfer to the airport, and evening departures.

2026 Dry Tortugas eBird Trip Report #1

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2025 Dry Tortugas eBird Trip Report #1

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2024 Dry Tortugas eBird Trip Report #1

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2023 Dry Tortugas eBird Trip Report #1

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2019 Dry Tortugas eBird Trip Report #1

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2017 Dry Tortugas eBird Trip Report #1

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• Masked Booby

• Antillean Nighthawk

• Brown Noddy

• Black Noddy

• Sooty Tern

• Bridled Tern

• Sargasso Shearwater

• Black-whiskered Vireo

• White-tipped Dove

• Black-billed Cuckoo

• White-tailed Tropicbird

• Red-billed Tropicbird

• Band-rumped Storm-Petrel

• Black-capped Petrel

• Manx Shearwater

• Red-footed Booby

• “Antillean” Short-eared Owl

• Cuban Pewee

• Western Kingbird

• Bahama Mockingbird

• Bicknell’s Thrush

• Tricolored Munia

• Shiny Cowbird

• Red-legged Honeycreeper

• Yellow-faced Grassquit

• White-crowned Pigeon

• Mangrove Cuckoo

• Chuck-wills-widow

• Purple Gallinule

• Brown Booby

• “Caribbean” Osprey

• Gray Kingbird

• Black-whiskered Vireo

• “Caribbean” Cave Swallow

• Shiny Cowbird

• Trails & Walking: We will walk ~1 mile per day on sandy beaches, brick paths, etc. Expect some minor hazards like roots, mud, and uneven footing. 

• Pace: Active birding tour with 8+ hours of daily field time, and based onboard a charter boat.

• Elevation: Sea level 

• Weather: Daily temperatures can be very warm, from mid-80s+. Light to heavy rain is possible, though often brief. 

• Logistics: Please plan your own transport to/from the marina. Early mornings but no late nights, with portions of each day optional - please review the itinerary carefully. Please plan for evening departures from Key West on Day 4.

• Conditions aboard the MV Makai: The MV Makai is a 88 foot long charter boat capable of cruising at 11-13 knots, and can sleep up to 8 birders in multiple bunks. The onboard amenities include an air-conditioned cabin and two bathrooms with toilet, full shower, and sink. Please take precautions if you are prone to seasickness, and ask us for tips and tricks!