Had a couple of nice outings over the past two days with some birds appearing to make it onto the Bakers' "Year-list". On Sunday evening, we joined the Halifax River Audubon chapter for some late afternoon birding below the Dunlawton Bridge in Port Orange. After exchanging "pleasantries" with a "fisherman" (notice the quotation marks......he didn't exhibit the characteristics we usually associate with those true sportsmen) who decided that "Bird Island" was a fine place to have his dog jump out and deficate, we finally got down to some excellent birding. Watching the birds come in for their evening roost is always a joy, but tonight, we were treated to an extra special show. Two Yellow-crowned night herons decided to come in a little earlier than normal and posed nicely for us in the twilight. A pair of immature little blues in their white plumage were seen following their parent around the river, trying to learn their survival techniques. All in all, an most enjoyable evening.

The following morning, we were up and out heading down to Merritt Island NWR. There is talk of the feds taking this incredible birding site and plowing it under to make a commercial flight zone. God help us. If some of the politicians who are supporting this had been with us on our trip around Biolab road and Black Point Drive yesterday, they would think twice about coming up with an idotic plan like this. We had close to 50 species and wonderful courtship displays by a number of these beautiful birds. A fantastic day in a fantastic place.......

Lake Woodruff Drive-thru

We had the opportunity to join a "caravan" around Lake Woodruff NWR, one of our favorite spots to bird in EastCentral Florida. Many of the participants were members of our "club-away from home" the West Volusia Audubon. Though overcast and threatening to rain most of the trip, we did manage to get great sightings of several Soras working the edge of the canals, two pairs of nesting Sandhill cranes, many pied-billed grebes (more than I've ever seen in one outing) and the usual large numbers of herons and egrets. One Great egret was especially kind and gave us a very close fly-by for the camera. As we finished up the trip, the rains finally arrived as if on cue. A very cooperative venture from Mother Nature.

Scrub jays

One of our favorite species of birds is the Florida scrub jay. They are fiercely territorial, and yet if you enter their "space", they will more than likely first scold you and then land on you looking for a handout. They are handsome birds with their deep azure hues contrasting with splashes of white. Their beauty is only matched by their wit. Being Corvids, they are among the more "intelligent" birds. You can watch them bury an acorn for future use and then mark the spot with a stick or piece of debris they find along the roadside. These birds are limited in range, however, by their habitat. They absolutely rely on the scrub habitat such as we visited today in Deltona, and sadly there is precious little of this kind of land left. What a great thing to see the state of Florida and the interested stewards of the Volusia Land Acquisition and Management team step up to the plate and make sure that there is still a place for these incredible birds to thrive.

Florida hospitality

After missing the "target" several days ago, I decided to once again head out to Orlando Wetlands Park, home to the rare Black-bellied whistling duck. The original report was found on the Florida "Rare bird alert", but I later found out from talking to the manager of the site that the whiistling duck has in fact been a regular at the park since 2003. It was an early morning and a long walk out to the site where the ducks had been found in recent days, but it was all worth it. No fewer than 50 of the ducks were congregated at the spot where forman Mark had predicted. After watching and photographing these wonderful fowl, I turned to leave and found that Mark had come out to the site to check on me and find out if I had found them.....Fllorida hospitality, from Mark and from the Black-bellied whistling ducks.

Another day in paradise

Had a fine two days with over 75 species being tallied at Merritt Island and Viera Wetlands Refuges. Our best finds of the two days included a Short-tailed hawk (life bird for us), nice close-up views of a young Crested caracara, a feeding limpkin, several clear views of Loggerhead shrikes, and nice shows by several Florida scrub jays. Among the “also-rans” were the Reddish egret (along with all the other more common egrets and herons) and really close views of several hundred Sandhill cranes. As I write this note, I’m looking out the front window of our condo at well over a hundred gannets peppering the surfaces of the Atlantic from high altitudes in a feeding frenzy. Just another day in paradise.

Coastal birds II

A brief foray out onto the beach before today's shuttle launch provides me with plenty of subjects to photograph under bright Florida sunshine. The common visitors outside our doors include sanderlings, willets, ring-billed and herring gulls, ruddy turnstones, and Royal terns. Further out in the water, Brown pelicans, ospreys, and Northern gannets cruise over the water in search of their next meal. There is always action along the coast.

A Lifer

As we head south into Florida, we decide to take a detour off I-95 and head towards St. Augustine. The RBA for Florida has reported a "life bird" for us, the Brown booby, which had been seen on and off over the course of the past month at the fishing pier. With hopes high and thrilled to be off the dreaded interstate, we are full of anticipation as we finally locate what we hope is the reported site. As we enter the head of the boardwalk out to the pier, camera and binos in hand, the attendant says, "I'll bet you're here for the bird." We respond that we are and she responds, "Well, the bird is here today." We virtually run out to the end of the pier and find the little booby sitting and quietly preening itself on the railing. Apparently, the bird has grown accustomed to its new surroundings and appreciates the scraps of fish and bait left behind and often offered to the booby by the fishermen. The bird is perfectly positioned as far as lighting and procedes to pose for us as if on command. Ah, if it were only this easy to find all those "life-birds" we see posted on RBAs. And this is just the beginning......

Migrating

Several days ago, we were in transit. Our winter home is in the "Sunshine state" of Florida, and each year, we migrate along with the birds to a warmer climate. The birds are driven by hunger and the need for an ample food supply. We, on the other hand, are not moving south for the sake of our survival, but rather for our own comfort and the joy of watching the birds of our southernmost states. On the way down, we generally stop at a number of wildlife refuges. This trip, we treated ourselves to visits to two new ones for us......Alligator River NWR and Mattamuskeet NWR, both in North Carolina. Neither refuge disappointed us. Migratory waterfowl as well as traditional southern shorebirds were in abundance. One of the most amazing sights was at Alligator River where we viewed over 2000 Tundra swans from the far north all amassed in several shallow impoundments. Viewing through the scope was incredible, but when several took flight and flew directly over our heads, it was a sight not to be forgotten. If this is a sign of things to come, it should be an incredible three months in the south.