Jubilee

The late Florida naturalist Archie Carr once wrote of what he referred to as a "Jubilee". Although Carr's "Jubilee" involved masses of small sea creatures teeming up from the sea and our "Jubilee" occurred in the impoundments of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Reserve, there are still striking similarities. Carr's phenomenon resulted in hordes of human fishermen descending upon the stranded masses and scooping up their bounty by the bucketful. The "Jubilee" we witnessed at Merritt Island on the other hand had fishers of the avian kind. Literally thousands of White pelicans, Roseate spoonbills, Blue-winged teal, Great and Snowy egrets as well as cormorants, Wood storks and American wigeons were crowded in elbow to elbow (or wing to wing) jostling for position and gorging themselves with the small fish that had filled the impoundment. Why so many bait fish were concentrated into this one impoundment was beyond us, but the reason for their presence was of little concern to the hungry birds congregating to partake of the feast. In just a short period of time, the White pelicans will have headed north and we will not see them again for another year. We surmised that this was a "staging" area and that the pelicans were preparing for the journey north. For whatever reasons, it was a sight to behold and one we will surely not forget for a long time.