A Walk on the Beach

    
     Took a little stroll on the beach this afternoon after noticing the large number of shore birds scurrying along the water's edge.  As I surveyed the birds present, it soon becamer apparent it was more of the same....but very different!  Spring has sprung and we are now seeing some remarkable changes in the three species most commonly found in front of our condo.....Willets, Sanderlings, and Ruddy turnstones.  Let's start with the Willets.  For one thing these willets are quite a bit smaller,,,,I mean noticeably smaller....than the Willets that were here last month.  The reason is plain and simple.  These are NOT the same Willets that spent the winter with us.  During the winter months, our Willets are the western population which have migrated over to pay us a visit.  The western species is bigger and is a duller color than the eastern variety which have returned to take the place of the departing western birds.  And so, the first of our "same" threesome is not the same after all.

      
      Second on the list are the Sanderlings.  Well, these are in fact for the most part the same birds we've had all winter.  But as spring has arrived, these little sandpipers are getting "suited up" for the breeding season.  During the winter, they were almost the color of the sand.  They were very easy to distinguish from other small shore birds because their light hues set them apart.  Now, however, they are developing their new bright rusty mantle of feathers.  Same bird, but with a very different look.
      Finally, the prize for best dressed goes to the turnstones.  They like the sanderlings have been here all year, but they have begun to really get spruced up as the black feathers around the face and back are replacing what had been quite dull and mundane.  Now these birds are striking.  Just check out the image of the breeding plumaged birds we saw yesterday here in Florida and you'll see why they come away with
best in show honors.

Spring songs

     It's that time of year once again when the birds have decided it's time to sing.  Whether it's to attract a mate, establish territory, or perhaps simply for the joy of singing, the warblers, vireos, thrushes, and others are all beginning to exercise their voices with a myriad of chip notes, whistles, calls and songs.  The beauty of it is, as a birder, you get to become acquainted with the different repertoires of the different birds, and spotting and identification become a little easier and at the same time a little more enjoyable.  The past several days, we have explored a new venue for Sharon and me, Princess Place Preserve.  This gem is tucked away about an hour's drive from us near the town of Palm Coast.  A mixture of Pine flatwoods, fresh water marsh and oak hammock, it is one of the most beautiful and productive birding arenas we have found.  The stars of the show the past few days have been the first wave of warblers we've found (specifically the Pine, Yellow-throated (see pix above), Northern parula, Prairie and Palm), our first Scarlet tanager of the year, Marsh wrens, a beautiful Summer tanager,  and a life photograph of a King rail (see these two below).   Our only regret is that we discovered Princess Place at the end of our three month stay.  But rest assured, we will make it one of our most visited sites when we return next year.  For now, let the music continue as we finish up here in Florida and join the warblers in their journey north.

Hontoon Island

    
     Just west of DeLand, FL is yet another gem in the marvelous park system of Florida.  Hontoon Island is a State Park which is accessible only by an electronically driven ferry.  The ferry ride takes all of 3 minutes and is provided free of charge by the state.  Once you arrive at the small island, there are picnic tables, trails, a fine nature museum (don't miss the great video!) and best of all fine birding opportunities.  Waders, raptors, and seasonal song birds make up the donimant species with spring being the optimal time for migrating warblers.  As we arrived at the dock, our Captain wished us luck in capturing images of the local birds and directed us to a nest of Great egrets with a couple of chicks.  As we started to hike over to the prescribed site, the captain came running after us and said that he had heard the sounds of a frog being attacked by a snake....a sound he had obviously heard before.  We followed the sad "moans" of the little green frog and found it firmly in the grasp of a Florida Southern water snake.  We watched and photographed as the frog struggled to free itself.  As we watched, we noted that the snake had grabbed the frog in such a way that one of its legs was outside the mouth of the snake, a seemingly impossible challenge for the snake planning on getting the frog down whole. An hour later, when the time for our departure from the island was upon us, the frog and snake were still in a stalemate.  The frog had tried to drag the snake back into the water, but the snake managed to get it back on shore and there they remained for God knows how  long.  We found ourselves rooting for the green amphibian even though we knew that the snake was just doing what snakes do.....hunt for food.

    
     When we returned to the mainland, we heard a solitary call of a "first of the year" bird, a Yellow-throated vireo.  With some serious searching through the tree branches (as Sharon became engrossed in chasing down a fine Pileated woodpecker) I finally managed to get off a single shot and as luck would have it, it turned out to be a respectable image.  The day was competed with the acquistion of the day's target bird....our first Ruby-throated hummingbird of the year.  All in all, yet another special day here in the sunshine state.  Our days here are numbered as we prepare to head back north with the warblers, but these last few days are certainly turning out to be special.