Day 105: April 14th - Limited resources at Merritt Island

Overcast, threatening, mid 70s, winds out of the east @ 15 – 20 knts

       On this dreary day, we take a leisurely cruise down Rte 1 and hit several of our favorite birding venues to see  what such a dismal day might produce.  Our eventual destination is Merritt Island and Black Point Drive where we hope to add a reported Eastern Kingbird to our year-list.  It is , in fact, just a game we play, knowing that if we wait until we get back to New York, it is only a matter of time before we find this bird and add him to the list.  Still, each bird we add to the "year-list" while down here in Florida, is one we won’t have to concentrate on when we get back north.

Our first of the year Eastern kingbird

       Of course, it is also part of the game to see how many species we can garner each time we go out into the field, and on a day such as today, anything over 30 will be well received.  In fact, we do quite well, ringing up 43 species and enjoying such not-so-common sightings as the Brown thrasher, Black-necked stilt, Roseate spoonbill, and Common ground dove along the way. 

Black-necked stilt 

       By day’s end, the goal has been reached with some fine sightings of the kingbird and a serenading Eastern meadowlark simultaneously.  

       One of the more noteworthy observations we had during the day was the fact that after the waterfowl have moved north, the preserve management drains most of the impoundments, forcing many of the waders to concentrate at localized pools of fresh water.  When the water resources are limited (in this case by human intervention rather than by natural causes), the food resources are concentrated into these small areas, simulating what famed Florida naturalist Archie Carr called a “Jubilee”.  We found several of these sites including the one shown here with Snowy egrets, Great egrets, White ibises, Tri-color herons, and other shorebirds all feeding side-by-side with little negative interaction between the species.  When the boundaries are limited but the bounty is not, it seems that all are willing to share.  Should we humans take away anything from these observations?  Seems to me that although we often have more than enough resources to go around,  negative interactions raise there ugly heads when it comes to "who's gonna' get their "fair share".  At mass today, one of the readings talked about how people brought their possessions to common ground and then shared their bounty according to each individual's needs.  Sounds a bit like socialism, but hey, it works for the birds.  

Sharing the feast