Day 96: April 6th – Eastern towhee

Overcast with light rain, 72 degrees, calm

       At the southernmost end of the park road through the northern section of Canaveral National Seashore in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, there is a parking lot and canoe launch area which I have found to be very reliable for certain species of Florida birds.  The island here is very narrow, probably 200 yards or less from the Atlantic Ocean to the Intercoastal Waterway on the west.  As you look over the dunes and palmettos towards the Indian River, you constantly hear the songs of Northern cardinals, Northern mockingbirds, White-eyed vireos,  and Eastern towhees. 

     The dunes are festooned with brightly colored flowers, most notably Indian Blanket (top image) and Beach daisy.  (below)

       As I photographed the flowers, I couldn’t help but notice the song of the towhee was particular loud.  Without too much effort, I found the bird perched atop the shrubs, calling out its normal call for this time of year.  In Florida, I’ve rarely heard the entire call of “drink your teaaaaaa”.  Normally, it’s a simple “towheeeee” call.  I used to think it was a north vs south characteristic, but later realized that the entire “drink you teaaaa” call is generally limited to the time of year when they are looking for a mate.  Otherwise, it’s just the “towheeee” call.  I’m not usually here during breeding season, so I usually don’t hear the full call.  Thre is in fact a slight southern “accent” to the call, but not as great as I had first suspected.

       A second difference between my northern New York birds and the southern Florida towhees (and this is an actual difference), is the color of the eye.  Check the two photographs below and you’ll see that the northern variety (Pipilo crythrophthalmus) which I photographed at Bear Mountain, New York last May (2011) has a very red eye.

Pipilo crythrophthalmus (2011, Bear Mt., NY)

Subspecies alleni ( 2012, Canaveral National Seashore, FL)

       Compare this to the Florida subspecies (Pipilo alleni) which I photographed today at Canaveral National Seashore, has a distinctive yellow to white eye.  It is always fascinating to find little variations in species regarding call or appearance as one travels across the country.  All the more reason to visit new venues!