2013: Week 8 – Cassin’s kingbird!

February 17^th - 23^rd

       The beginning of the week proved to be tough for birding by Florida standards.  The winds were strong out of the north which brought the evening temperatures down to the near freezing point.   The strong winds kept the insects and the birds down and made for some challenging birding.  As the week progressed, however, we found the temperatures and winds moderating and with the more favorable conditions, birding also picked up.

       We had three major ventures out into the field this week.  The first was a chase for a reported Cassin’s kingbird, a western bird which wandered over to the “Sunshine State” for whatever reason.  It was just one of those “couldn’t be better” situations where the exact telephone pole where the bird was seen earlier this week was the one he was perched on when we arrived.  As chases go, it wasn’t all that challenging to begin with as the location was only about an hour and a half away.  Nonetheless, the bird gave us all we could ask for as far as good views and nice lighting for photos.

       

       The following day, we joined the Halifax River Audubon Club for our “first-of-the-year” trip to Tosohatchee Wildlife Management Area, a 30,000 plus acre preserve near Christmas, Florida.  Bordering 19 miles of the St. John’s River, the varied habitat is home to some fine avian species such as the Bachman’s sparrow and King rail.  We found nesting Bald eagles, limpkin, Black and white warblers, and American bittern among many other species.

       But the sight of the day was an estimated 500 white pelicans soaring high (very high) overhead.  

     In spite of their very large size (wing spans of up to 10 feet!), the birds were mere specks until viewed through the scopes and binoculars.  As we watched the White giants sail overhead, Black vultures were found feeding on the carcass of a dead gator…..beauty and the beast?

        On our way home from Tosohatchee, we detoured over to Merritt Island NWR and found two active nests of Great horned owls.  We made note last week of the onset of nesting activity as we move on into spring.  We’ll make sure to keep tabs on these two nests and see how their families progress.

 

       Our final outing of the week was a pontoon trip over to a sand bar at the confluence of Ponce Inlet, the Indian River and the Halifax.  The bar is known as a gathering spot for plovers and we were pleased to find our first of the year Piping and Wilson’s plovers.  They were joined by a lone Whimbrel (also first of the year) and although too distant to allow for decent pics, we enjoyed watching their activity through the scope.  Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this viewing on the bar was the paucity of Semi-palmated plovers.  It’s rare indeed to find so many more Piping plovers that semi-palms.

 

       As we sailed homeward, we stopped by the "bird island" near the marina where the boat is docked to grab a few shots of the present occupants, Brown pelicans.  Within the month, these birds will be joined by nesting Cattle egrets, Snowies, Little blues and who knows what else. 

       As spring approaches, the number of butterflies appearing on our outings has also begun to rise.  Out at Tosohatchee, the blooming thistles were attracting Palamedes swallowtails and out at the Sugar Mill Preserve in New Smyrna, we had our first Long-tailed skippers of the year.  

Palamedes swallowtails

       With the end of the month approaching and our year list at 176, we’ll have several friends from up north joining us in the upcoming weeks to help add to our totals.  We’re looking forward to our visitors from the north as the avian flocks will begin to come up from the south on their jouney north. 

2013 – Week 7: Spring is in the Air

February 10 – 16^th

       While it is still mid-February and although today began with a chiily 50 degrees (chilly by central Florida standards at any rate), the signs of spring are beginning to pop up all around us as the avian world is beginning to don their finest ensembles and suddenly taking notice of the opposite sex.  Of course, this is the week of Valentine’s Day, so what else should we expect?  Pairs are showing up all over the place…..Sandhill cranes, Red-breasted mergansers, and more.

       Some of these southern birds have actually gotten a head start and have already built their nests, mated and are now rearing young.  One of the most successful Bald eagle nests is located about 40 minutes north of our winter quarters.  In the town of Holly Hill at Centennial Park, a pair of eagles are presently tending to not one, not two, but a rarely heard of three chicks.  Granted, all three are not progressing at quite the same rate.  The eldest (presumably) is now often seen “branching”…..holding onto the side of the nest while flapping wildly in an attempt to get the “feel” of flying.  This is generally a precursor to fledging.

       Bird number 2 is quite obvious with head sticking up searching the skies for mom or dad to return to the nest with the next tender morsel, while the runt of the litter is rarely seen except on the occasion of the parent’s return. 

       Triplets are a rarity in the eagle world.  Last year in the state of Maine, out of 385 nests, only one produced the threesome.  So, this is a real thrill to begin the breeding season here in the sunshine state with such fanfare.

       Other species are just getting started.  We found this Great blue heron at Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge in DeLeon Springs just beginning to build her nest.  We never did see her mate, so she may just be practicing for the real deal.

        Later in the week, we visited Viera Wetlands off exit 191 on I-95.  The place was abuzz with egrets, herons, and Anhingas on the nest, building nests, and/or trying to impress a prospective mate with elaborate rituals and plumages. 

       Most impressive among this group was a pair of Anhingas that “danced” and swooned, swaying back and forth and intertwining their necks around one another.  The color of the eyes was such a brilliant green that it was most striking even without the scope or bins.  These photos have not been enhanced in any way.  The color you see is what we saw (if indeed the photos do the colors justice). 

       It will be exciting to see how the season progresses as more and more of the Florida “love-birds” get into the act.  It only gets better from here!

       

Week 6: Central Florida

February 3^rd – 9^th

       The week began with the two of us joining our old birding buddies from the West Volusia Audubon for a day-long excursion to Orlando Wetlands Park in the town of Christmas, Florida (that’s right….Christmas!)  The park is comprised of 1,650 acres of hardwood hammocks, marshes and lakes.  The site is one of the most renown for King rails and Soras and we had plenty of both!  Not that they were easy to see by any stretch of the imagination, but the certainly did want to be heard.  Limpkins were also in good supply but unlike the rails, these birds did not make themselves hard to view and photograph.  One pair was engaged in either a territorial dispute or an amorous exchange.  Whichever it was, it made for an entertaining interlude.  This one flew by as the other two were engaged with one another.

       Our target of the day was the Vermillion flycatcher, a bird more common to the southwestern United States and points south.  Two brilliantly adorned males have been gracing the grounds of Orlando wetlands for the past two years, however, and provided us with great looks through the scopes.  Sorry, too distant for a decent shot with the camera, however.

       The Purple gallinule was also found in several locations as we hiked the park and for many in the group this was a “life bird”.   At one point, we actually had the Common and the Purple gallinules in the same field of our scopes.

Royal tern

       The second half of our week was spent south and west of our home base of New Smyrna Beach.  We spent Wednesday checking our Sebastian Inlet in the hopes of finding a Razorbill reported last week.  We struck out on the target but had nice looks at such common finds as the Black skimmers, Royal and Sandwich terns, Ruddy turnstones, and Brown pelicans.

       Further south, at Fort Pierce, we had more of the same along the jetties on the beach.

Sandwich tern

       Thursday, we travelled west to Kissimmee Prairie, the largest contiguous true prairie in the state of Florida. 

Kissimmee Prairie

         As we entered the preserve, we were greeted by Eastern meadowlarks…..many meadowlarks.  You could not travel more than 50 yards without hearing a new individual, and most were easily seen as they perched high in the palmettos or on fence lines.

       We tallied a good number of species here, but the highlight of the day was watching a Crested caracara fly into a palm with a large Cottonmouth in its talons.  We watched as the bird made quick work of skillfully peeling the flesh from the body of the snake.  When finished with his meal, the caracara dropped the skeleton to the ground where we retrieved it for examination.  Absolutely incredible that this bird could so totally strip the snake of its flesh and leave the skeleton totally intact.  Only the head was left untouched.  We noticed that the caracara seemed to be tending to a wound on one of its talons, but the site biologist assured us that other than a “limp” for a few days, the bird would be fine.

       The following day, we headed over to Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area and Joe Overstreet Landing where we hoped to find the Florida specialty the Snail kite.  We traveled down to the boat launch on the edge of Lake Jackson and within the first 10 minutes had our first kite fly by.  We watched as the kite flew over the aquatic vegetation in search of apple snails in much the same manner as the Northern harrier hunts for it prey over the open fields.  On several occasions, the kite dipped down and emerged with a large snail as its prize.  Most of the snails found here in Lake Jackson are exotic and are larger than the native variety, but the local ranger told us that the kites have been quick to adapt and seem to be making the best of this new staple to the diet.

     

      At the same site, we were treated to fine looks at our first Parula of the year, early even by Florida standards.  As we watched, a Red-shouldered hawk scolded us from his nearby perch and a fine Little blue heron flew by in front of us.

       At Joe Overstreet, we had what has to be considered classic Florida birding.  Where else can you be seated at a picnic bench at water’s edge and be simultaneously viewing a Long-billed curlew, Wilson’s snipe, Bald eagle, two Crested caracaras, Common gallinule, Little blue heron, yet another Snail kite, glossy and white ibises, Great blue heron, Boat-tailed grackles, Ring-billed gulls, and Black vultures…..again, all at the same time!  You just have to love Florida birding.

Juvenile Long-billed curlew and Wilson's snipe

       As we headed back home, we stopped to grab a photo of another phenomenon necessary for the prairies of Florida….fire. 

       The fire seen here in this parting shot is of a prescribed burn and is, hopefully, totally under control.  The prairies must burn in order to keep them from becoming forested, and with natural fires becoming less frequent, these burns are a necessary solution to the problem.  ]

      Quite a week, eh?  Let’s see what the next 7 days brings.

       

Week 5: Florida Pelagic and more….

1/27 – 2/2/2013

            Quite a “birdy” week here in East-central Florida as we began on Monday with a pelagic trip out to the Gulf Stream off the coast of New Smyrna Beach.  With sunny skies and less than calm seas, we traveled out 51 miles to find the relatively warm waters of the current in the hopes that we could find “islands” of seaweed which draw in marine critters and pelagic birds.  Well, we did find a tiny bit of the vegetation and we did find a limited number of birds, but all in all, the birding was off and we didn’t get the numbers we had hoped for.  The number of Razorbills in close to shore has been remarkable this year on both coasts of Florida and we had hoped to capture some nice up-close and natural views of these beautiful birds, but our only looks were distant and far out to sea. 

       We did have great views of the Northern gannets (above), however.  These spectacular divers followed the wake of our ship closely and would occasionally fly in tandem with us as if to check out who these folks were this far away from shore.  Multitudes of gulls, mostly Herring gulls of various ages and plumages, followed along as well.

       The most unusual sighting of the trip had to be the Bridled tern which drifted past us perched upon a small buoy.  We had seen others today, but all were far off and impossible to photograph.  This was a different case, however, so you could here the shutters snapping away all over the boat.

       We took a ride out to Blue Spring State Park during mid-week to see if we could find any of the manatees which hang out there in cooler weather.  We’ve had some chilly nights lately, but before that, the weather was unseasonably warm, so we didn’t know what to expect.  Turns out there were only 5 of the “gentle giants” present, but we did add the Limpkin to our list.  Best shot of the day, however, was a faceoff between a Florida slider turtle and a gator.  We don’t know who won as we had to leave and neither seemed as if it was going to make a move any time soon.

       Later in the week, we ventured over to Smyrna Dunes Park and hiked out to the jetty.  Target birds for this day were the elusive Piping and Wilson’s plovers and the Purple sandpiper.  Although the sun shone brightly, the 34 birders in attendance on this SE Volusia Audubon outing were buffeted by some strong winds out of the north.  I, being a New Yorker in Florida, refused to bend and wore my shorts while most others were wearing ski parkas.  The plovers did not take well to the cold temperatures either as they refused to put in an appearance.  The Purple sandpipers were more accommodating and we did find a pair of them mixed in the omnipresent Ruddy turnstones on the south side of the jetty.

       Along with the turnstones, you can always count on Snowy egrets to be fishing the surf line along the rocks.  This fine specimen walked over looking for a handout and stood posing within 6 feet as I shot away to my heart’s content.

       We rounded out the day with a quick drive down to nearby Canaveral Seashore National Park.  Both this park and Smyrna Dunes are on the island we spend our winters upon, so we had great birding without ever leaving “home”.  I was hoping for a nice look at a Sandwich tern this afternoon.  They are not exactly common here in winter, but if you look hard enough among the other terns and gulls, you can often find them.  Such was the case today.  Nestled in among the scores of Royal terns on the wind-blown beach was a lone Sandwich.  Safety in numbers, I suppose, because the birds allowed me to approach fairly closely without being disturbed.  This was bird #160 on our year-list and we were happy to find it where we expected.

       Walking down the bank on the opposite side of the narrow island towards the lagoon, we found several Common ground doves pecking through the sandy soil.  Again, as is common for Florida birds, they paid us little mind and allowed me to photograph them from close proximity.  Nice way to end the day and the week. 

       Next week, we will be hard at it once again as we travel to Orlando Wetlands and Kissimmee Prairie for extended trips.  Targets will include some Florida specialties like the Red-cockaded woodpecker, Bachman’s sparrow, the Snail kite, and Florida grasshopper sparrow among others.  Come on back next Saturday to see how we made out!