GOOD PICKENS

 

I suppose there's no other way to begin this blog entry, so I might as well get it out of the way now.  My girlfriend and I left on vacation on May 5th, heading to Milton, FL to get away from everything and enjoy some nature and solitude.  Since we had a long drive to Pensacola Beach where we were spending the first night, we left somewhat early.  Then I got the text.  While we were getting close to Pensacola.  I had to look twice to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.  "KI WA at San Felasco."  No way in hell I told myself.  It must be a joke.

It wasn't.  Mike Manetz, local birding extraordinaire, had found just the second ever Kirtland's Warbler in the county's history.  Naturally I just left for vacation.  I can't tell you how long I wrestled with turning the car around and heading back to Gainesville.  My girlfriend just gave me a look that said "There's no way in hell we are turning around now."  I don't even know if I could truly justify it, but I still toyed with the idea.  Talk about starting the vacation on a dour note.  I was very excited all day with the prospect of getting to bird Gulf Breeze National Seashore/Ft. Pickens that evening and the next morning, and here I was already feeling ho-hum about it, thinking there was no way I was going to replicate what had been found in Gainesville that morning.

However, it didn't take long birding at Ft. Pickens to pique my interest.  Least terns were flying around everywhere, with males flying around with small fish in their bills trying to attract the attention of females.  The first battery we stopped at was Langdon, and it seemed to be the hotspot for me both times out.  Right off the bat I saw a brilliant male scarlet tanager, a swainson's thrush, and a bold, breeding plumaged male magnolia warbler.  On the way to the fort, we saw a gull-billed tern, bald eagle, and loads of osprey.  At the fort we were treated to another brilliantly plumaged male scarlet tanager and several blue grosbeaks. Barn swallows flew close overhead, as did a common nighthawk.

A striking male Scarlet Tanager

Female Blue Grosbeak on the fort grounds

The next morning I headed out early, determined to find some great birds to make up for missing out on the Kirtland's.  I arrived at the entrance only to find it didn't open for another hour and I did not have a camping code to unlock the gate.  So I waited a short distance away and decided to check out a little part of the beach, which ended up yielding a few bobolinks, a nelson's sparrow, and what I assume was a juvenile sora, although my first instinct was yellow rail.  While walking through some vegetation to get a good ID on the nelson's, I flushed out the rail.  Of course it flew in the direction of the rising sun so I could not get a good look to see if I could see any white on the wings.  However, I noted where it landed and just a few seconds later I was right were it should have been (close to an open, exposed area) and it was nowhere to be found.  Just like a yellow rail.  And it made no noise when it was flushed.  Not that it is an identifiable feature, but in my experience with soras, they usually will make some noise when flushed.  And you typically can find them again with little trouble.  This bird was just completely hidden or gone, in no time flat.  Just like a yellow rail.  Alas, I could not positively ID it, so I was left assuming it was a juvenile sora.

Following this shot of adrenaline, I walked the beach noting the black-bellied plovers, willets, semipalmated sandpipers, ruddy turnstones, and white-rumped sandpipers.  Soon it was time to get into the park and back to Battery Langdon.  I ended up birding it twice - once when I arrived and again as I left.  Both times yielded different species and great finds.  I had a male and female scarlet tanager, male and female rose-breasted grosbeaks, eastern kingbird, red-eyed vireos, tennessee warblers, a male blackburnian warbler, yellow warblers, common yellowthroat, magnolia warbler, black-throated blue warblers, ovenbirds, veery, swainson's thrush, and gray-cheeked thrush.  All three thrush species were found within about 150 feet of each other, in about a 10 minute span.

Male Blackburnian Warbler (who was only an arm length from me)

Swainson's Thrush

Eastern Kingbird

I then headed to the fort, determined to find the lark sparrow I dipped on the evening prior which had been hanging around since October.  I found it right away foraging in the grass with some brown thrashers and a mockingbird.  It must have been quite accustomed to all the foot traffic because it kept foraging closer and closer to where I stood watching and photographing it.  It was gracious (or hungry) enough to give me long, unobstructed looks at the field markings and feeding behavior.  The same blue grosbeaks were back out, along with the male scarlet tanager.  Barn swallows were flying close by, and the beach off the dock held a spotted sandpiper along with the other typical shorebirds.  Traveling around the various Batteries around the fort yielded courting and copulating least terns, several gull-billed terns, red-breasted mergansers, common loons, and indigo buntings.

Handsome Lark Sparrow on fort grounds

Feeling quite satisfied with my morning already, I checked out some of the other Batteries a short bit away from the fort.  It was getting late in the morning when I arrived at the Ft. Pickens Park/Battery Worth area.  I checked out the park first and didn't find much of anything hanging out.  I walked up to the back (facing the Gulf) and was enjoying another gull-billed tern when I spotted two ducks not far offshore.  I figured they were probably scaups, but I got the bins out and thought they actually were too solid dark to be scaups.  Thinking I might have a pair of scoters in front of me, I raced down to the shoreline for a closer look.  Thankfully these two were in no hurry, so I got my bins up and found out I was looking at a male and female surf scoter.  The males two white head patches (front and back of head) and bill coloration were unmistakeable.  I was ecstatic and couldn't believe my good fortune.

Gull-billed tern foraging along shoreline

Courtship display of Least Terns (copulation did occur!)

Male and Female Surf Scoters just offshore!

I left the Ft. Pickens area quite satisfied with the fantastic array of species I was fortunate to have observed.  It might not have been the same as seeing the Kirtland's, but it sure made up for it in a big way.  When we arrived in Milton at our cabin, we had some nice birds right outisde our front porch.  We saw a chuck will's-widow fly down every night just a couple feet of our porch and sit there for a few minutes getting ready to begin its nightly chase for insects.  Summer tanagers, brown thrashers, and great-crested flycatchers were singing like mad.  Yellow-billed cuckoos, northern parula, ovenbirds, prothonotary warblers, and hooded warblers were all found in close proxmity to our lodgings as well.  On our kayak trip down Wolfe Creek, we were fortunate to hear prothonotary and swainson's warblers, along with a broad-winged hawk.  All in all, it was a great trip for birding and a great exploration of a part of the state we had yet to visit.

FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS

Smorgasboard of shore birds

Taking a cue from Team Sapsucker's NA Big Day, I decided to travel to Cedar Key last Saturday to see if any interesting migrants were around and also to look for some coastal birds I don't usually get the chance to see in Alachua County unless a tropical storm or hurricane is bringing them inland.  The morning didn't start as planned, as I overslept my alarm by an hour.  Guess I needed the extra zzz's.

I drove over to Cedar Key on SR 24, and just past Archer I spotted a pair of Eastern kingbirds on a snag on the side of the road.  A little while later, I stopped to use the facilities at one of the Upper Waccasassa Conservation Area entrances and noted a flock of Bobolinks flying overhead and bearing to the north/northeast.  I could also hear a Northern parula and White-eyed vireo calling in the early morning.  It was already a good start to the day and I hadn't even made it to my destination yet.

I pulled up to the #4 bridge while it was still low tide and had to get on the birds quick because they were everywhere.  At low tide this channel is well-known for the amount of shorebirds, most notably the short-billed dowitchers, which come here to feed.  As expected, the short-billed dowitchers were out en masse, along with least sandpipers, willets, semipalmated sandpipers, american avocets, and a marbled godwit.  I just love watching avocets feed, with their re-curved bills swishing from side to side catching macroinvertebrates.  Its a unique feeding habit unto them and makes them very interesting to observe.

Breeding and non-breeding plumage American Avocets

Pair of Clapper Rails flying along vegetation line in front of American Avocets

While watching the avocets for probably much longer than I should have, a pair of clapper rails flew out from and flew along the edge of the salt marsh vegetation.  I hadn't seen one since this exact location on nearly this same date last year.  Black skimmers were also foraging around, as were ospreys and a bald eagle.  The real treat outside of the avocets and rails were a pair of Nelson's sparrows which were conspicuous and calling repeatedly.  It was my first time seeing this species, and it just supercharged me for the rest of the day.  I believe they were immatures based on the extensive and bright orange facial coloration both individuals prominently displayed.  Unfortunately, they didn't stay out in the open for long, and once they popped down into the vegetation, I didn't see or hear them again.

Nelson's Sparrow

Nelson's Sparrow

Clapper Rail

By then it was time to get going to the next location - the 5th street church.  Outside of a chimney swift flying overhead and a common grackle, the place was a ghost town.  So I quickly headed over to the cemetery to see what migrants and shore/wading birds might be present.  Right off the bat I decided to check the boardwalk and was rewarded with the closest and easiest looks of any rail species (outside of the soras at La Chua trail this year) I've ever experienced.  This clapper rail was preoccupied with preening and then foraging, as it paid absolutely no attention to my presence.

Red-breasted Nuthatch!

Within the cemetery, it was fairly quiet which was not altogether unexpected, as no fronts had come through in the last few days.  Warbler species and numbers were pretty low.  Only a handful of cape may's and blackpolls stood out.  Some northern parula and black-and-white warblers were also present.  The real treat was getting the ultra-close looks at three different red-breasted nuthatches.  Apparently these individuals have hung out since the irruption last year and must have a plentiful enough food source, as they didn't appear in a hurry to leave.

Male Blackpoll Warbler

Male Cape May Warbler

I was unable to re-locate the great horned owl from the previous spring migration excursion, but when I went behind the cemetery to the shoreline there, I was pleasantly surprised to see a common loon in either full or near-full breeding plumage, a pair of male mallards (provenance unknown), common and forster's terns, and another clapper rail (who, when noticed me, made a beeline to some cover).  On the way back to the vehicle, I noticed some cedar waxwings flying around and then a swallow-tailed kite.  All in all it was a pretty decent expedition, especially with no weather fronts pushing the birds here or keeping them pinned down here.

Black Skimmer skimming the water's surface

Pair of Mallards just offshore near the cemetary

I then stopped at the unfinished new neighborhood to check on things, and was eventually rewarded with several cape may and blackpolls, along with two different red-breasted nuthatches.  I couldn't believe my luck.  By the time I made it to the museum, it was getting late in the morning and I thought I may have been too late to catch any migrant warblers.  I suppose I was wrong.  On the boundary between the park and residential neighborhood, I caught a very vocal mixed flock which contained white-eyed vireo, carolina wren, northern cardinal, great crested flycatcher, northern parula, blackpoll warblers, black-and-white warblers, and yellow-rumped warblers.

Along the museum trails and at the buildings, the blackpoll warblers were thick and heavy in comparison with what I had witnessed all morning to this point.  A nice surprise was a gray-cheeked thrush perched on one of the live oaks near the bird bath.  For a secretive bird, it allowed great looks out in the open.  A couple of ovenbirds, a palm, and a prairie warbler rounded out the warblers present.

Male Northern Parula foraging

Male Black and White Warbler foraging

Gray-cheeked Thrush

Male House Finch

Since midday had approached and started slipping away and it was high tide, I still figured I would check out the airport to see if anything was still lingering around.  Alas, the tide was well too high for any shorebirds to stick around and the airport was pretty quiet except for a few willet, a green heron, and a gray kingbird hawking insects from the power lines.  However, on the way to and from the airport, there were a few docks which had a nice little gathering of shorebirds and terns.  There were royal, forster's, and common terns resting, along with loads of short-billed dowitchers, ruddy turnstones, willets, and at least one dunlin.  Some of the nearby homes had purple martin condos in their yards, and many of them were occupied by martin couples.

Dock full of terns and shore birds

Male and Female Purple Martins residing outside their McMansion

Seeing it was already afternoon, I decided to head over to Shell Mound to see if any migrants were hanging around the trails.  I figured looking for shorebirds would be a bust since the tide was nearing high, and I was correct.  Nary a shorebird was present.  However, walking the trails revealed marsh wrens, lots of blue-gray gnatcatchers (lots of singing heard), northern parula, summer tanager, and an immature male and female orchard oriole.

1st Year Male Orchard Oriole

Driving to and from Shell Mound I kept my eyes and ears open for any florida scrub jays, but none were present.  The nice stretch of mixed forested wetlands a short distance before the Shell Mound entrance had northern parula, northern waterthrush, red-eyed vireos, and a pair of yellow-billed cuckoos.  These species were all calling and/or singing, filling up the humid afternoon air with glorious song.

I decided to head home after this since it was getting late.  I spotted some american crows and a mississippi kite on the drive back.  I stopped by Watermelon Pond (boat ramp area), and it was fairly quiet.  Some greater and lesser yellowlegs were present, with a solitary sandpiper living up to its name.  A couple of sandhill cranes and some great egret were also there.  Some barn swallows and a common nighthawk were flying overhead.  When the common nighthawk started "peent"-ing, I took it as a cue to finally head home from a long day of birding.  When all was said and done, I believe I saw at least 100 different species throughout the day, even with missing some expected species.  Not quite up to par with Team Sapsucker, but it made for one hell of a fun day.

Male and Female Lesser Scaup