NORTHERN EXPOSURE

I headed up to Raleigh, North Carolina to spend New Year's with the in-laws directly after the conclusion of the Pinlusiavardno Exploits.  Sadly not much birding was had in these days following as other obligations took precedence.  However, I was able to sneak out one morning to a local nature center named Durant Nature Park.

It is a small park with 2 decent sized ponds as their central feature, and they are surrounded by mixed deciduous hardwood forest.  I stepped out of the parking lot and was greeted with several species calling and flitting to and fro.  Pine warbler, Yellow-bellied sapsuckers, Downy woodpeckers, Dark-eyed juncos, Carolina chickadees, Tufted titmice, Ruby-crowned kinglets, and boisterous White-breasted nuthatches were all over the parking lot.  Little did I know this would be the largest congregation of birds I would encounter, but at least I spent a good amount of time watching and photographing these individuals.

White-breasted nuthatch

 

I walked around the rest of the park in a fairly short time.  Sadly very few ducks were out and about.  In fact, a gathering of 7 mallards were the only ducks I saw this morning.  However, other very interesting species such as Belted kingfisher, Hairy woodpecker, Brown-headed nuthatch, and Red-breasted nuthatches were easy to spot and gave good looks.  I was pretty elated for a quick dash to the park.  One doesn't have much opportunity to see Brown-headed, Red-breasted, and White-breasted nuthatches at one locale and in such a short time in Florida.

Mallard drakes and hens

Male Hairy woodpecker

While I was up in NC, all hell broke loose in Jacksonville.  You know what I'm talking about.  First Snow buntings appeared at Hugenot Memorial Park.  Then what everyone was hoping for actually happened.  An immature Snowy owl finally made its way to Florida.  But wait, nature wasn't done doling out the gifts to Florida birders.  At Ft. Clinch State Park a drake Harlequin duck was found hanging out around the half-mile long fishing pier.  Toss in some Purple sandpipers, a Glaucous gull, and an Iceland gull, and this small stretch of NE Florida coastline was absolutely rocking!!!

The day after I returned from NC I headed to Jacksonville first thing in the morning to go find those birds.  Unfortunately the weather wasn't helping me out at all.  The temperature had dropped significantly overnight (high 30's) and 20mph + winds were howling all day long.  I started at Hugenot to search for the Snow buntings.  However, after searching for almost 2 hours, I could not relocate them.  The strong winds probably confined them to the interior dunes this day, because only a few passerines were hanging out at all.  Loads of gulls, terns, and shorebirds were present.  Shorebird species hanging out at high tide were Sanderlings, Red knots, Ruddy turnstones, and Willets.  Gull species present included Herring, Ring-billed, Laughing, Bonaparte's, Lesser black-backed, and Great black-backed.  No Glaucous or Iceland gulls were to be found.  Tern species included Royal, Caspian, and Forster's.  After failing to find the buntings and being pelted by sand for far too long a time, I decided to call it quits and headed a few minutes up the road to Little Talbot Island State Park in search of the Snowy owl.

The Hugenot dunes in the waning afternoon light

 

This time the target bird did not disappoint.  Luckily the owl was still hanging out in the dunes where it had last been reported.  It was still very cold out and the winds hadn't let up much, and the owl was hunkered down behind some beach grasses.  It allowed great looks as it just sat there the entire duration I was present.  It was such a beautiful and moving moment walking up and seeing this bird for the first time.  It was simply gorgeous and you could see how special it was to see this bird in the eyes of all the birders and visitors to this incredibly rare visitor to the Sunshine State.  It was so entrancing, I believe I ended up watching it for a solid hour, just watching it move, preen, and even defecate.  After seeing the third only Snowy owl ever found in the state, I decided to head to Ft. Clinch to see if I could find the drake Harlequin and the Purple sandpipers.

An incredibly rare visitor to FL - the magnificent Snowy owl!!!

 

Ft. Clinch lies at the extreme north end of the state.  In fact, the Florida-Georgia border lies in the middle of the inlet just north of the fishing pier.  I walked along the pier for a bit after having heard the duck had just flew off a far distance.  I was hoping at least the Purple sandpipers would be out while I waited for the Harlequin.  Sadly the winds were still pretty fierce at the pier and the sandpipers were nowhere to be found.  They may have been hanging out on the other side of the seawall, sheltered from the winds, but they were certainly not obliging in providing me any looks at them.  With the winds whipping and the windchill making it feel almost below freezing, I still kept waiting for the drake to appear.  All of a sudden a duck flew in from the east.  It was the Harlequin!  This is a species I have wanted to see in person since I was a little boy and seen it in my first field guide.  I thought it was one of the most interesting plumaged ducks in North America.  The deep blues, the rusty flanks which stand out against the deep blues, and all the brilliant white facial and neck and coloration.  The drake certainly did not disappoint me in my expectations.  With the sun shining on it and showcasing it perfectly, every single color hue exploded on the duck.  I don't think words can do justice to how handsome it is.

A handsome and spectacular drake Harlequin duck

Elated with having seen the duck and spent a large amount of time watching it swim against the tide and dive to forage, I decided it was finally time to head home.  But not before checking for the Snow buntings one last time at Hugenot.  Sadly the weather conditions were still not favorable when I arrived, and the buntings were still nowhere to be found.  It was still beautiful watching the sunset at low tide at the park.  It was a very fitting way to end the day.  Then it was time to head back home to Gainesville and revel in the glorious day.