January 14th-18th. Hunting Island and Huntington Beach, SC. We were surprised at the differences in the South Carolina State Parks vs. those of Florida. In SC it was our impression that Resource Management is designed for the convenience of managers rather than to protect or conserve their resources. Life must be much easier for managers if the park rules are set up so that they don’t need to say “no” to anyone. Dogs were allowed…
For years I have cursed while tossing the covers to cool down during a hot flash. These past few nights, cuddled in our fairly warm bed inside a 37-42 degree van, I waited and prayed for a flash to give me the extra warmth I needed for a middle of the night dash to the restroom and to dress for the day in my miserably cold clothing. January 10th FORT DESOTO PARK, FL- We had…
January 8th & 9th. From Corkscrew swamp to Highlands Hammock State Park. A beautiful taste of primitive Florida-old growth oak and palm. We enjoyed a long lovely drive through the hammock on the way in and out of the campground, but sadly somebody (Carrie of course) scheduled us too tightly to allow enough time to walk the trails; well worth coming back for. The areas scheduled today were Avon Park and Myakka River State Park. …
January 8th, Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary was on the agenda. The Corkscrew was not expected to yield many new species, but it has been one of our favorite places to visit over the years. In the past we have visited and seen the air plants, spider lilies, orchids, giant cypress… and noticed a few birds. Funny how “your focus determines your reality”. Today we focused on improving our birding skills. As expected, most of the…
January 5th-7th Rangel Diaz, a naturalist at the Deering Estate first sighted the Key West Quail-Dove (KWQD) and was taking groups to view it in a restricted access area of the estate. We joined the January 5th group in the parking lot at 7:15 am. Approximately 35 birders from Florida to Michigan and beyond were here to see this ‘life bird’. We stayed until Noon but NO KWQD; rudely the bird did not provide Rangel…
January 2nd -4th Well, I made my choice, and it was FOWL! January 2nd was my last (very short) day at work. After loading the van and dentist appointments we were finally ready to head out. However, the quote “No plan survives first contact with the enemy” has already proven true! Since weather at our planned destination was going to make birding a miserably wet and cold experience, and since the very rare Key West…
So… what bird does the man who has probably banded more Red-cockaded Woodpeckers than anyone alive choose as the first bird for our Big Year? The RCW of course. To make sure that is truly was the first bird seen, we got up at 5:30 to drive to the Wakulla side of the Apalachicola National Forest. There, we waited in the dark focusing on a cavity entrance, until it was light enough for the little…