NOTHIN’ OUT THERE

We heard a young man say “there’s nothin’ out there” in an attempt to coerce his friends not to take a 3 mile Payne’s Prairie hike; we had found 34 birds species at that point. The comment caught my attention since a few days before, I had a similar thought while walking a dike at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. I continue fighting the worst characteristics of a “twitcher” mindset, where only the birds not yet checked off the list have value, and the rest are considered “trash” birds.  Eagles, both adults and juveniles, soar over St. Marks regularly and were marked off our list on day one… a trash bird?  An Eastern Phoebe sitting so prettily on a limb, gliding out to snatch an insect, and returning… a trash bird?  Yellow-Rumped Warblers, as plentiful as mosquito’s, constantly drawing our eyes and ears… ok this one is annoying!  On that dike at St. Marks, we had already seen Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Glossy Ibis, each awe inspiring in their own right. Minutes after the thought hit, we flushed a Snipe hiding just a step off our path, then a Meadow Lark

flew across to sit up on a stalk giving us a beautiful view and was followed shortly by 5 others who dropped into the grass, a Northern Harrier flew into sight from behind a row of trees and soared overhead, followed by additional birds who revealed themselves. Next time I think “there is nothin’ out there”, I hope to be quicker to remember this adventure is about the process, skilled enough to observe the cryptically camouflaged wildlife, and patient enough to let the beauty reveal itself.

 

While near Gainesville we stayed at Payne’s Prairie State Park, where the helpful and informed ranger gave us directions to what local birders call Sparrow Alley (a part of the Lachua Trail).  Saturday, the Lachua Trail was overwhelmingly crowded, being close enough to UF to draw “gator students” as well as “real gators” out of their beds on a beautiful warm and sunny morning; even the red maples and azaleas were peeking out. In our time there, we saw 59 different species, but our favorites were the grasshopper sparrow and barn owl.  To access the trail, all must pass through a cattle barn, where we assumed we would find the barn owl which was indicated as nearby on our BirdsEye application.  Nope- we were told by a volunteer that the owl has been seen next to the barn in an ancient oak tree, one of the many majestic oak trees found in this park.

Situated so close to the path, we were able to peer into the dark cavity with binoculars, and felt that we could see the outline of a classic Barn Owl face in the murky interior.  We didn’t list the bird at that point since we were concerned that, like some who see the face of Jesus on their toast, we were seeing what we wanted to see rather than what was actually there.  On our way off the trail, we tried again, this time with the scope and better lighting, and voila!, we saw the face much more clearly and could actually see him moving inside the cavity!

We were pleased to find that the Grasshopper Sparrow was not as difficult as we thought it would be to find in Florida, he was most cooperative and provided us great views (and pictures).

 

 

 

For our drive to Wekiwa springs from Payne’s Prairie we chose the long way through the Ocala National Forest on US 40 for the sole purpose of picking up a Florida Scrub Jay. At one of first patches of sand pine scrub, which looked about to ‘age out’ as scrub jay habitat, we saw one sitting on top of a sand pine. We pulled off the road as quickly as possible and backed up along the road side to try for a better view. Although we scared it off, we could still hear it calling, and our patience was rewarded by seeing it fly back to the pine, to be joined by another just below it, then a third, and finally a fourth- breathtaking and exciting! Unfortunately they were so close that Chuck could only fit two of the four in frame for a sub-par picture (his comment) before they all flew off.

 

Wekiwa Springs, had a remarkably well burned sandhill longleaf pine forest, with burning done right up to the back yards of a subdivision running the length of the park- an excellent example of what a dedicated land manager can do, even in the face of challenges! This is a very high usage area with not much opportunity for unusual bird species, yet an enjoyable place to camp.  We did see a wild turkey who provided a close-up view of a remarkably long turkey beard.

 

Fort Desoto- yet again we were VERY impressed.  We strongly urge the State of Florida to use this impressive Pinellas County Park as a model for how to run an even better State Park (though as stated in a previous post, Florida Parks are great).  Fort Desoto’s ability to strike a good balance between recreation, pets, and wildlife habitat meant that in the non-pet area we enjoyed a visit from a Yellow Crowned Night Heron who simply walked right into our campsite! On the beach we were in Plover Heaven, seeing Wilson’s Plovers, a Snowy Plover, Piping Plovers, Black-Bellied Plovers, and Semipalmated Plovers. It was wonderful to be able to see them all within a day to better compare and contrast them in what is nearing the end of their winter plumage.

Our visit to Cedar Key was to be a short stop on our way home for Chuck’s final dental appointment, primarily to catch the Whimbrel seen in that area recently. Although we missed our Whimbrel, and in fact were skunked on new species that day, we did have great views of two Great Horned Owls,

one in the nest, and the other we located in a nearby tree after hearing it call.

With the conclusion of the appointments keeping us close to home, we are FINALLY spending our last night in Florida for 2+ months, and heading for Texas Friday morning.  We head West with 176 bird species on our list, better birding skills, and with the anticipation of seeing exciting NEW places and birds.