I headed down to the Panacea Unit of the St. Marks NWR under the watchful gaze of a fat crescent moon and a decorative assortment of planets and arrived just after 6:00 am. There was a heat advisory starting in mid-morning and I was hoping to sneak in a little targeted birding before it got truly hot.
While I am not a competitive birder, I am taking part in the June Challenge in which you pick a county and try to see as many bird species as you can. The June Challenge was developed as a way to get birders out in what is generally an under-birded month. I have chosen Wakulla County for my June Challenge.
You have to actually see a bird to count it. Heard-birds are not accepted, which makes it hard to add night birds and skulkers to your list. This is odd, but all games have arbitrary rules.
I am doing this despite the fact that I’ve been away on personal obligations for over half of the month. Now, late in the month, I have ninety seen-species on my list and need to work hard to get to my goal of one hundred species. I may not end up with the highest list in Wakulla County, but one hundred species would at least establish me as a credible birder.
This part of the St. Marks refuge is a well-burned longleaf pine flatwoods with interspersed oak hammocks and wetlands. It had a number of bird species that I need. I parked in the grassy trailhead lot just beyond the front gate and began walking out the Otter Creek Trail. It was already 80°. My goal was to be at Fox Lake before sunrise and, then, work my way back.
A lone Chuck-wills-widow was calling as I headed down the trail. It was just under a mile out to Fox Lake. I could hear Bobwhite, Common Nighthawk, Carolina Wren and Summer Tanager as I walked out.
The pine flatwoods slope down to the lake and blend in to its edge. The shallows were dotted with floating bladderwort. I scanned the open water beyond for Wood Duck, but saw none. I waited there for sunrise. A Great Horned Owl was hooting from the far side, but I couldn’t pick out his location with my binoculars. Another uncountable heard-bird.
I stood waiting, listening and watching. I could hear the morse code chattering of Pine Woods Tree Frogs from several directions. A blood red glow through the trees signaled sunrise and I walked over to a live oak hammock where a Summer Tanager was calling. I needed that bird. You would think that a bright red bird that likes to sit in the open would be easy to find. It took me fifteen minutes to catch sight of it. Bird number ninety-one.
I started walking back. It was now almost a half hour after sunrise and woodpeckers are late risers. I could hear Red-bellied and Red-cockaded, but I needed Red-headed. One obligingly flew in and while looking at it, a Pileated flew through my binocular field. I had heard Pileated before, but not seen one. I was now up to ninety-three.
One of my target birds, Bachman’s Sparrow, walked into the trail, then, flew up and joined its family. Another oak hammock had chickadees, gnatcatchers, titmice and a Downy Woodpecker. Titmouse and the woodpecker were newly countable species for me and I was up to ninety-six.
I was doing much better than I had hoped for and I decided to head for the St. Marks Lighthouse where several good birds had been reported. On the drive over, I added a Eurasian Collared Dove on a power line at Wakulla High School and some flyby Chimney Swifts along US-98. I was up to ninety-eight seen-species as I headed into the St. Marks unit.
I searched the Lighthouse area for Gray Kingbird, but was unsuccessful. By this time, it was 90° and I was moving between shade patches to stay cool. I did manage to add an offshore Northern Gannet, bird number ninety-nine.
I slowly drove out of the refuge and kept scanning the sky for Mississippi Kite, which I needed, but found no new species in the refuge. The flamingo was still holding court on Stony Bayou I, but it was already on my list. I stopped to look at it anyway.
I always slow my car and look down the intersecting forest roads between the front gate and US-98. Turkeys often walk along these roads in the early morning. Lately, they have been absent and it was already 10:00 am, late for turkeys. As I passed one road, I thought that I saw something. I hit reverse and was just able to catch a hen turkey running off the road into the woods. Bird number one hundred!
As I was driving home, a Mississippi Kite flew across the road giving me a total of one hundred-and-one seen-species in Wakulla County for June. That may end up being my total and that is a respectable number.
I am a happy birder.
Don Morrow - Tallahassee, FL