Fall Interlude
I went down to St. Marks NWR early to try for owls. I heard Barred and Eastern Screech calling in the darkness, but missed Great Horned Owl. I continued birding after sunrise and added a half dozen warbler species plus Rose-breasted & Blue Grosbeak and then stopped by Mounds Pools I to see the newly-returned American Flamingo.
It was still early and I decided to take a walk across the East River before heading home.
The East River drains an area of eighteen square miles in Eastern Wakulla County. A minor river, it collects water from a series of connected sloughs, hammocks, and marshes. It flows into Apalachee Bay near the mouth of the St. Marks River. The East River’s upper reaches, which include Henderson Slough and Smoky Hammock, have been cut by US 98 and a number of unnamed logging roads. Its lower reaches were dammed by the Refuge to create East River Pool. Still, through culverts and sheet flow it continues to follow its inexorable urge to join the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way, it crosses Lighthouse Road just over half a mile beyond the St. Marks Visitor’s Center under two at-grade bridges, one for each of the narrow parallel branches of the river that join just beyond the road.
Local birder’s call this spot the Double Bridges.
The stretch of Lighthouse Road at the Double Bridges provides you with an opportunity to walk a transect across the East River slough without getting your feet wet or being eaten by an alligator.
The woods here are a rich hydric hammock. A diverse mix of tree species that includes Honey Locust, Live Oak, Persimmon, Elm, Pond Cypress, Basswood, Sweetgum, Red Maple, Green Ash, Cabbage Palm and a few isolated pines. There are low willows, Swamp Rose, Buttonbush and Swamp Dogwood growing along the river channels. Elderberry, Beautyberry and Wax Myrtle grow on the road edge. Greenbrier, Poison Ivy, Wild Grape, Trumpet Creeper and Pepper Vine clamber over everything.
In the Summer you will find White-eyed, Red-eyed and Yellow throated Vireo, Yellow-throated and Prothonotary Warbler, Northern Parula, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Acadian and Great Crested Flycatcher, Red-bellied, Downy and Pileated Woodpecker and Red-shouldered Hawk. At night, Barred Owls and Chuck-wills-widows call.
During migration the hammock at the Double Bridges can attract migratory warblers, thrushes and Gray Catbirds. The edges of the East River’s two streams may have Louisiana and Northern Waterthrush.
In winter the Double Bridges is the most reliable spot for Rusty Blackbirds. Feeding flocks moving along the river course may include Blue-headed Vireo, Ruby-crowned & Golden-crowned Kinglet and Hermit Thrush. American Goldfinch hang upside feeding on the seed-filled Sweetgum balls. Wood Ducks fly overhead just before sunrise.
I stopped and parked just before the first bridge and walked past the second bridge before turning and walking back. The only birds I encountered were a pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers, calling and chasing each other. Today wasn’t a birdy walk, but I wasn’t disappointed.. It was a pleasant Fall interlude. Leaves were filtering down in the wind, settling on the dark slow-moving waters of the East River joining rafts of already-fallen leaves.. The sky, the sound of the wind and falling leaves were enough.
St. Marks has many opportunities for pleasant Fall interludes. Come down to the refuge and find yours.