SMNWR Friday

At 6:44 am this morning at St. Marks NWR the Eastern sky was pale blue above a low band of deep red. I heard Wood Ducks begin to whistle from somewhere out in the marshes. As I waited for them to fly, birds began to call; gallinules, Soras and a King Rail. A Great Blue Heron lumbered by in the fading darkness and four Bald Eagles flew out to began their hunt. Color began to infuse a latticework of clouds that reached up from the horizon. First red, then shifting through the palette and becoming pink.

At 7:02 am, just before first light, Wood Ducks began to fly, square-tailed silhouettes against the brightening morning sky. I counted twenty-eight birds, added them to my duck survey form and drove down to the end of Stony Bayou II to continue a day-long duck survey. As I drove, I could see that two of the eagles were harassing the ducks that I hoped to count.

It’s been an odd winter season so far. Duck numbers at St. Marks were lower than expected on the December survey and I was anxious to see what numbers the January survey would show. The East end of Stony Bayou had few ducks, but the eagles were still perched in a live oak that overlooks it. I counted a few dozen teal, mostly Green-wings, and moved on. The rest of the pool was rich with ducks, almost six hundred teal, over a dozen mergansers, some pintails and Buffleheads.

I had good numbers of ducks on East River and Lighthouse Pools and smaller numbers on Headquarters Pool and Mounds Pool I. Mounds Pool III, where the flamingo is hanging out, has large numbers of ducks and the greatest diversity. There, I had both teal, Mallards, two Black Ducks, Canvasback, Redhead, Gadwall, pintail, Bufflehead, wigeon, Hooded Merganser and a Common Goldeneye. I found a single Ruddy Duck on Stony Bayou I, just off Lighthouse Road.

In total today, I recorded 1,946 ducks of 18 species, significantly above the 1,237 ducks on the December survey. This is on the high side of normal for January and may indicate that ducks that short-stopped earlier in the Fall have been pushed down as winter has gotten more serious up North. Teal and wigeon numbers are high compared to most years. Scaup and Redhead numbers are low, but these species may just be staying offshore.

I had a Western Kingbird down near the Lighthouse, just check the tops of every tree and the ends of every exposed branch. The female Vermilion can be seen from Lighthouse Road where it passes Stony Bayou and the American Flamingo continues to attract out-of-state birders. It’s a healthy walk out for the best views, but worth it.

January marks the peak of the winter duck season and I expect duck numbers to start dropping next month. However, there’s cold weather yet to come and good winter birding still to be had. Dress warmly, pack a lunch and come down to the refuge.