Every morning is different and unique at St. Marks NWR. On Saturday morning my plan was to be on the outer levee of Mounds Pool III by first light. There has been a diverse group of ducks on the South end of the pool and it’s easily accessible from the Tower Pond trail. I parked at the trailhead just before 6:00 am and began to walk out. The waxing moon had set early and I had to feel for the trail with my feet as I walked out in the starlit darkness under the oak canopy.
Once I got to the levee that runs along the outside of Tower Pond and began to walk North, it was easier. The sky was beginning to lighten and the stars were fading out. There was a brisk wind coming out of the North. It was cold.
I got to my arbitrarily chosen spot and stopped to wait for the dawn. A front had passed overnight and although there was a low stratus layer to the South the sky above was clear. Ducks started flying: Wood Ducks, Hooded Mergansers and others that I could not identify by silhouette. Bald Eagles were whistling. They are often the first raptors to move in the morning.
First light is a magical time when color returns and birds begin to move. To me, that early morning time is like an addictive drug that I keep coming back to. There is sometimes a clarity and purity in that early dawn sky that, mixed in with the dawn flight of birds, is a transcendent experience.
There’s a predawn point where it is fully light. I could now identify Redheads and Mallards flying in. A Belted Kingfisher called and White-faced, Glossy & White Ibis flew in from the North. I looked up and saw three larger birds among the ibis. Sandhill Cranes! While I was scanning the pond for ducks, more cranes came by, their bugling call was sharp in the cool blue November morning.
The pond had Mallards, Redheads, American Wigeon, a single Northern Pintail, both Green-winged & Blue-winged Teal, Hooded Merganser, Pied-billed Grebes and American Coots. Greater Yellowlegs were calling and a Northern Harrier flew by scaring the wigeon.
Whether you are an early birder or prefer to have a leisurely breakfast before heading out, there is always good birding at St. Marks. Today, I had American Avocets on Mounds Pool I, Roseate Spoonbills on East River Pool, Vermilion Flycatchers at two spots (Tower Pond and the Double Dikes) and a Cliff Swallow mixed in with the usual wintering Tree Swallows.
Head down to St. Marks and do some Fall birding.
Don Morrow, Tallahassee, FL