Cold pale moonlight was filtering down through overcast skies at St. Marks NWR on Thursday morning as I walked along Lighthouse Road at the Double Bridges. It was just after 6:00 am and a strong North wind was moaning through the mostly-bare branches of the surrounding woods. I knew that it was useless to listen for owls, but I did so anyway. In conditions like this you can imagine that you’re hearing anything; a Barred Owl or Alvin and the Chipmunks doing an a cappella version of the 1812 Overture.
It was over an hour and 3.5 miles away that I finally got my first bird of the day; a silhouetted Great Blue Heron flying across Stony Bayou II just before sunrise. Then, things started up. Sora and Common Gallinules called. A pair of Wood Ducks flew by and I began my work day. I was out for a mid-December Duck Survey.
Stony Bayou II had under 300 ducks, mostly Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal. As I made my way West on the outer levee, I saw what at first glance I thought was a Bald Eagle. It was a large raptor-type bird with a white tail, but it flew wrong and had symmetrical white patches near its wing tips. I stopped the Honda and jumped out with my scope. Cranking the magnification up to 40X allowed me to see a dark trailing band on the white tail and a lighter nape. It was a Crested Caracara and a new record for St. Marks. Caracaras are open country birds of South Florida and are only rarely seen in the panhandle.
That was at 8:00 am and it was the start of a great day of birding. Soon after that I heard a bugling ululation and looked up to see the first of several flocks of Sandhill Cranes.
I had a total duck number of 1,684. Just a little bit light for mid-December, ducks are still filtering in. Most of the ducks that I saw today were on East River Pool, due to a flock of 700 Green-winged Teal. The most diverse waterfowl birding spot, however, is the South end of Mounds Pool III. Take the Tower Pond Trail in a clockwise direction and start walking North when you reach the levee road instead of going South towards Tower Pond. There are Pintails, Wigeon, Bufflehead, Mallard, Black Duck, Scaup, Shovelers, Canvasback, both Teal, Redhead, Hooded Mergansers and even a few American Avocets mixed in. I had over 400 ducks there.
There is good birding in other spots. Picnic Pond is loaded with Wigeon, Gadwall and Hooded Mergansers. Walk out to the end of the Lighthouse Levee trail and look for Common Goldeneye at the mouth of the St. Marks River. I counted thirteen. At low tide this is also a good spot for American Oystercatchers feeding on the oyster bars.
December is prime time for winter birding at St. Marks. Escape the mall! Freedom awaits you down at the refuge.
Don Morrow, Tallahassee, FL