SWFloridabirder: If Not By Sea, Then By Land: Part I

Friday, June 1, 2012

If Not By Sea, Then By Land: Part I

A season long anticipated pelagic trip into the Atlantic Ocean to benefit the Marine Science Center in Ponce Inlet, Florida, was met with uncertainty as the second tropical weather disturbance of the earlier than expected 2012 hurricane season created unsafe conditions to be on the water far offshore.

The Cave Swallow above was photographed at the Kissimmee River and Route 70 in May 2012.

This was to be my first trip of its kind. Waves of 10 feet or more possible with the wave frequency likely extremely uncomfortable were determining factors with regard to safety as Tropical Storm Beryl reversed direction. Beryl would be the most powerful storm to make landfall in May in the last 100 years. En route to the Florida East coast, notification had been received from Michael Brothers that the trip was a possible go after an earlier cancellation. Initial plans to visit Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge were scuttled when final word was received from Michael that the trip had to be cancelled. Vince McGrath and Dr. Jose Padilla traveling in the lead vehicle coordinated with Tom Obrock traveling with me. A recommendation was made to head south toward the keys to avoid the storm. A few stops on the first day of the road trip offered new species of bird I had not yet seen nor photographed. We traveled as far south as mile marker 48 on Route 1 to end the first day's observations. It was here at sunset that I had my first sighting of Antillean Nighthawk that Tom was certain would be seen. There were a pair of the birds that put on a high altitude show over the airport after I excitedly made my first observations of Roseate Tern and White-crowned Pigeon at the government buildings with Cuban Golden Warbler and Black-whiskered Vireo seen at the tollbooth. A photo of the Mangrove Cuckoo remains elusive after I had a pair of these birds in the viewfinder of the camera. Coincidentally, Neal Boortz from the Atlanta area, one of my favorite talk radio hosts had made a light aircraft flight out of Naples over Marathon Airport and the Florida Keys about twelve hours later offering a short video of his trip. Vince has an extremely acute sense of hearing which is a benefit in finding birds or at the least identifying those that remain unseen. It was ironic that Vince made the comment not to "chase" the birds as I will often settle in one spot for four to five hours at a time waiting for the birds to come to me. It is with regret that very heavy crops of images taken of the wildlife on this trip have resulted in less than favorable image quality in many cases. The company of Vince McGrath as leader was very important in making observations on this trip which continued for another day.