The Great Florida Birding Trail Early 2013 Part II

Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge, one of 400 stops along the Great Florida Birding Trail, was met with anticipation and reward while making a late February visit.


The Eastern Towhee above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.

On this second day of a three day trip, traveling along the Trail with the company of Tom Obrock, it would unfold as low coastal clouds shrouded the area with no assurance that there would be good photo opportunities. The ride into Saint Marks NWR along Lighthouse Road was met with vehicles that were want to meet a destination with greater speed. I much preferred a slower pace especially with this my first visit to the 68,000 acre wildlife mecca spanning three Florida Counties. A stop at the pay station was a good one with a lot of bird activity, although didn't offer a good opportunity to create an image to present here.


The Common Yellowthroat above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Eastern Towhee above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Bald Eagle above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Bald Eagle above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Eastern Bluebird above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Eastern Towhee above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Osprey above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Osprey above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Osprey above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Song Sparrow above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The baby alligator above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.

The Wood Duck noted seen the day before were not present. A satellite view of the immediate area shows many nearby possibilities of where the birds might have settled down overnight. This was another excellent location where birding by ear skills would have been useful. As Tom and I made our way closer to the Lighthouse, we would stop occasionally to identify movement. In my research for this article I was surprised to note that there are closer to 480 species of bird expected to be seen in Florida while well over 500 are thought to be the case from other web sources. In search of accuracy here.


The baby alligator above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The alligator above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The American Bittern above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The American Bittern above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The American Bittern above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The American Bittern above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Sora with Pied-billed Grebe and alligator above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Eastern Phoebe above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.

My latest issue of Audubon magazine has articles on the imperiled status of the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow and "Why Do Birds Matter?" It's a great interest of mine to get a handle on environmental concerns with climate change in particular heatedly debated. The conservation of wildlife habitat wherever possible is certainly a desirable goal. Birds were everywhere at Saint Marks NWR along the drive. The creatures were likely in contrast to what was seen the day before and after. Future visits here are assured.


The Yellow-rumped Warbler above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Sora above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The American Bittern above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Bufflehead above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Greater Scaup above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Greater Scaup with Bufflehead above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The American White Pelican above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Bufflehead above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.

The Saint Marks Lighthouse is of special interest after being re-built for a fourth time, most recently after Confederate forces attempted to blow it up during the Civil War to prevent it from falling into the hands of the advancing Union Army. It was my great fortune to have Tom point out birds of special interest near here as I was typically preoccupied with attention focused on another subject. Such a case was at Headquarters Pond where an American Bittern offered outstanding views of its skulking behavior. It has taken me a lifetime to see the bird so closely. Flight shots are possible here if you are willing to devote the time.


The female Redhead above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Canvasback above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Canvasback above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Lesser Scaup above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Saint Marks Lighthouse above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Ruddy Duck above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Great Blue Heron above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Common Loon above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.

Additional excitement was had with first personal observations of species of bird in the pond north of the lighthouse and along the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico. Nearly six hours of observation within Saint Marks NWR passed in what seemed a fraction of the time. Tom advised me that he thought the conditions were too cold to enter the water after I told him I wish I had. As much as I wanted to travel further north, we had to contemplate unfavorable weather approaching. We decided to stay in advance of the rain by heading east and south to Merritt Island NWR. This leg of the drive burned up a lot of daylight in the latter part of the day.


The Double-crested Cormorant above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Great Egret above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Lesser Scaup above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Lesser Scaup above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Canvasback above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Horned Grebe above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The scene above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.


The Song Sparrow above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.

I am grateful to Tom, Vince McGrath, and Robert Doiron for their assistance in identifying bird species that I was unsure of and are presented in this article.


The Song Sparrow above was photographed at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in February 2013.

Please see: The Great Florida Birding Trail Early 2013 Article I
Please see: The Great Florida Birding Trail Early 2013 Article III