Winter in Florida
22 Jan -25
Feb 2006
by
Henry Detwiler
During a five-week DOD class at Patrick AFB, I spent my weekends and a
couple of evenings searching out what birds I could find in this diverse
state.
158
species--bird list is at the bottom of the page
Click on
thumbnail pictures for full-sized photos. 
The first Sunday after arriving in sunny Florida I was able to
tour Cocoa Beach and some of Merritt Island NWR. This
raccoon was drinking and taking a bath at Lori Meyer Park.
The fine white beaches which spread north and south of Patrick AFB harbored a
fine assortment of gulls, terns, and waders. And off the
jetty north of Cocoa Beach I watched Northern Gannets diving into the
ocean.
Lesser Black-backed Gull, Cocoa
Beach |
Raccoon, Cocoa Beach
In one mixed flock of terns and gulls, I was happy to see two Sandwich
Terns and a Lesser Black-backed Gull. This European visitor has
become a regular along the East coast, and often visits far inland, too.
I've even seen two of them back home at the Salton Sea. |
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Shorebirds were common along the beaches, the piers,
and the rock jetties. My first uncommon one for the trip was a
Purple Sandpiper along a rock jetty north of Cape Canaveral. It,
and this close-by Ruddy Turnstone, pretty much ignored the crowds of
sightseers and fishermen, flying off only when folks were about to
step on them.
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Purple Sandpiper, Cocoa Beach
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Ruddy Turnstone, Cocoa Beach
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Florida Scrub Jay
Merritt Island NWR
Originally this species was know simply as
the
Scrub Jay, but in the 1995 it was split into three species: Florida, Western,
and Island. The Florida Scrub-Jay is restricted to the oak scrub land of central Florida, the
slightly brighterl Western Scrub-Jay is common
throughout the far western states, and the highly localized Island
Scrub-Jay, which resides on the Island of Santa Cruz, offshore from
Santa Barbara, California. |
The following weekend I joined Don Chalfant on a tour of Merritt
Island National Wildlife Refuge. The premier bird here is
the Florida Scrub Jay, and Don took us to some spots where they
had family territories. Perhaps because they were looking
for hand-outs, or maybe because they were just curious, they came
right out to my pishing, and I was able to snap portraits to my
heart's content.
Florida Scrub Jay
Merritt Island NWR |
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Another of the refuge's favorite attractions is the
American Alligator, and we saw many fine specimens. It was also
neat to see some of their babies--and just the right size for wrassling.
American Alligator, Merritt Island NWR |
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Bald Eagle
Viera Wetlands |
Luckily for me, the
Viera Wetlands was only 1/2 hour from Patrick AFB, so I made several
trips there over the course of my stay. During my first trip
I met the resident Bald Eagle, and then again on each
subsequent trip. The raised dikes provided great vantage points
from which to view both showy waders and less obvious marsh denizens
like moorhens and rails.
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It's an excellent spot to view
wintering waterfowl, such as these showy Ring-necked Ducks,
Northern Shovelers, and Blue-winged Teal. Hooded Mergansers
were a little skittish, but nonetheless quite observable through
my spotting scope. |
Common Moorhen & Ring-necked
Duck
Viera Wetlands
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Common Moorhen &
Ring-necked Duck
Viera Wetlands |
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Roseate Spoonbill and Tricolored Heron
Merritt Island NWR |
Red Knots, Cocoa Beach
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Loggerhead Shrikes are common in the West, just as they are in Florida. I saw
quite a few on the Air Force base, and took this close-up
photo through my spotting scope with my new Sony DSC-W7 digital
compact camera. I also got a picture of the bird eating a beetle,
but the setting sun rendered it too dark for much detail.
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Loggerhead Shrike, Patrick AFB
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Palm Warbler, Patrick AFB |
Florida is well known for its wintering warblers, and almost all
the birding spots I visited sported several varieties of these
species. The brush and scattered trees on Patrick AFB was no
exception, and provided cover for Palm, Yellow-rumped, and a few
Prairie Warblers. |
Viera Wetlands
On to Page 2, Everglades & Loxahatchee NWR |
