Birding Reports

By David Simpson

River Lakes Conservation Area, Moccasin Island hammock 09 Nov 06

On 09 Nov 06, I decided to check out the hammock trails in River Lakes Conservation Area (the new spot west of Viera Wetlands.) As I headed south from the parking area, I was surprised to see a juvenile Red-headed woodpecker flying north over the pasture. Along the road I heard many Sedge wrens, Swamp sparrows, and meadowlarks. The habitat is prime for caracara, but I did not see any on this day. Once in the hammock (2.5 miles from the parking lot) I found several mixed flocks of songbirds. The largest flock consisted of ca. 10 Pine warblers along with gnatcatchers, kinglets, etc. I walked the south loop of the red trail, skirting the hunting area along the river. Amazingly, I did not see Black and white warblers or Common yellowthroat among the eight species of warblers, despite the abundance of prime habitat. I found several FOTS's including American robin, Ruby-crowned kinglet, Blue-headed vireo, and Orange-crowned warbler. I had perhaps a LOTS Yellow-billed cuckoo as well. In the flats along the picnic shelter there was a very noisy pair of Sandhill cranes along with two Greater yellowlegs, two Least sandpipers, and six Killdeer. I found 30 species total in the hammock area.

An interesting note to county listers. There is a fairly reliable family of American crows in the parking area. This species is fairly hard to find in Brevard county these days. I have heard them from the Viera Wetlands in the past among numerous other sightings over the years. Burrowing owls have been reported on the trial leading north from the parking area. The last one of those I saw in Brevard was a freshly killed bird south of the stadium in Viera in 2002.

Sharp-tailed sparrows and Cave swallows Canaveral National Seashore 11 Nov 06
I decided to work on my Volusia County list while in town for the pelagic trip out of Ponce Inlet. I headed to parking area 5 (south end of the road at the north end of Canaveral National Seashore.) From there I walked south along the road behind the dunes. The mosquitos were horrendous in the dawn's early light. My original intended destination was Cat Hammock, about 2.5 miles south according to Google Earth. I made it about 1/3 of a mile before being distracted by the restored salt marsh to my right. I poked through the palmettos into a vast tidal marsh. I needed both sharp-tailed sparrows for Volusia and Nelson's for MINWR. Fairly soon into my marsh tromp I uncovered a small group of sharp-tailed sparrows. I had a great look at a Salt marsh, a not so great look at a Nelson's, and unidentifiable looks at three more sharp-tailed sparrows. Mission accomplished! I did not relish the thought of four more miles of mosquitos and sand fleas. The bugs were not nearly so bad out in the marsh. I was fascinated with the restoration project. I could still get Seaside sparrow for Volusia County. So, I decided to continue marsh tromping. I found Sedge wrens everywhere, totaling at least 50. Interestingly, I only found one Marsh wren. I did not find Seaside sparrows but I did get into another group of Sharp-tailed sparrows way out in the marsh. This time I found six Nelson's STS, five of which were in the same binocular view. I have tried for Sharp-tailed sparrows on Blackpoint many times and have only picked up one Saltmarsh (along with Short-eared owl and Black rails.) Now I have seven Nelson's in one marsh.

There were a few other birds besides the sharp-taileds. There were a few Savannah and Swamp sparrows around and a FOTS Cedar waxwing hanging with the Yellow-rumps. Tree swallows were constantly streaming north overhead. I saw one of five calling Cave swallows heading south overhead. The one that I saw had a fairly pale throat, probably indicating mexican origin. The Cave swallows came by in groups of two, one, and two. Later, as I left the park, I saw another one, also heading south.

I got a few White-winged doves en route to CR 44 and back to the motel for a much needed shower. Four county birds and one refuge bird so far. Not bad.

Volusia County Landfill 11 Nov 06
I decided to make my first visit to the Volusia County Landfill. There were about 3-4000 gulls present in three main areas. All but one were Laughing and Ring-billed. The lone holdout was a first winter Herring gull. On the coast at this time of year, you can easily find many many Herring gulls and Lesser black-backed gulls. Why not at the Landfill? Some years ago I remember checking the Pompano Beach landfill ponds in Broward County in November and having similarly disappointing results. Later winter visits to the same location easily resulted in counts of 50+ Lesser black-backeds. I wonder if the birds are sticking to the coast in the early season, then heading inland as the food supplies run thin along the beach. At any rate, I look forward to future visits to the landfill.

Golden-crowned kinglets Spruce Creek Park 11 Nov 06
After the landfill, I decided to check out Spruce Creek Park along US 1 between SR 44 and SR 421. The park allows access to fairly extensive salt marshes along Spruce Creek. Bob Wallace had Seaside sparrows from the fishing pier on the west end of the park. I found several first time canoeists bumping their way along the channel paralleling the dock. I managed to hear Sedge and Marsh wrens along with Swamp sparrows, despite the mid-day sun and noises. I decided to head along the nature trail that looped around the park. Along the trail I heard and familiar sounding "seee-seee" call coming from the woods. Further investigation determined that it was the metal leash of a dog being walked in the picnic area. I had virtually no song birds in the woods. I found a few more wrens and sparrows where I was able to poke through to the salt marsh. I was beginning to think this would be a bust. Near the playground, I side tracked along the spur trail to the observation tower. Once across the bridge, I immediately encountered some songbirds. Finally! I found them to be Yellow-rumped warblers for the most part. The only different individuals were two Golden-crowned kinglets, this time with no dogs attached. I called Bob who was checking out the WW crossbill sighting from earlier this month. He needed GC kinglet for Volusia, so he said he would be over ASAP. In the meantime, the flock moved away from the trail and I headed on down the trail. I found a few flocks of birds to keep things interesting. Eventually, I came to the end of the road and headed though the marsh back to the tower. There were several more Sedge and Marsh wrens and a few Clapper rails calling, but no Seaside or sharp-tailed sparrows. When Bob arrived, we searched in vain for the kinglets until about 1600. I'm sure there are others around given the plethora of sightings this fall.

Shiloh Marsh Volusia County 11 Nov 06
Bob Wallace and I set out for county birds on the north end of Shiloh Marsh. Bob needed American bittern, Virginia Rail, Gadwall, Canvasback, both sharp-tailed sparrows, among other possibilities. I had heard Virginia rail across the river the afternoon before and seen American bittern at dusk the day before. We scoured the ducks for anything unusual. We were on the trail just south of the gravel parking lot. I was scanning the scaup in the lagoon for other diving ducks when Bob yelled to come over to him. He had three sharp-tailed sparrows in view on the edge of a nearby pond. We put the 'scope on them and had a fantastic view of one Saltmarsh and one Nelson's sharp-tailed sparrow. Bob got his camera, but the birds took cover before he could digiscope them. The other sparrow was another Nelson's bringing my day total to nine. I still liked my marsh tromp sparrows from the morning. We struck out on ducks, finding the usual suspects. No White-faced among the numerous Glossy ibises. We found ourselves back at the sparrow pond near dusk. As if on cue, an American bittern flew in along the trail, heading out over Turnbull Creek, just like the day before. Three county birds for Bob in less than an hour. We tried for Virginia rails in a few spots along the trail as we headed back to the entrance. Our third stop yielded 6-8 VIRAs including one that flushed from right next to the trail. Bob still needed screech owl for his county list, so we made a few stops in the dark near the entrance. Pay dirt on our second stop. All in all, a pretty nice day.