Birding Brevard: Wood Storks Do the Strangest Things

By Dave Freeland

Birds' behavior often evokes awe and curiosity from ordinary folks. But birders, too, can be mesmerized by what birds do, witness the following recent exchange on one of Florida's most popular listservs, BRDBRAIN. This is the exact order of four posts:

One: "I have a buddy Wood Stork that regularly hangs out in the backyard awaiting fish scraps. I've seen Wood Storks in this "stance' before (photo shows a Wood Stork on the ground with its legs apparently bent forward at the 'knees'), but are there any other birds that sit on their knees like is shown in the photo?"

Two, from Bruce Anderson, one of Florida's foremost experts on birds and bird behavior: "Storks commonly assume this stance, but instead of resting on its knees, it is actually standing flat-footed. Normally, birds stand on their toes. The toes are attached to the often featherless tarsometatarsus, or foot. The tarsometatarsus is feathered on birds such as the Golden Eagle and Rough-legged Hawk, which are feathered down to, or almost to, the toes."

"If you picture the thigh (femur) and leg (tibiotarsus) of a chicken, the leg ends at the heel. Then the tarsometatarsus extends down to the toes. In Europe, these are often left on the whole cooked bird, but in America, we sanitize birds by removing the largely muscleless and tendon-filled foot and toes at the heel."

Three: "Sunday at Lynch Lake my daughter and I saw two Wood Storks lying down on their backs sunning themselves. Has anyone else seen this?"

Four: "I've seen Wood Storks resting on their heels after feeding; it is a common posture. And on their stomachs or sides or standing with wings outstretched after bathing. It's soaring through turbulent winds where they are so graceful."

I'm sure this exchange of bird communication would continue for days, eliciting a torrent of "Wood Storks Do This" and "Wood Storks Do That" stories for everyone on the listserv. Space Coast Audubon has its own excellent listserv where you can get up-to-date conservation reports from President Sarah Linney, field trip announcements from Jason Frederick, sightings of unusual birds (my personal favorite) and all sorts of photos and behavior notes from the members.

Keep it up, you Wood Storks! Fly about gracefully, rest on your "knees" and give us all a lifetime of enjoyment!

Where to Go: A little-known spot that can be very "birdy" is Tucker Lane in West Cocoa, just off I-95 Exit 201. Turn west and make a sharp left at the McDonald's. This is Tucker Lane, which turns into a dirt road and ends at the waters of Lake Poinsett's drainage. A right turn halfway down is Providence Road, where Western Kingbirds have been known to roost in winter. Tucker Lane itself has warblers and other passerines in the Brazilian pepper hedge, a Crested Caracara or two and other goodies.

Bird of the Month: Actually, two of them,
Scissor-tailed and Fork-tailed Flycatchers, a bonanza for Brevard birders. The former was found on Tucker Lake by Kenn Allie just four days before the Cocoa Christmas Bird Count and the latter by David Simpson near Sebastian over Thanksgiving weekend. What fun for these two beautiful species, one from the American West and the other from South America!

Your Question: "I was out at Blackpoint Drive and saw a small duck we couldn't identify. It was small, had a stiff upright tail like a Ruddy Duck, a white eyering, dark bill and was brownish in color. The thing we found confusing was the blackish band around the middle, like a girdle. Any ideas?"

A: You got me. Wood Duck? Goldeneye? Bufflehead? (Lesson: Not every description can get you a definitive ID.)

Forward your birding questions to me at freela148@aol.com. I'll answer as many as I can directly and will publish one each month in The Limpkin.