Why Spring Migration Is Not Spectacular in Our Area

By Dave Freeland

Those of us who enjoy the spectacle of bird migration, spring and fall, may already know by now that we East Coasters don't get the marvelous display of beautifully-garbed warblers in April and May that folks on the west side of the Florida peninsula do.

Before regretting that you live "over here" instead of "over there," be mindful of the issues that Gulf Coast residents endure before trading in your Brevard County homestead for something in Pinellas County or wherever in the Tampa Bay area. Forget the housing/mortgage crunch. Remember the traffic burden that Gulf Coasters put up with.

Besides, having Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Viera Wetlands and other avian richness is worth the misfortune that we miss some of the exotic springs that birders who frequent places like Tampa Bay's Fort DeSoto enjoy. We get the fall migration full bore, though many of us privately wish we could relish in the spring bonanza as well.

There's a major reason why the Florida East Coast doesn't share the bird wealth of the Gulf Coast, and it has to do with geography and bird migration preferences. Look at the shape of North America on your globe or in your atlas and you'll see what I mean. Florida sticks out there like a water faucet so our spring migration goes (sorry) drip, drip, drip, but in reverse.

We get the warblers and other passerines whose ancestors took a liking to the Bahamas and Eastern Caribbean. Trans-Gulf migrants, far and away the larger group, leapfrog the waters of the Gulf of Mexico from the Yucatan Peninsula straight to hotspots like Fort DeSoto, the Panhandle's St. George Island, Louisiana's Grand Isle and Houston's High Island. On these barrier beaches and their welcoming trees and shrubs, passerines drop by the thousands from the morning sky for a well-deserved rest and reinvigorating fresh load of food and water.

The migrants from the Bahamas are equally tired, hungry and thirsty, and spots like Lori Wilson Park, Cape Canaveral and other oceanside oases are valuable assets as stopovers for birds bound for the northern forests. We just get less action from the Bahamas than our Gulf Coast brethren get from their Latin American winterers.

In fall, our faucet serves as a drain for passerines heading back south for the winter. But those darned Trans-Gulf migrants shuffle west around the Texas Coast and down through Mexico go wherever their stopping places. So although fall migration in Central Florida often exceeds spring migration in appeal Ð partly because there are so many young birds joining their parents for the long trip Ð we don't even get our full share of that fun either. Rats!

Where to Go: When pelagic birds start to head north in May and the wind is blowing strongly out of the East, head for the barrier beach with your telescope and watch for the flight of shearwaters, storm-petrels and jaegers that's sure to occur. Playalinda Beach in Canaveral National Seashore is my favorite spot, but Jetty Park and Sebastian Inlet are also good places to watch from.

Bird of the Month: We haven't had any top-scale rarities as of this writing, but I always like to watch for Prothonotary Warblers at this time of year. Their golden hue and contrasting slaty wings are magical.

Your Question: These are photos of birds I was not able to identify. The warbler was taken at Tosohatchee, and I am a bit confused by the similarities between the American Golden-Plover and Black-bellied Plover. Can you help?

A: The first shorebird is a Black-bellied Plover, the second a Dunlin (I believe; size is not evident in the photo). The "warbler" is actually a Blue-headed Vireo.

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