Rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park: Part 2

Although none of the nesting birds seemed affected by the people at the gator farm, one bird was especially nonchalant. She was a juvenile tricolored heron that was perched on a post only a couple of feet away from the main boardwalk.

Juvenile tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) preens on a post at the rookery at the St. Augustine alligator farm in St. Augustine, FL

If I may speak frankly, you humans all look like ugly monsters.

The wood storks were starting to perk up and get a little more active. A few of them flew short distances to land and loaf on different trees.

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) flaps wings at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

The roseate spoonbills were still mostly hanging out.

Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Although I don’t like birds being obscured by branches, I really like the different patterns of shadows.

This next spoonbill was clamping down on branches and shaking them furiously. I’m not sure whether he was trying to gather nesting material or if he were shaking the branches as a mating display.

Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

I’M. TOO SEXY FOR THIS BRANCH. TOO SEXY FOR THIS TREE. SO SEXY, YOU SEE.

Some egrets had their nests in a good-enough condition that the “on-duty” incubating bird could relax and lay on their eggs.

Great egret (Ardea alba) sits on a nest at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Other egrets were actively working on their nests, even though the females had already started to lay eggs.

A pair of mated great egrets (Ardea alba) work together on a nest at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

A pair of great egrets together at their nest at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

The male snowy egret was still perching on the tree where he had run off the female he mated with.

Male snowy egret (Egretta thula) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

SNOWY IS TOO YOUNG TO THINK OF SETTLING DOWN AND BUILDING A NEST. SNOWY IS FUN-LOVING AND CAREFREE!

Another great egret had a beautiful green lore.

Great egret (Ardea alba) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Great egret (Ardea alba) begins to shake itself in a rouse at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Great egret (Ardea alba) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

HELLO, LADIES. MY ASTROLOGICAL SIGN IS THE SEXY BIRD. WHAT IS YOUR SIGN?

Other great egrets displayed, hung out on their nests, and looked for nesting material.

Great egret (Ardea alba) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Great egret (Ardea alba) scratches an itch at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. AUgustine, FL

Great egret (Ardea alba) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

The bills of the wood storks were fascinating to see up close. I remember a project in a ceramics class in which we burnished our pieces while the clay was still moist and later fired the pieces in a pit fire. The colors and the way the light hits the stork’s beak remind me of that burnished clay after it was fired.

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

The juvenile tricolored heron fluttered down to the banks and stepped into the water to hunt. At one point she walked right by a gator. The gator didn’t care.

Juvenile tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) hunts for fish at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Juvenile tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) hunts for fish at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

She was able to catch a few small fish, but I didn’t get any pics.

Juvenile tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) hunts for fish at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

The spoonbill that had been shaking branches gave up.

Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) sleeps at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

I’M. TOO SLEEPY TO BE SEXY. POOR ME.

The other adult spoonbill that I’d been watching also went to sleep.

Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) sleeps at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

A different spoonbill was awake, although she was just lounging around while a pair of nearby snowy egrets were bleating and working on a nest.

Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Some of the wood storks started gaping again.

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) flaps wings at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL
Wood stork (Mycteria americana) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

DO YOU LIKE MY HALLOWEEN COSTUME, HUMAN? I’M GOING AS A TREE.

At that point, Q and I had been at the rookery for about two hours, so we decided to go check out the other exhibits at the gator farm.

Alligator (alligator mississippiensis) lounging in water, covered in bird droppings, at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

This rookery gator cracked me up because of all the bird shit on its back. It must have been hanging out in that position for a long time.

They had an African exhibit that I really liked. There was a red ruffed lemur that was dozing.

Red ruffed lemur (Varecia rubra) sleeps at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

There was also a pair of marabou storks. They were awesome! I loved their long, dangling throat sacs. One of the storks preened the other for a few minutes. The preener then briefly preened herself before wandering off to get a drink of water.

Marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer) preens at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Profile of a marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer) at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

What a striking bird.

 

Marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer) at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer) takes a sip of water at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

There were also cape griffon vultures and a hooded vulture. I thought that the hooded vulture was especially beautiful.

Cape griffon vultures (Gyps coprotheres) at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Hooded vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

We also walked by a couple of Galapagos tortoises.

Galapagos tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra) ambling around at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Galapagos tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra) ambling around at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

There were lots of other birds in other exhibits, although I didn’t take pics of them. I’ve never been particularly interested in alligators or crocodiles, but I was amazed by the diversity of the species they had at the gator farm.

One post remains.

Rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park: Part 1

Before Q and I left for Florida, I researched possible birding sites online at the Great Florida Birding Trail. I decided that Q and I should try to visit Gatorland, as it boasted a large rookery in a section of its park. My mother mentioned this to a patient of hers who was a photographer and a birder. He said, “Gatorland is the second best rookery to visit in this part of the state. The best is in St. Augustine.”

So Q and I found ourselves driving up to St. Augustine to visit the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park.

A few days before we left for the gator farm, we went to their web site to buy tickets and noticed that there was a hotline number that provided updates about the rookery. Q called the number, and a week-old message began to play. Roseate spoonbills were nesting! Wood storks were arriving and pairing up! That was very exciting to me, because I had really hoped to see wood storks. Roseate spoonbills were even better; I hadn’t even considered we would get to see them.

The night before we left, Q and I went down to the lake to watch the Atlas V rocket launch. In the past, when the wind has been just right, we’ve been able to hear the take-off, although that didn’t happen this time. I wondered if the rocket would burn as brightly as the shuttle. No worries there!

Atlas V rocket launch from Cape Canaveral on March 12

The Atlas V goes up from Cape Canaveral, just as bright as the shuttle.

Atlas V rocket launch from Cape Canaveral on March 12

If you click on the pic and zoom in, you can see the two boosters, which look like small red triangles, falling from the rocket.

When Q and I got to the gator farm the next day, we eagerly followed the signs to the rookery. We ended up on a wooden boardwalk that stretched over a small stream. Gators lounged in the water and on the shores. Around the boardwalk were trees covered in great egrets, snowy egrets, wood storks, and roseate spoonbills.

I sought out the spoonbills first. Most of the birds were standing behind foliage or sleeping or lounging near their nests. The pink of their feathers was brilliant in the sunlight.

Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

This spoonbill was working on a nest with a mate.

Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) works on building a nest at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

The great egrets were ready for mating; their lores were bright green. I joked to Q, “Hey, we came over a thousand miles to see a bird we could have seen at the UT Southwestern rookery!”

Great egret (Ardea alba) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

We might be able to see the next bird down east of Corsicana, but we certainly wouldn’t be able to see it as closely as we could in St. Augustine.

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) gaping at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Some younger-looking roseate spoonbills were at the rookery. Like flamingos, the vibrant pink color of the spoonbill’s plumage comes from the food they eat. More mature spoonbills have feathers that are colored a much deeper, brighter pink.

Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) investigates locations for a nest at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Oh! I am so young and lonely! I wish I could find a mate!

Two roseate spoonbills (Platalea ajaja) investigate locations for a nest at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

HI! Will you be my mate?

Great egret (Ardea alba) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Now that pelican season is over, this great egret is vying to get on the cover of Wow! Waterbirds! magazine.

Not many of the wood storks seemed to have paired up. I saw only a few on nests, and a few more standing together. Most of the other storks were either hanging out by themselves or in small groups.

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

The next wood stork stood on this tree with her beak agape for a few minutes. She wasn’t panting like I’ve seen hot egrets and black-crowned night herons do, and the gape didn’t seem directed toward any other bird. From what I’ve read, female wood storks are the sex that typically engages in this kind of multi-minute gaping.

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) gaping at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

The male great egrets were out gathering sticks to bring back to their mates. That was my favorite part of watching the birds at the UT Southwestern rookery last year.

Great egret (Ardea alba) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Male great egret (Ardea alba) gathers nesting material at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Great egret (Ardea alba) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

The birds gave zero shits about the people nearby. The males frequently flew over the boardwalk as they went in search of their nesting material.

Male great egret (Ardea alba) flies to a nest with nesting material at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Coming through, coming through, gotta get this home to the missus.

Male great egret (Ardea alba) flies to a nest with nesting material at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Maybe she’ll let me mount her if she really likes the stick.

The male that was flying landed on a nearby nest and presented his stick to his mate. I watched him leave, scout out sticks, and bring them back several times. Sometimes the female was still busy weaving a stick into the nest when her mate would reappear with more material.

Female great egret (Egretta thula) receives nesting material from her mate at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FLMale great egret (Egretta thula) presents nesting material to his mate at the nest at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FLFemale great egret (Egretta thula) receives nesting material from her mate at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FLMale great egret (Egretta thula) presents nesting material to his mate at the nest at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

After the male disappeared for several minutes on another stick-gathering expedition, I started looking around again. That’s when I realized that mature roseate spoonbills have orange tails. I’m not sure whether their tails are always orange or if it is only part of their breeding plumage.

Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Hey, I’m still sexy, even if I don’t have an orange tail yet!

I started watching a nearby snowy egret. The first time I heard a snowy at the UT Southwestern rookery, I had a difficult time describing what it sounded like: kind of a high-pitched, goat-like, gobbling, bleating sound. Watching them was much more fun than listening to them because they were so excitable and aggressive.

The snowy I was watching turned out to be a male, because he climbed up to a female who was hanging out on the same tree and mounted her.

Male snowy egret (Egretta thula) mounts a female for mating at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Yay! Bird sex!

Snowy egrets (Egretta thula) mate with each other at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Snowy egrets (Egretta thula) mate with each other at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Snowy egrets (Egretta thula) mate with each other at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Let me whisper sweet nothings into your ear, my darling.

Snowy egrets (Egretta thula) mate with each other at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Snowy egrets (Egretta thula) mate with each other at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

His toes look like gnarled carrots.

What happened after they finished mating shocked me.

Two snowy egrets (Egretta thula) eye each other after mating at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

So, does this mean that I should start gathering sticks for you?

Male snowy egret (Egretta thula) threatens to attack the female he has just mated with at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Or does it mean that you should GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!

Male snowy egret (Egretta thula) threatens to attack the female he has just mated with at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

I mean it! GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE, NOW!

Male snowy egret (Egretta thula) after driving off a female he had just mated with at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Do not hate the player, human; hate the game.

The males of some bird species, such as pelicans, are initially antagonistic toward a potential mate, running off females who try to cozy up to them. Eventually the female’s persistence wears down the male’s resistance, and they pair up. Running off a potential mate, however, occurs well before the birds mate, and mating occurs after the male has accepted the female. A snowy running off a female directly after mating with her does not seem like normal behavior. I’ll have to look into it.

A different snowy egret was hanging out on a palmetto fan. Unlike the first snowy, this bird wasn’t getting any attention.

Snowy egret (Egretta thula) stands on a palmetto fan at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

I moved away from the snowies to look for other birds.

Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

One of the wood storks was posing nicely in a tree. Then she bent forward.

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

I love watching birds scratch. I think it looks so cute.

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) scratching an itch at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Oooooh, if only my face were closer to my claw!

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) scratching an itch at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Don’t worry, man, I got this: I’m a stork.

Another male great egret seemed to have found the perfect stick for his mate.

Male great egret (Ardea alba) gathers nesting material at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Male great egret (Ardea alba) gathers nesting material at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Male great egret (Ardea alba) gathers nesting material at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

And a different egret streaked over me on his way to his nest.

Great egret (Ardea alba) flies overhead at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Here ends part 1 with a few more wood storks.

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

I am vanquisher of the mighty itch!

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

Wood stork (Mycteria americana) at the rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL

The Osprey: March 2014 Florida Visit

I first saw the osprey en route to my parents’ house in Central Florida. She had a pretty sweet set-up: an inlet to a small lake for fish; a gigantic nest; and a tall, dead tree near both the nest and the lake where she could perch.

I had my camera with me, and while my mother stopped at a convenience store to get gas, I crossed the street to see if I could get some pictures of the bird.

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) sitting in a nest in Central Florida

Queen of the Mountain.

She began to call as soon as I finished crossing the street. Ospreys have a very loud, whiny, piercing call. I hoped to get a little closer than where I was, but I got too close and scared her. She flew off the nest, did a circuit around the area, then flew up to her perch to land.

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) landing on a tree branch in Central Florida

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) landing on a tree branch in Central Florida

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) sits on a branch in Central Florida

She began to give warning calls, so I decided that I would try to get some pics at a different angle but without getting much closer to her.

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) sits on a branch in Central Florida

Now you’re over there?! What kind of wingless magic do you possess, human?

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) sitting on a branch in Central Florida

I, too, have magic, human. My magic involves CLAWS AND BEAK.

I really didn’t want the osprey to feel unsafe and like she had to fly again, so I backed off and let her return to her bad-ass osprey life.

Birds at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge: March 2014 Florida Visit

I’ve been up to (over to? across to?) Titusville several times in the past, either to visit the Kennedy Space Center or to watch shuttle launches, but I’d never been birding in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. My father and I went there together, and I got to see another bird I’d been hoping to see.

We paused along a pull-off point because I saw a few birds standing together and wondered what they were. The day was extremely windy, and taking in-focus pictures was a huge challenge. The birds were about the size of a heron, with pink feathers and a long, strange bill with a circular curve at the end.

They were roseate spoonbills. I had never seen one before nor even heard of them.

The spoonbills eventually flew off, and almost right as they did, a tricolored heron flew in and began to hunt. I was so pleased! Little did I know that I would be seeing more tricolored herons in the future, and in Dallas.

We tried the Atlantic side, hoping for brown pelicans, but there was almost no birds and LOTS of people. We turned away from the Atlantic, and that’s when we started seeing more birds.

Little blue heron (Egretta caerulea) perches on a dead tree at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida

Oh, Little Blue, birdie, I love you, Little Blue.

Tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) lands on a tree at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida

Nice of you to drop in, madam!

The tricolored flew in right as my father and I were turning back from a trail that had ended in muck. As we would walk closer to the heron, she would fly and land just a little in front of us.

Tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) perches on a branch at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida

Just gorgeous.

Finally she got tired of us always catching up with her and flew off for real.

Tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) in flight at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida

BYE, HUMANS!

We went by a location that was frequented by manatees, so we decided to drop in and look. We didn’t find manatees . . .

Turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) soars through the air at the Merritt Island Natinal Wildlife Refuge in Florida

The turkey vulture, one of my father’s favorite birds.

Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) flies above water at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida

HELLO, AGAIN!

The adult brown pelican was initially loafing on a railing in a restricted part of the river. She dove into the water, floated for a while, then took off and began flying in circles. A juvenile joined in on the flying fun.

Juvenile brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) poops while flying above water at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida

Pooping birds crack me up. I don’t know why.

Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) flies above water at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida

ZOOM!

We went on a walk in an area of pine habitat, where we saw some scrub-jays and an immature bald eagle. Overall it was a good visit, and I hope that the next time I go to Florida, Q will come with me so we can check out the refuge together.

Brown Pelicans Flying Over the Atlantic: March 2014 Florida Visit

A while ago I talked with J R Compton about what he thought were the two main types of birders: watchers and listers. Watchers, he said, are pretty much happy with whatever bird turns up, while listers know what they want to see and seek out their target.

I had a boss who was a lister. She asked me if I had a birding bucket list and seemed surprised when I said I didn’t.

In general I consider myself a watcher. I like pretty much all birds, and they can all be interesting. I even like grackles and gulls! But there were a few birds that I really hoped I could see. One was a tricolored heron. Another was the brown pelican.

Since I was going to be in Florida, I thought I might try looking for some brown pelicans while I was there. I found a likely spot in New Smyrna Beach, and off my mother and I went to find the birds.

The only problem was that I never found the turn-off that would take us northwest to where the birding location was, and we found ourselves going southeast along A1A, which runs along the Atlantic Ocean. My mother didn’t have a physical map, and my phone was refusing to reload any imagery of the map I had up. We talked about pulling over randomly and walking out to the beach, just to find out if we could see anything, but before we could decide to do that, I saw a sign for the Great Florida Birding Trail.

“Let’s follow that and see where it goes,” I said.

It went to the Canaveral National Seashore.

We spent a little bit of time on the Indian River side before going out to the Atlantic to look for the brown pelicans.

Black vulture (Coragyps atratus) standing on a sign post at Canaveral National Seashore

Not a brown pelican, but welcome nonetheless.

There were a few birds hanging out on the beach.

A royal tern (Thalasseus maximus) on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean at Canaveral National Seashore

All the Forsters Terns at White Rock Lake will see this pic and begin to mournfully sing, “And we’ll never be royals . . . “

A ruddy turnstone (Arenaria interpres) on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean at Canaveral National Seashore

Ruddy Turnstone among shrimp.

Then my mother spotted a group of brown pelicans. Several small groups came through in waves, and occasionally a loner would fly in by herself. The pelicans were flying from south to north. Because I was so used to white pelicans, the coloration of the brown pelicans shocked me; they looked as though they had painted their faces with garishly colored make-up.

Four brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) flying over the Atlantic Ocean at Canaveral National Seashore

 

Two brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) flying over the Atlantic Ocean at Canaveral National Seashore

When I would watch groups of pelicans fly into Sunset Bay to loaf, I would hum the opening to Holst’s “Mars.” I did this with the brown pelicans. My mother tried to compete with me. She began humming Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” despite my protestations and explanations why “Mars” was clearly the better choice. She won. I started humming “Ride of the Valkyries” with her as the pelicans soared over us.

Juvenile brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) flying over the Atlantic Ocean at Canaveral National Seashore

Juvenile brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) flying over the Atlantic Ocean at Canaveral National Seashore

Brown pelican flying (Pelecanus occidentalis) over the Atlantic Ocean at Canaveral National Seashore

Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) flying over the Atlantic Ocean at Canaveral National Seashore

Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) flying over the Atlantic Ocean at Canaveral National Seashore

Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) flying over the Atlantic Ocean at Canaveral National Seashore

Four brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) flying over the Atlantic Ocean at Canaveral National Seashore

We decided that we’d had a good outing and that we’d let one more flock of birds go by before we left. After all, we had driven much further than we’d anticipated and still had to get back home.

Three brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) flying over the Atlantic Ocean at Canaveral National Seashore

Good night, and thank you.

Florida Scrub-Jay: March 2014 Florida Visit

In mid-March of this past year, I went to Florida to visit my parents. I also did some birding. My first visit was with my mother to see the Florida scrub-jays at the Lyonia Preserve in Volusia County.

Florida scrub-jays are extremely intelligent birds. They understand the concept of the future and the need to plan for future activities. They are curious and mostly fearless. They live together in small family groups. They are super awesome, and I get very sad that their numbers keep declining and Florida doesn’t seem to be doing much to help them.

There are two main populations of scrub-jays in the United States: the Western scrub-jay and the Florida scrub-jay. The Florida scrub-jay is the only bird native to Florida and is currently classified as Vulnerable. Florida scrub-jays reside in oak scrub habitat. The birds scavenge throughout the bottom third of the forest canopy and need light to penetrate those areas so they can see down there. Frequent fire is required for maintenance of this habitat; without it, the oaks would grow too large and block out too much of the light. Then other birds who are attracted to the new habitat, such as blue jays, force the remaining scrub-jays out. Unfortunately, oak scrub is also a great kind of habitat for humans to clear and use for commercial development and orange groves.

If someone were shooting a horror movie in Central Florida and one of the characters were walking through oak scrub and said, “I feel like I’m being watched,” she would be correct, but not because a ghoul was stalking her. Scrub-jays have a “sentinel” role within their families in which a bird watches for predators and alerts others if one is spotted. When walking through the scrub, one can frequently come across these birds perched in an area where they have good visibility.

Florida scrub-jays are not afraid of humans and will often fly to and perch on them. One bird tried to take a stone out of one of my earrings; another kept working on the metal gromit on my father’s baseball cap.

My mother was with me the first time I saw a scrub-jay. It was our first visit to the Lyonia Preserve in March of 2007. I knew that the birds would be in the lower portion of the canopy, but we hadn’t seen any. Then we made a turn and saw a scrub-jay standing on the ground on the edge of a patch of scrub. One of her feet was extremely twisted. Unlike the other scrub-jays we later saw, she was not banded. My mother named her Keyser Soze because of her injury.

Florida scrub-jay at Lyonia Preserve in Florida

Keyser Soze in 2007, being adorable and not at all like a criminal mastermind.

We were talking to and cooing over Keyser Soze when Keyser Soze suddenly launched herself toward us and landed on my mother’s head. We had heard that scrub-jays were curious and would land on people, but we weren’t expecting it to happen so soon, and with so little hesitation on the part of the bird.

Hell, even now that I’ve had scrub-jays land on me multiple times, I still don’t expect it and initially freak out a little when I see a cute blue bird FLYING STRAIGHT AT ME.

On this visit we didn’t see as many birds as usual, but we saw some sentries perched in trees, and one of the sentry birds kept flying closer and closer to us, checking us out.

Florida scrub-jay at Lyonia Preserve in Florida

Florida scrub-jay at Lyonia Preserve in Florida

This was the bird that kept flying in toward us.

Florida scrub-jay at Lyonia Preserve in Florida

Then we came across a bird hopping on the ground that decided it would rather perch on my mother.

Florida scrub-jay perched on a person at Lyonia Preserve in Florida

HI! WILL YOU BE MY FRIEND?

This bird seemed intrigued by my mother’s water bottle, possibly because of its color.

Florida scrub-jay perched on a person at Lyonia Preserve in Florida

The bird is eying the water bottle, but both my mother and Frank Zappa are eying the bird. The bird had better watch her back.

My mother opened the cap on the water bottle, which momentarily frightened the bird and caused her to flutter to the ground. My mother tried dripping some of the water from the bottle onto the ground in case the bird was thirsty. That didn’t work.

Florida scrub-jay at Lyonia Preserve in Florida

What the hell are you doing, lady?

Florida scrub-jay at Lyonia Preserve in Florida

Fuck this shit!

The bird got tired of the water landing near and on it and flew back up onto my mother’s arm, trying to go for the water bottle again. Then another scrub-jay that had appeared at the edge of the scrub flew on my mother’s head.

My mother poured water from the bottle into her palm. The bird on her head flew down onto her arm near the first bird, who was drinking the water.

Two Florida scrub-jays perched on a person at Lyonia Preserve in Florida

Beautiful. Curious. Intelligent. Family-oriented. But these birds are extremely dependent upon a very specialized environment, and humans want that environment for themselves.

The second bird decided that she too wanted a drink, and while she was drinking, the first bird flew onto the ground, near the edge of the scrub.

Florida scrub-jay perched on a person at Lyonia Preserve in Florida

My turn!

Florida scrub-jay at Lyonia Preserve in Florida

BYE, HUMANS!

As we were about to exit the Preserve, we saw a bird hanging out in the pavilion area.

Florida scrub-jay perched on a picnic table at Lyonia Preserve in Florida

This is where you humans eat food, right? How about you get it all out and then go walk around for a minute, and I’ll guard it for you.

Next time I’m in Florida, I will definitely be back!

http://www.lyoniapreserve.com