FLORIDA FLING

Florida Nature: 2002 Wall Calendar

This spring my family and I took a trip to Florida, both to see my step-grandmother, who lives near Melbourne and to do some serious nature watching. Even while doing more "touristy" activities like taking an airboat ride through an alligator swamp or touring the Kennedy Space Center we couldn't help but see some great wildlife (my first Limpkin on the former, my first Roseate Spoonbills on the latter (from a great distance alas). But I devoted a whole day to birding the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

April 25 was cloudy and breezy; there were a few morning showers, but also periods of sunshine. My first stop was the Visitor Information Center, where I got a check list of birds, a map of the Refuge and directions to the best birding places. The Information Center itself has a small pond and a short nature trail. While I was there a Wood Stork flew overhead.

I went next to the Black Point Wildlife Drive, a one-way loop through extensive marsh habitat. It was on this drive that I saw my first "life bird" of the day, a Reddish Egret feeding in shallow water. I got some great looks at this fascinating bird. Off the Drive itself is the five-mile Cruickshank Trail, which has an observation tower (from which I saw another small flock of spoonbills) and various views of both marsh and open water habitats. Tri-colored Herons were particularly common but there were several other heron species as well. I flushed two Least Bitterns along the way, and also saw my other "lifer" for the day, the Mottled Duck. I stopped to look at a pair of Black-necked Stilts. nearby Red-wings, Kingbirds, Cardinals, and Common Yellowthroats were everywhere. Continuing on the Wildlife Drive I had good views of Anhingas.

I drove over to Playalinda Beach, part of the Canaveral National Seashore to add some ocean species to my list and to have lunch. On the way I sighted some American White Pelicans. Due to the weather, I suppose, the beach was almost empty of humans, and I had leisure to eat my sandwich and observe Royal Terns, Willets, plovers, and Ruddy Turnstones. Returning from the beach I stopped at another foot trail (the Oak Hammock Trail) which goes through a hardwood forest habitat quite different from the marsh and beach areas.

All in a all I saw 63 species for the day, including 13 of the 17 species of wading birds listed on the Refuge checklist, and two new birds for my life list. The Refuge is easy to get around in and has great opportunities for seeing lots of different birds for minimal effort.

Tom Hayward

IN SEARCH OF SEA PARROTS Searching for Puffins off the Maine coast. Nel Anctil

BACK YARD NESTING SUCCESS Our efforts to get birds nesting in our back yard are finally rewarded. Dan Marquis

GREBE IN A BASKET An amusing story about a Red-Necked Grebe. Louise Sylvester

ENCOUNTER WITH A HUMMER What happens when human and hummingbird meet? Jean Taber

RAMBO CHICKADEE A tenacious chickadee takes on all comers. Paticia Fish

THE BIRDS OF KENYA Come along on a bird safari to East Africa. Evelyn White