Florida trip yields numerous sightings Vultures, pelicans, parakeets abound

Maine can be a capricious flirt at this time of the year, I thought, as I contemplated the forecast of snow on the first day of spring. However, I did get my warm-weather fix -and more than two dozen birds to add to my life list – down in Florida over spring break.

Our introduction to Florida’s birds began with the laughing gulls that nonchalantly perched atop walkway railings mere feet from the engines of an idling jet at Tampa International Airport. We marveled at the birds’ apparent unconcern.

En route to our destination, a brown pelican nearly caused us to drive off the road as it popped into view over the concrete barrier of the ocean causeway. The prehistoric-looking bird hovered in the air before dropping seaward again – what a perspective!

We saw birds everywhere. Monk parakeets – an escaped exotic species – went about their business of nest building in the palm trees at the entrance to a fast-food restaurant. We watched as one of them repeatedly flew in front of incoming traffic to collect twigs from a tree across the road, and prayed the bird would avoid a collision.

Mockingbirds tirelessly sang snatches of other birds’ songs while flashing their white wing patches in territorial defense. Black vultures and turkey vultures were always present, either circling in thermals high above or scavenging along the low-tide line on the beach.

We always arose before daybreak to the distant crooning of a chuck-wills-widow: a perfect wake-up call to begin our day of birding. One morning we set out to find burrowing owls, and although we had no luck, several eastern meadowlarks made up for the owls’ absence.

Another highlight was the abundance of shore and wading bird species of which we were privileged to get close looks. Diminutive sanderlings foraged along the tide line, advancing and retreating with the waves. Comical-looking American oystercatchers, with their odd beaks that resembled carrot sticks, poked into the sand for their food. Stately great blue herons, tricolored herons and reddish egrets waded the shallows of tide pools with consummate grace and patience. The most unusual roseate spoonbills sifted the mudflats with their spatulate-tipped beaks, their shocking plumage glowing in the sun.

One of the biggest prizes of the trip was revealed along an island nature trail. The trail was named for the ospreys that nested in the dead pines along its length, but one nest contained, instead, a great-horned owl and its downy chick.

The young owlet peered curiously over the nest’s rim while its parent sat patiently in the hot sun. Farther down the trail, the shaded limb of a slash-pine tree revealed the silhouette of the other vigilant adult. This was surely a birder’s paradise.

By far, though, the greatest reward was our encounter with the threatened Florida scrub jay. Our story of the event, and a profile of the species, will appear in next week’s column.

Chris Corio’s column on birds is published each Saturday. Corio, a volunteer at Fields Pond Nature Center in Holden, can be reached at fieldspond@juno.com