I was down on the west coast of Florida for work a couple weeks ago and had time before my flight on Saturday to sneak out to the Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. It's famous, and so I wanted to check it out.
I had a goddamn blast. It was such a nice departure from the March birding blues here in DC to see tons of warblers, sandhill cranes, crested caracara and a whole bunch of up-close wading birds. March is the height of the dry season, and a lot of the deeper water at Corkscrew -- and all the birds that wade in that water -- were concentrated in just a few pools. Lots of species in close proximity: white ibis, wood stork, roseate spoonbill, and herons and egrets of all kinds.
I was particularly impressed with some Snowy Egret feeding behavior I had never seen before. The Snowies I'm used to fish with what I consider a pretty standard hunt-and-strike heron technique, which includes everything from just standing and waiting for a fish to actively hunting around using those cool yellow feet as stirrers or lures.
But a group of Snowies around one pond were feeding from the wing, flying low across the surface, dragging their toes into the water, and picking up fish that hopped out in front of them. I'd never seen anything like it. Here's are a couple videos (if you listen with sound don't mind all the shutter snaps, there were a lot of photographers on the boardwalk with me):
4 comments:
Hey Nick!
You were close to my neck of the woods, a little farther north in Sarasota!. Yes, the plovers are experts at camouflage. They nest on the sand, and are very vulnerable. We help Audubon volunteers monitor Snowy Plover nests at Siesta Beach. Two years ago, several nests yielded only two fledglings, and last year, we felt very fortunate to have five fledge from about 10 nests. Don't forget, these birds have to hide not only from humans, dogs, raccoons, etc., but also have to be invisible to hawks and falcons, which is a "whole
'nother matter!"
Patch
Nick! I was at Corkscrew last week and saw the Snowies doing the exact same thing--I'd never seen anything like it. Super weird/cool.
You guys are pretty damn smart for living in SW FL. What a great place for birds, and nice weather, and relaxation, and a million other things. Kudos.
I have family in SW FL, and my sister and I usually go birding when we visit them. There's a family of otters at Corkscrew that makes for a fun quick birding break if they swim by. Highly recommend Marco Island- not just for the burrowing owls- but for some really great birding beaches.
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