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A Fledgling Birder's Log: by Will Duncan
A Fledgling Birder's Log: by Will Duncan
, 2007
Vol. XXXIV No. 2
I
n August 1993, Will Duncan joined a Victor Day 9 – Birded before
Saturday, September 8, South Baldwin County September 27, 2007 — Pensacola Junior College,
Birding. Morris Clark will lead us through south Main Campus, 7 p.m. Baroco Science Center,
Baldwin County in search of early fall migrants. Room 2142. “Panhandle Shorebirds.” Jennifer Waddell
We hope to see Black-bellied Plovers in breeding will be our speaker on migrating shorebirds and nesting
plumage, and Pectoral and Buff-breasted Sandpi- habits of terns, plovers and skimmers in our area.
pers. Also, with a little luck, we might see Upland
Sandpipers and American Golden-Plovers. Expect
easy walking and possibly some wet conditions. We Board of Directors’ Meetings
plan to eat lunch at a restaurant. Meet at 7:30 a.m.
(Open to all members)
in the Big Lots parking lot located on the east side
Thursdays 7 p.m., August 2, September 6, October 4.
of Navy Blvd. south of Highway 98 in Warrington.
Baskerville-Donovan Building, 449 West Main Street,
We plan to return by mid-afternoon.
Pensacola.
2
The “Guns” of August by Lucy Duncan
C
icadas crank up their background music across the coast, cicada rhythms remained deathly silent. There was no
South when the temperature heats up in late summer. familiar buzzing drone to fall on listening ears. Curiously,
The pulsating buzz saw of the male is his mating call, a different cicada sound tested the air…emanating from a
and folks say that you can deduce the temperature by the smaller cicada, higher in pitch and tone, and definitely not
speed of its buzz. our large regular guy. It wasn’t until summer 2006 that a
few of the large cicadas on this Santa Rosa Peninsula began
One of the smaller species of cicada farther north in to pulsate again in the heat. Since then, I’ve been looking
the Midwest and East emerges in 13- and 17-year cycles. for their “artifacts,” the nearly translucent honey-colored
Individuals of our larger and most obvious cicadas (genus shells, the exoskeletons of the nymphs.
Tibicen) emerge annually in lower numbers here and have
been a summertime presence most of my life. I never knew As a youngster growing up in Mobile, I’d find the
a summer without them until after Hurricane Erin. In early nymphs crawling up from their underground denizens where
August 1995 when Erin was approaching, cicadas were they had lived sucking juice from tender roots. Up the trees
actively “sawing,” filling the summer midday background they’d crawl, then sit motionless while molting out of their
and hot summer nights with their noise and rhythm. Erin bug-eyed bodies. The back of the nymph would split, and
swept through, and the afternoons fell silent except for a we kids would gather to watch the 3-inch, wet, lace-winged
different kind of sawing, one not so easy on the ear. But adult emerge. Do kids do this anymore? No? Then it’s time to
the evenings were silent too, and I figured the storm had take a child cicada hunting, and while you’re at it, catch a
wiped them out for the time being. But no, here along the few lightning bugs too.
I
am very pleased to report that the conservation ethics and
impulses of our members were put in to concrete action
in June. On Wednesday, June 20, members of Francis M.
Weston Audubon Society (and others), with direction and
assistance from Jennifer Waddell, Gulf Islands National Seashore
(GINS) naturalist, placed over 700 feet of temporary fabric fencing
alongside the Navarre Causeway to protect newly hatched Black
Skimmer chicks. Just the day before, a concerned citizen, Ms. Dale
Wilder, called the Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC) to report that
Black Skimmer chicks were wandering onto the roadway and being
killed by passing traffic. Capt. Sumner, who took her report, could
not reach FWC biologists, so she called Audubon of Florida’s Julie Volunteers, left to right, Peggy Baker, Debbie Haywood,
Wraithmell. Julie was able to contact FWC’s assistant regional Becky Grass and Paul Blakeburn erect a safety barrier.
biologist, Wendy Bear, along with members of FMWAS. Lucy
Duncan took action immediately, coordinating Audubon volunteers the purpose of protecting the nesting birds. Unfortunately, the
with FWC and Jennifer Waddell. Wendy Bear acquired fencing hatchlings did not seem to respect signs prohibiting movement
material and delivered it to Jennifer. across the border of the nesting area!
The very next morning, the group met at the area with Lucy Duncan took digital photographs of the work and
sledgehammers, gloves, and pickaxes in hand to erect the barrier emailed them to me. I then provided information to the Pensacola
and prevent hatchlings from wandering into traffic. Jennifer was News Journal. The newspaper published a photograph of the group
there with the fencing material (though more had to be obtained at work and a short description of Francis M. Weston Audubon
during the work to complete the construction), along with our Society’s conservation in action.
members Lucy and Bob Duncan, Peggy Baker, Becky Grass, and
A few days later, Jennifer Waddell reported that she had
Paul Blakeburn and other citizens, including one local resident
placed wooden shipping pallets at the site to provide shade for
who happened onto the scene and wanted to help!
the chicks and that they were hanging out near the water, well
The nesting area, on the east side of the causeway south away from the roadway. Jennifer counted at least 40 skimmer
of the bridge, has official signs indicating the area is closed for chicks and at least 15 Least Tern chicks on Monday, June 25.
3
F i e l d m N o t e s
by Bob Duncan
n It’s been a great year for breeding birds on Gulf Islands but I have yet to see a hatching-year skimmer in flight.
National Seashore’s (GINS) Santa Rosa Island, the best in my Apparently, unlike Least Terns, Black Skimmers
memory. National Park Service personnel did all they could to are very site-faithful, much to their disadvantage (see
help Least Terns and Snowy Plovers succeed in raising their Conservation, page 3). In previous years, Least Terns resorted
young and it paid off. Areas roped off and posted protected to nesting on specific types of roofs in the area with limited
nesting birds on both sides of what remains of the Ft. success. But with the return of the island to nature, they saw
Pickens road. Personnel patrolled the roads to keep wayward a good thing and took advantage of it. Since Least Terns and
beachgoers at bay. Tern colonies began about one-half mile Black Skimmers have nested together, preferring the same
from the gate at the GINS entrance, and nesting terns and habitat, I can’t understand why the skimmers didn’t take
plovers were located all along the beach for over a mile, mostly advantage of what nature opened up to them. Is this natural
on the sound side. selection at work?
n The public can access Ft. Pickens by bike or foot by It isn’t often we have really good news about the
staying on the asphalt road and avoid disturbing the terns. environment, but those feisty little “devils” out on the island
However, that did not deter the terns from harassing the gave us something to cheer about this time.
public! I made weekly trips by bike and foot out there starting
in June and watched the progression of nesting activity—from Other Sightings
birds on their scrapes, to hatching chicks, fledging young, and n Two American Oystercatchers found by James Pfeiffer
as of this week (July 14), watching young birds learning to downtown on 3 June were rare finds. An albino Turkey
fish for themselves. It was a rewarding experience many times Vulture seen by Gene Fleming in Molino 28 June must have
rewarded with warm, white splotches of digested fish on my been startling! Two Swallow-tailed Kites graced the skies
hat or shirt! over Pensacola 6 June (Peggy Baker) and three were there
n A few weeks ago I ventured east down the road toward 22 June (Powers McLeod). Lynn Gould reported Swallow-
Navarre Beach, biking from the barrier there for about three tailed Kites nesting at UWF. White Pelicans migrate through
miles to the Opal Beach pavilion. It was the same scenario, our area to breeding grounds in the Great Basin. Fifty were
Least Terns and Snowy Plovers with young in various stages counted 22 June in Milton (Heidi Moore) and an impressive
of development for a good part of the trip! And, there were 210 at the mouth of Bayou Grande on 26 June (Ann and Dan
nesting Wilson’s Plovers there, the first ones I’ve seen in Forster). Rare in summer, a Common Loon was in Bayou
years. Grande 21 June (Dan & Ann Forster) and 30 White Ibis were
n Hurricane Ivan created the perfect habitat for nesting over their yard 14 July. Rare in summer, an American Robin
shorebirds—wiping out dunes and vegetation and flattening was seen in north Pensacola on 1 July (Glenda Bowman), and
the island, spreading broken fragments of seashells and asphalt Laura Catterton found parents feeding young 8 July on Ten
creating the perfect camouflage birds need, and in the process Mile Rd.
eliminating predators like raccoons. Further, the lack of human
disturbance because of inaccessibility was a big factor. The The Skimmer welcomes reports of noteworthy birds. If you
birds were quick to respond. In 2005 they moved right in after have something to report, please call Bob or Lucy Duncan at
Ivan, but a minor storm washed them out early in the season. 932-4792.
This year’s drought was made to order.
*
n But what about the Black Skimmers? There was a colony
Species with asterisks require documentation so that they
of about 50 nesting birds behind a chain-link fence near the may be processed to become part of the ornithological record. If
Escambia Co. Sheriff’s substation near the fishing pier most of you have anything noteworthy to report, please call Bob or Lucy
the summer. Apparently some birds from this colony fledged Duncan at (850) 932-4792.
4
Education by Peggy Baker
O
ur many years of travel in Latin America have of time a trip takes. It has occurred to us that this actually
convinced us that we are not adventurous enough makes sense in a mountainous terrain where your average
to try to navigate the highways and byways on speed may be twenty miles per hour or less.
our own. Every time we leave Quito—with a
Rule 4: Your bird guide is probably young and fit. His
professional driver and professional guide—we have to stop
evaluation of the upcoming trail and your physical ability
and ask directions several times. There are no street signs.
may sound compatible, but you would be woefully wrong.
Streets have large holes that seem to have some association
Level trail—May start and end at 8,000 feet altitude.
with storm sewer work. This necessitates freestyle detouring
However, the leader fails to mention that it is 6,000 feet in
and thus the questioning of the local folks. There might be an
the middle. One of the surprises in the tropics is that even
occasional sign on a main highway causing someone to say,
the trails in the lowlands are amazingly hilly. All the torrents
“Did you see that?”
of water rushing around have cut tributaries to the nearby
Rule 1: Forget maps. No resident uses one or has ever rivers and these gorges have to be negotiated. Steep at first
seen one before. Producing a map causes slight embarrassment but then levels out—steep!? Do you have your crampons
and total bafflement. Worse yet, they might point to some- and ropes? Can be muddy—wear your rubber boots and
thing and get you more lost than you already are. carry a substantial hiking stick.
Rule 2: Never ask a leading question. The people there Nevertheless, the birds are so spectacular and breath-
are so eager to please that they try to guess the answer taking that whining about the description of the trail or the
you want to hear. So a question such as ”Does this road go poorly marked roads misses the big picture by a mile.
5
NEWS and VIEWS
n Dr. John Himes, Northwest Regional Nongame can readily compare years. This year is not up to par. So far, 130
Biologist, Florida Fish and Eastern Bluebirds have fledged. As of this writing in mid-July,
6
Skimming by Jere French
7
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