Chasing Birds - St Marks Day Two

 Monday January 26th

Sora at the Headquarters Pond

Spent the bulk of Day Two, on this trip, at St Marks National Wildlife Refuge.  Like Lake Apopka and Merritt Island, we get a lot of wintering birdlife at St Marks in January. Especially waterfowl and song birds. St Marks is diffidently a birding hot spot.

For some of these species, the Panhandle usually marks the southern limits  of there wintering range. Such as Red-throated Loon or horned Larks. Some of most recently seen birds of interest included an Iceland Gull, American Flamingo, White-faced Ibis, Snow Goose, Red-throated Loon and Henslow Sparrow.  But I didn't see any of these on this visit.  But I did explore the Pine Flats, Marshes, Ponds and shoreline down on the Gulf of Mexico. 

Lots waterfowl - Blue-wing & Green-wing Teal, Gadwall, Greater & Lesser Scaup, American Wigeons, Northern Pintail, Canvasbacks, Northern Shoveler, Ruddy Duck, Bufflehead, Mallard, American Black Duck, Hooded Mergansers and Common Goldeneye. 

 

American Wigeon at the Lighthouse Pond

The various ponds also hosted American Avocets, Bonaparte's Gulls, Ring-billed Gulls, Yellowlegs, Black-bellied Plovers, Semipalmated Plovers, Killdeer, Dunlins, American Coots and Common Gallinules

Redhead at the Lighthouse Pond

Redhead at the Lighthouse Pond

The Wildlife Drive terminates at the St Marks Lighthouse, the Lighthouse Ponds and the Gulf of Mexico. Arrived during a low tide, calm seas and having almost no sea birds present. Dipped on the Iceland Gull being reported as well as common or red-throated loons, horned grebes, oystercatchers and only a couple of Buffleheads were present. One good sighting here was a distant look at a Common Goldeneye, plus a few Brown Pelicans, Willets and Royal Terns. The Lighthouse Ponds were loaded with waterfowl and few waders.

Canvasback at the Lighthouse Pond

The marshes shared Red-winded Blackbirds, Sora, Yellow-crowned Night-herons, Swamp, Savanah & Song Sparrows, Northern Cardinals and a Clapper Rail. 

Also had a River Otter cross the wildlife drive in front of me

In the pines, oaks and their understory, American Robins were very numerous. Other sightings included Cedar Waxwing, Carolina Chickadees, Catbirds, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Eastern Towhee, Pine Warblers, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Orange-crowned Warbler, Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers and American Goldfinch.

Sora at the Headquarters Pond

A distant look at a Bonaparte's Gull

My St Marks Life List

Common Violet blooming near the helipad area

Spent time not just birding but trying to catalogue all of the various forms of life present. Will have to return to Panhandle in the springtime when wildflowers are in bloom. For today some of the interesting flora I observed today included Cabbage Palms, Saw Palmetto, Sand Live Oak, Water Oak, Laurel Oak, Myrtle Oak, Red Maple, Swamp Titi, Pondcypress, Carolina Luarelcherry, Yellow Butterwort, Gallberry, Shiny Blueberry, Sparkleberry, Fetterbush, American Royal Fern and Common Yucca