Southeast Volusia Audubon Society

Twenty-nine people split our fifteen mile diameter circle into 11 areas including one boat. The weather was blustery and rainy for the start but moderated later in the morning. We tallied 134 species and a total of 79,584 birds. We thought that 5,860 Laughing Gulls was a lot, but that number paled in comparison to the estimated 50,000 Tree Swallows Clay found himself surrounded by. For a complete list of birds found, click the appropriate format: Microsoft Excel; Microsoft Works. As usual, click the pix for a larger view.

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On a beautiful morning, 9 dedicated birders started at 6 A.M. to catch the sunrise over the Indian River Lagoon at Seminole Rest. We saw Common Loon, terns, Red-breasted Merganser and Gulls along the shoreline, observed many birds flying in from the Islands to the mainland and listened to the lovely bird-songs at daybreak. On the way to and at Merritt Island we saw all the usual birds plus a male Painted Bunting eating poke berries and a Great Horned Owl setting on a nest. A trip around the Scrub Jay trail found the friendly birds. Also, most everyone saw the Eurasian Wigeon, a life bird for some. We counted 80 species overall. The complete list and some pictures follow. Continue Reading »

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While in Nova Scotia in June, Beth and I decided to travel the Cabot Trail and, hopefully, see a whale. Weather was an issue throughout our trip and this segment was no exception. We crossed the Canso Causeway onto Cape Breton Island in driving rain and fifty degree temperatures. We located a B & B and checked in for the night. When we met the other guests at breakfast next morning, we learned they were from Deland, Florida, on their way south from the Cabot Trail. Continue Reading »

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The captain and crew walked across the parking lot and jumped aboard. There were a few ominous clicks, silence, more clicks, muttering, more clicks. After about 15 minutes the captain surfaced to advise that because of the weather, the boat had not been out for several days. The bilge pump had apparently run his battery down while keeping the boat from filling with rainwater. This is a real problem in a town with neither stores nor garage within an hour drive. Ah, but he would go and get his replacement battery. Continue Reading »

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Eleven of us, including two new folks we met at the November meeting, gathered for a relaxing day at Viera Wetlands.  The day was mostly cloudy and the high temp was about 80 degrees.  The wind was up, probably about 10-15 mph.  Great weather for birding.

We hadn’t heard anything about the Masked Duck that had been frequenting the place for the last couple of winters,so we didn’t expect it.  But we had hoped to see the Crested Caracara.  No joy!  Somewhat disappointing.  But we did have two really good sightings, a group of Horned Grebes and a Peregrine Falcon.

In all, we saw 62 species.  To see the full list as well as some photos, click the picture of the Loggerhead Shrike.

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I returned to Alberta the day after our October meeting. It’s been an interesting six weeks. Our cabin is west of the main flyways but we have local ducks and geese and get the odd small flock of migrating northerners.
On my first weekend I checked the sloughs around Cochrane for swans. These are magnificent, elegant birds and well worth looking for. Local ducks and coots were still on many of the puddles, standing on ice or busily swimming around to keep the water open. I checked eight sloughs and saw a lot of Mallards, some of them migrants, small numbers of Shovelers, Pintails, American Wigeon, Gadwall and Hooded Mergansers, a pair of Ruddy Ducks and several American Coots. Finally I found one pond with eight beautiful Trumpeter Swans, dunking in open water, just a few yards from the road. I spent a quarter hour just ogling! I did see several more Trumpeters during my stay but I didn’t identify any Tundra Swans. Continue Reading »

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Since the banning of DDT a long time ago, Ospreys have become ubiquitous in the watery areas of Florida.  I have seen as many as 18 of them in one field of view while kayaking on the Indian River.  Many people assume that since we see them here year-round, they do not migrate.  But consider how they would feed up North when the rivers and lakes freeze over.

There is an interesting story in today’s Orlando Sentinel about three Ospreys that were tagged up North and met with disaster during their migration.  Richard O. “Rob” Bierregaard Jr., a professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, has tagged nearly 50 ospreys with satellite transmitters in the past decade, including one that was recently tracked until it plunged from the sky over a ranch in Seminole County. The bird’s body was decomposing by the time it was recovered from a pasture, and the cause of death may never be known, though Dr Bierregaard thinks it was most probably shot down.

Bierregaard and other scientists think that Florida may be the planet’s busiest osprey crossroads. Some of the birds breed in Maine and winter in Florida. Others breed in the Midwest, New England and Southeast and follow the length of Florida toward wintering places in South America‘s Amazon forests.

Other Ospreys are routinely shot if they stray near the ponds of fish farms in Cuba and Venezuela, or chicken flocks in theDominican Republic.

To read the full article and get some interesting information on Ospreys, click here.

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Twelve folks, including 2 snowbirds, a member of the Halifax River AS and Dinah Pulver of the Daytona Beach News-Journal enjoyed a glorious 74 degree day at Lake Woodruff NWR on Saturday, Oct 22.  The walk started slowly as we wrestled with Marsh Wrens and Sedge Wrens but picked up as we headed around the main impoundment.  We saw 60 species, including 8 warblers, 5 woodpeckers, and even a Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Continue Reading »

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On the 17^th of September, 11 folks participated in the annual Fall Migratory Bird Count. They looked high and low by foot, by car and by boat. They found a total of 5626 individual and 84 species. Some of the good birds included Cape May Warblers, Mitred Parakeets, Wilson’s and Piping Plovers, and Red Knots. Among the surprise no-shows was Ring-billed gulls. We have seen them almost every day before the count day. None that day. Where did they go? Also surprisingly low were only 10 Boat-tailed Grackles. I went from parking lot to parking lot looking for them but did not see a one. Where did they go?

Despite the puzzlement, it was a great day. Thanks to those who participated.

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September 15, 2011 – Two Whimbrels (Numenius phaeopus) tracked by scientists from a US university have been shot by hunters on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, highlighting the continuing lack of protection for migratory shorebirds in this important part of their flyway.

Scientists at the Center for Conservation Biology at Virginia Commonwealth University were using satellite technology to follow the Whimbrels, known as Machi and Goshen.  The birds were not migrating together, but both stopped on the island on the morning of 12 September, after encountering different storm systems.

Guadeloupe has several isolated mangrove swamps that serve to concentrate the shorebirds for shooting.  An estimated 3,000 hunters participate in the shorebird hunt annually.  Currently, shooting parties on the island are not regulated, and no information is available on the number of shorebirds taken. Without such information it is not possible to assess the potential relationship between hunting and ongoing population declines. The number of Whimbrels migrating along the western Atlantic coast has fallen by 50% since the mid-1990s.

To read more of the story, check out this link.  The author is Martin Fowlie from an international conservation organization called Birdlife International whose website is at http://www.birdlife.org/index.html

If you are interested in getting more updates like these, I encourage you to check out their website and sign up for their newsletter.

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