“A pleasant way to spend a couple of hours on Sunday afternoon.” That was the opinion of the seven St. Johns Auduboners who felt that planning more short local walks would be a really good idea. Our group consisting of Ned, Teddy, Diane, Margaret, Arliss, Cathy, and Alan turned up a surprising sixty-two species in just two hours!

First we checked the roof at Beall’s Outlet Store for Least Terns. A large colony nested there last year but it’s still a week or so early. However, Least Terns were seen in the area and out over the river. We hope our members who see any nesting activity on that roof or others in the county will report it to our Least Tern volunteers.

It’s amazing how many parking lot birds we observed, about fifteen species. The best were several Bald Eagles, Red-tailed Hawks, and Woodstorks circling around overhead. Others included a Black-hooded Parakeet, a variety of blackbirds, House Sparrows, Laughing Gulls, and a Loggerhead Shrike.

Next we moved across Highway 312 to the big retention pond at Flagler Hospital. Although the winter ducks have moved on, there were many Mallards, some with fuzzy little ducklings. We found an Anhinga, Double Crested Cormorants, Coots, Yellowlegs, and a nice Solitary Sandpiper among others. In winter, this pond always produces good birds, especially because enough native habitat has been left for animals to use. Ponds with nothing but manicured lawn grass down to the water will have almost no birds. We hope nobody ever “neatens up” this wonderful pond.

The nicest part of the afternoon was the shaded trail and boardwalk out along the river below the hospital. At low tide with a cool breeze in our hair, we scoped a variety of plovers, herons, ibis, egrets, and more eagles in and over the marsh. A Common Loon in breeding plumage and a late singing House Wren were surprises. Then we got into a nice flurry of warblers including Common Yellowthroat, Blackpolls, American Redstarts, Palm, and Parula.

We want to thank Flagler Hospital for providing such a pleasant setting for our Audubon bird trip. A security guard actually came out to welcome us and point the way to the boardwalk. Now that’s the kind of community service we can really appreciate!

By Teddy Shuler
 

Leader: Ned & Teddy Shuler
Date: April 29, 2007 (Sunday)
Time: 03:00 - 05:00 PM
Meeting Place: Meet Teddy and Ned Shuler in the parking area in front of Beall’s Outlet store on Highway 312 near the intersection with US 1. It’s a very big, well-marked building across Hwy. 312 from Flagler Hospital. Look for the people with binoculars around their necks.
What to Bring: Water, a sun hat, bug spray, binoculars, and field guides. There will be short drives between hotspots.

Itinerary:

This easy Sunday afternoon walk is geared toward new birders. Of course, anyone is welcome to join us. Your leaders, both retired teachers, will do a little coaching to enhance your birding skills so you might want to bring along a notepad.

We will start with a look at nesting Least Terns on the flat roofs of Beall’s Outlet and Big Lots. It’s amazing how most people walk under these sleek, gorgeous little birds without ever looking up!

Next, we’ll go across to the retention ponds at Flagler Hospital to look at big birds that stand still, as opposed to tiny birds that disappear into bushes. We could see Wood Storks, White Ibis, Ring-billed and Laughing Gulls, a Kingfisher, a Phoebe, and various egrets and herons around the pond. There is also a nice little marsh walk down behind the hospital that should yield birds found in brushy edges, mud flats, and maritime forest. We might even learn to identify some of those little invisible-in-the-bushes birds by sound, especially if they’re singing on territory. 

Email or call if you have questions. Teddys23@bellsouth.net 904-819-5860
 

This area contains a listing of the species seen or heard on the trip.