Gathering before sunrise in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge to listen for birds as they awaken and begin their day.
Posted by David McRee at BlogTheBeach.com
My alarm clock went off at 4:05 this morning. I was to meet Paddy Cunningham-Pascatore and the rest of our group for a pre-sunrise Space Coast Birding Festival field trip in the bird-rich Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (MINWR).
It was pitch black when I arrived in the parking lot of the Oak Hammock Trail. The birds were still asleep. We all gathered around Paddy as she explained what our walk was about. Then she played some bird calls to help familiarize us with what we were going to attempt: learning to identify a bird without actually seeing it.
One of the main lessons I’ve learned this week at the Birding Festival is that the top birders find birds by hearing them call and by knowing which habitats the birds will frequent. We needed to learn those skills to become better birders.
As soon as it was light enough to see the trail we set out through the oak hammock, crossed the railroad track used to transport the space shuttle, and made a short trek on a boardwalk through a wet lowland habitat. The first birds we heard were a Great Horned owl, Yellow-rumped warblers, Robins, Black and White warblers, a Hermit Thrush, a Pileated woodpecker, many Carolina wrens, Tree swallows, Grackles, and several birds that others saw but that eluded me, like the Goldfinch that made a brief appearance in the treetops. We heard each of them before actually finding the bird with our eyes. Some bird calls are musical, some are raspy, others sound frantic or angry, and others buzz and chirp. Some of the smallest birds make the loudest calls.
After a brief stop at the MINWR visitors center we took a brief tour of the scrub and found a few scrub jays, then on to Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, which is an unpaved road that runs through the vast wetlands of the refuge. Paddy was wonderful at teaching us how to identify small shorebirds from a great distance by observing their size, feeding habits, behaviors, flight patterns, and their choice of habitats. We saw Dunlin, Black-bellied plover, Roseate Spoonbill, Shoveler duck, Blue-winged teal, Pintail duck, American widgeon, Black skimmers, Avocet, numerous wading birds of all types, Greater yellowlegs, a Bald eagle, and much more. The best sighting was of a lone Clapper rail.
A lone Clapper rail makes a brief appearance in a tidal marsh at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.
Paddy is generous with her knowledge, but does not immediately identify a strange bird. She leads the participants through the thought process used by an advanced birder to identify birds quickly and with confidence. She doesn’t just take you out and show you birds. She teaches you how to find them and identify them. I can hardly wait to put my newly learned skills to work when I get back home.
Birders at the Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival watching Dunlin feeding on the tidal mud flats.
Not only did we learn a lot from Paddy, we all learned from each other. Many of the field trip participants were experienced birders who gladly shared their knowledge and experience. We had participants from all over North America.
Paddy Cunningham-Pascatore gives a lesson on shorebird identification to participants during the 13th Annual Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival.
Paddy Cunningham-Pascatore offers guided birding field trips and instruction through her company Birding Adventures. She also organizes and manages the Everglades Birding Festival which will be coordinated with next year’s 14th Annual Space Coast Birding Festival so birders can more easily attend both events.
FTC Disclosure of Material Connections: I receive compensation from the Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival for writing about the 2010 Festival. I also receive a great deal of personal satisfaction from writing about this wonderful event.
