Listing Through Life

columbina (little dove) passerina (sparrow)

Tuesday, May 4, 1999 — 1:10 pm

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Florida

After I left the Reddish Egret, I continued driving along the dirt roads on the levies around the impoundments. In places, the banks were worn away. I began to imagine how fun it would be if I had to back up for three miles on a narrow road with water on both sides. The sand road circled around and ran along the shore of the Indian River, with the wide expanse of water on one side and a very large marsh on the other. I wasn’t seeing as much as I expected to, but there was a steady parade of egrets and herons and masses of Boat-tailed Grackles.

I noticed a small brown bird flush from the roadway and disappear into the brush on the marsh side of the levy. I thought “sparrow’ but a few moments later it occurred to me that it might have been a ground-dove. I began watching closely. Shortly thereafter, two more flashed up. They flew about ten yards along the road, then cut into the narrow row of bushes. As they banked, I saw rufous/red flashes in the wings and white spots in the corner of the tail. I had my lifer, but I wanted a much better look. This wasn’t easy. They were very skittish. A few more flushed while I was on the levy or driving along other refuge roads, but they always took off before I could get close enough for a satisfying look.

Finally, in the nearby Canaveral Seashore, I got my fill. I was driving behind the dunes on Playalinda Beach, about 100 yards in from the Atlantic Ocean. A side road led to a picnic area and a boat landing on Mosquito Lagoon. As I coasted through the parking lot, I saw a dove flush and head over to a patch of short grass.  I pulled around very slowly and managed to get within 15 feet. I stopped my car.  There was a pair of doves walking and feeding in the grass. They were basically gray, with a scaled look on the breast and neck and black spots on the sides. The male had pinkish tones beneath. Their short bills were orange with black tips. The legs were pink. They were very small, about the size of a Fox Sparrow, but looked and acted like typical doves.

egretta (diminutive of heron) rufescens (to become reddish)

Tuesday, May 4, 1999 — 12:45 pm

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Florida

I got to Titusville a bit before noon and stopped at McDonald’s for lunch. When I got to Merritt Island, I pulled off on a dirt road that ran along a levy between impoundments and parked to eat.

Before the car stopped, I saw a Reddish Egret. I knew immediately what it was. It was colored similarly to a Little Blue Heron, but was larger and stockier, with more of a contrast between the neck and body. Its body was slate gray. The neck and head were rusty red. The thick bill was pink with a black tip.

It was wading in about six inches of water at the edge of a patch of grass about 15 yards from where I was parked. It was acting a bit nervous, stalking about and watching me. I ate my hamburger and watched. It soon settled down and began lumbering about with jerky movements. It made several short, sudden runs and also walked about tilted way over to one side, as if it was about to fall over sideways.

As I watched, six Black Skimmers coursed across the surface of the impoundment nearby and landed up a ways. I finished my lunch and went looking for more excitement.

Tuesday, May 4, 1999 — 11:30 am

Christmas, Florida — Orlando Wetlands Park

I took a day off from the convention, rented a car, and went birding.  My first stop was at the Orlando Wetlands Park for a Limpkin (which I never saw).  I walked the trail on the levy through the marsh, dodging Alligators, and seeing tons of birds.  At one point, the trail bordered a grove of palms with a dense thicket of brush as an understory.

As I was walking along the edge of the grove, I heard an animal crashing through the brush.  I figured it was a deer and didn’t think much about it.  A minute or so later I rounded a corner and saw two wild pigs standing on the path about 30 yards ahead of me.  They were standing still, looking away from me, and I’m not sure they knew I was there.  It looked like they were trying to decide which way to go.  A few seconds later, they made up their minds.  They trotted off and disappeared around a bend in the trail.

sylvilagus palustris

Monday, May 3, 1999 — 7:40 am

Orlando, Florida — Sheraton One World Resort

I was in Florida for a convention. On Monday I got up at 7:00 and wandered outside to look for birds.  The lot next to the hotel was filled with an impenetrable wet thicket.  I walked along the edge of the lot, looking at many Boat-tailed Grackles and an occasional fly-over heron or ibis.

Two Marsh Rabbits were feeding in the narrow strip of grass between the thicket and the road.  They allowed me to get within eight or ten feet, then ducked out of sight into the vegetation.

anas (duck) fulvigula (from, fulvus, reddish yellow, and gula, throat)

Monday, May 3, 1999 — 7:15 am

Orlando, Florida — International Drive — Harcourt Brace

I went to Orlando with coworkers for a convention at the Sheraton One World Resort. On this day, we had seminars and meals and speeches from 9:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. I got up early and went wandering. As soon as I walked out of my room, I saw a White Ibis fly over. There was an empty lot next to the hotel, but I didn’t see much there. I meandered through the grounds of the Harcourt Brace headquarters toward Sea World across the street.

At the edge of the Harcourt Brace parking lot there was a water-filled ditch. Swimming in the ditch was a lone duck. It looked like a female Mallard, with a pale, unstreaked head and neck. Its bill was pale yellow-green with no black. It swam down the ditch away from me, with its head erect, looking about warily.  When I got too close, it flew off across the lot. I saw its blue speculum with a white border on the trailing edge.

I had a break between sessions in the late afternoon, so I went back to see if it was still there. It wasn’t, but I did see another duck that was obviously a Mallard mixed with something. This made me feel insecure about how pure my Mottled Duck was. So, for the record, I saw two of them swimming together in a pool along the Black Point Wildlife Drive at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on Tuesday. These looked darker than the first bird, with dark tails. (I didn’t notice the tail on the first bird, but I don’t think it was white.) They also had unmarked pale greenish bills.