From: <nflbirds...> <nflbirds...> On Behalf Of Dean and Sally Jue
Sent: Wednesday, February 5, 2025 3:35 PM
To: NFLbirds <nflbirds...>
Subject: Re: [NFLbirds] January at SMNWR
Today, at 1:25 PM in the afternoon, we had our first Brown Creeper in our yard in a number of years.
It is a cold January at St. Marks NWR. Our winter birds are settled in and it seems like Spring will never come. The dried seed stalks of sawgrass shake in the cold wind. There is a bit of color from the red berries of dahoon and yaupon, but most of the refuge is painted in shades of tan and brown.
There are a lot of good birds being reported at the refuge. Henslow’s and LeConte’s Sparrows are being seen at the helipad and a mixed flock of Glossy and White-faced Ibis have been staying near Lighthouse Road. A Short-eared Owl is being seen hunting along Bottoms Road in the Panacea Unit. Mixed feeding flocks along the Double Bridges have Hermit Thrush, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Blue-headed Vireo and Black-and-white Warbler in them. The on-again-off-again flamingo has lately been off-again, but a recent Facebook post gives hope that it continues to lurk in the area. A Red-throated Loon was sighted in the mouth of the St. Marks River mixed in with the Common Loons. It has been a good year for ducks and Snow Geese are more common at the refuge than in most years. I have had nineteen species of waterfowl over the last week including a flock of eleven Black Scoters in the Gulf off the Lighthouse.
Tower Pond is flooded this winter as part of periodic pond management. The shorebirds that would have been there are scattered across other refuge ponds and less easily found. Long-billed Dowitchers, Wilson’s Snipe and Killdeer are more common than usual, but Marbled Godwits are hard to find and Black-necked Stilts are absent. A flock of six American Avocets are in for the winter, look for them on Mounds Pool 3, and the hordes of Dunlins that are a hallmark of any winter are once again abundant.
Winter is one of the best times for birding at the refuge. Birding groups from around the state have been making their annual pilgrimages to St. Marks to look for over a hundred and eighty bird species that are found at the refuge in January. This past weekend Tropical Audubon from Miami, Bay County Audubon and Alachua Audubon were all on the refuge. They, and scores of Northern birders escaping their own winter, are staying in local hotels, and eating in local restaurants. They have a significant economic impact on Wakulla County,
Except for the evergreen oaks, the trees at the Double Bridges have been stripped bare by winter storms, but if you look closely, you can see their leaf buds beginning to swell. Soon, it will be February. Spring migration will begin as Ospreys, Northern Parula warblers and Purple Martins return. The duck season will begin to unwind as Ruddy and Black Ducks leave. Maple florets will color the forests and white waterlilies will bloom on the refuge’s ponds.
Winter is cool! Come down to the refuge and enjoy it before it leaves.
