Date: 9/24/26 6:19 am From: Don Morrow <donaldcmorrow...> Subject: [NFLbirds] Fall at the Refuge
At first it had been deceptively quiet on the levee where I was standing at
St. Marks NWR. No frogs were calling and there had been only the low
rumbling from a pair of thunderstorms out in the Gulf. A gentle breeze was
coming out of the north. A quarter mile above me, where the winds were
stronger, my Merlin app had picked up the chip notes of thrushes calling in
the night sky. Finally, as the stars faded and the sky lightened, I heard
an Eastern Screech Owl’s low tremolo from somewhere out in the marsh, King
Rails called and a distant Barred Owl began hooting. Night birds often call
just before dawn as if protesting the end of night.
The Autumnal Equinox has come and gone and we are approaching the peak of
Fall migration. Ten million birds have already crossed the refuge this
month. Half of them did so on two nights. Fall migration proceeds in fits
and starts, depending primarily on flight conditions. Stormy weather or
headwinds from the south cause birds to hunker down, but when the wind is
right and the weather is clear, it’s time to move. The peak nights of Fall
migration usually occur roughly from September 29th to October 17th. On
just a few nights, millions of birds come through.
This is a good time to be down at St. Marks. Flycatchers, vireos, thrushes
and warblers are moving and the refuge is ready. Many plants time their
fruiting to the Fall migration period when migrating birds supplement their
diets with plant food. Swainson’s Thrushes and Eastern Kingbirds, a type of
flycatcher, can be found feeding on the red fruit of sweet bay magnolia.
Sand holly berries nourish Red-eyed Vireos. Right now, migrant and local
birds can feed on peppervine, wild grape, beautyberry and Virginia creeper.
There’s plenty of food to go around.
Shorebirds are continuing to migrate through and my survey totals are
breaking one thousand birds. Along with the shorebirds come the birds that
hunt them. I had to let forty sandpipers go as unidentified when a
marauding Merlin falcon chased them off. Bald Eagles are back for the
winter. They won’t bother the shorebirds, but I watched one attack and
steal a fish from an unfortunate Osprey.
And it’s not only birds that are migrating. Blazing Star and Goldenrod are
blooming, just in time to feed migrating butterflies. Both Cloudless
Sulphurs and Gulf Fritillaries are already moving through and Monarchs will
show up in time for the refuge’s annual Monarch Festival in November. And
over the last few weeks, I’ve had flocks of Black Saddlebags and Green
Darners, two species of migratory dragonflies.
Fall is a time of change, movement and wonder. The first cool weather is
moving in and there are birds, butterflies and dragonflies to watch.
Halloween will mark the refuge’s 95th birthday. You should come down to St.
Marks, go to the Nature Store and buy yourself a present.
