Date: 9/24/26 9:06 am From: 'eliza hawkins' via NFLbirds <nflbirds...> Subject: [NFLbirds] Please add the email below to this group
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On Thu, Sep 24, 2026 at 9:19 AM, Don Morrow<donaldcmorrow...> wrote:
At first it had been deceptively quiet on the levee where Iwas standing at St. Marks NWR. No frogs were calling and there had been onlythe low rumbling from a pair of thunderstorms out in the Gulf. A gentle breezewas coming out of the north. A quarter mile above me, where the winds werestronger, my Merlin app had picked up the chip notes of thrushes calling in thenight sky. Finally, as the stars faded and the sky lightened, I heard anEastern Screech Owl’s low tremolo from somewhere out in the marsh, King Railscalled and a distant Barred Owl began hooting. Night birds often call justbefore dawn as if protesting the end of night.
The Autumnal Equinox has come and gone and we areapproaching the peak of Fall migration. Ten million birds have already crossedthe refuge this month. Half of them did so on two nights. Fall migrationproceeds in fits and starts, depending primarily on flight conditions. Stormyweather or headwinds from the south cause birds to hunker down, but when thewind is right and the weather is clear, it’s time to move. The peak nights ofFall migration usually occur roughly from September 29th to October17th. 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 plantstime their fruiting to the Fall migration period when migrating birdssupplement their diets with plant food. Swainson’s Thrushes and EasternKingbirds, a type of flycatcher, can be found feeding on the red fruit of sweetbay magnolia. Sand holly berries nourish Red-eyed Vireos. Right now, migrantand 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 surveytotals are breaking one thousand birds. Alongwith the shorebirds come the birds that hunt them. I had to let fortysandpipers go as unidentified when a marauding Merlin falcon chased them off. Bald Eagles are back for the winter. Theywon’t bother the shorebirds, but I watched one attack and steal a fish from anunfortunate Osprey.
And it’s not only birds that are migrating. Blazing Star andGoldenrod are blooming, just in time to feed migrating butterflies. BothCloudless Sulphurs and Gulf Fritillaries are already moving through and Monarchswill show up in time for the refuge’s annual Monarch Festival in November. Andover 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 firstcool weather is moving in and there are birds, butterflies and dragonflies towatch. Halloween will mark the refuge’s 95th birthday. You should comedown to St. Marks, go to the Nature Store and buy yourself a present.
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