Bob's Gone Birding: Touring Jackson County

Blue Grosbeak before the rains came

On Tuesday morning I had a birding day shortened by rain. To be precise, I was a mile away from my car when the skies opened and dumped a couple of inches of rain on me. I was soaked inside and out, with water running down my back until it reached my boots. I was so wet that I decided to take a slow stroll back to the car and enjoy a walk in the rain. And so a day that started out with some promise (a Yellow-throated Warbler and a Northern Waterthrush) ended quickly. Things evened out the following day.

The Red Van Gang collected at 4:30 on Wednesday morning and headed north and west toward Jackson County. After a quick stop in Tallahassee for breakfast, we reached Three Rivers State Park just after 8:00. But wait ... why were the gates closed? Oh yeah, we had just entered the Central Time Zone; it was just after 7:00 and the park was closed. Undeterred, we continued north on River Road and birded the many lakes and ponds in the area. There were a few Common Gallinules and American Coots. A couple of Green Herons landed on the bank across from us. A Double-crested Cormorant swam under the bridge moving from one portion of Lake Seminole to another. A Belted Kingfisher perched up on a snag.

Apalachee WMA

A bit up the road we saw a sign for the Apalachee Wildlife Management Area. In the parking lot we met a ranger named Bunting (really!) who was very helpful and very knowledgeable about the local bird life. He told us where to walk in order to find the pine species we needed for our county lists. We had good luck from the start. First we found a Northern Waterthrush working the edges of a large puddle. Then an Eastern Wood Pewee landed on a perch above us. One tree over were two Summer Tanagers. After a bit a Brown-headed Nuthatch came in to check us out. Farther down the trail we found at least three Bachman's Sparrows. Eventually we reached a small lake filled with vegetation. I could hear Common Gallinules calling out, but I couldn't see them.

Bachman's Sparrow

By this time the state park was open. Our first stop was the area around the campground. I've heard that there are times when the lake is a haven for ducks, but of course it's too early in the season for that. We were hoping for a tern, a gull and some waders. All we found was an Anhinga on the opposite side and a Green Heron on a small island a couple of hundred feet off shore. In the woods we added a few birds to our day list including a Yellow-throated Warbler, but for a while it seemed we would find nothing special. Fortunately, just before we left we looked into a tangle of vines in some dense vegetation. One of our group said, "There should be a prize bird right there." Instantly, a Worm-eating Warbler popped up at eye level. I was so surprised I forgot I had a camera and never got a shot of it. Then it dove into the thickets a few feet away, and we followed it hoping for another look at a terrific bird. We didn't relocate it, but we did find a Hooded Warbler.

It was getting late and we still had more ground to cover, so we left the park and drove north. A few more ponds produced mostly an incredible swarm of Love Bugs. A King Rail called from one pond but never showed itself. A Wood Duck swam in another before disappearing behind a small island. Some Wild Turkeys meandered through a field, and some Snowy Egrets waded in yet another pond. We also checked out two small parks, Parramore Landing and Buena Vista Landing. Both were beautiful little parks, but we added only one or two birds to our day list.

Buena Vista Landing

Next we headed for Tower Road. We had heard that the fish farm located there had a pond that often was very birdy. We almost missed it, driving right past it the first time. It's lucky that we did. There was a shallow pond on the right that had about eight Killdeer and another eight Least Sandpipers. A u-turn got us back to the fish farm where we added a couple of Blue-winged Teals to our day list. They were also the first ducks of the season for me, always a cause for celebration.

We continued along several small roads passing among huge cotton fields. There was an Eastern Kingbird in one, but we found little else until we found a farm pond along SR 71. This produced a great collection of shorebirds: Solitary Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, Killdeer and Least Sandpiper. Also working the edge was a Glossy Ibis, another "First of the Season" (FOTS) bird.

Least Sandpipers and Killdeer

At that point we decided to call it a day - but the county listing was not quite complete yet. We stopped at a Hardee's for dinner and found a Chimney Swift flying just east of us. Then a House Finch landed on the wires directly above the parking lot. Add two more for the day. A Eurasian Collared-Dove on the wires in Marianna was the 61st species of the day and the 31st new species for my Jackson County list which grew from 49 to 80. It was a long day - we left at 4:30 AM and got home at about 8:30 PM - but a great one, filled with birds, friends, and new vistas. My kind of day!