Bob's Gone Birding: Meeting Jay-Z ... Well, really, it was JZ

Female (l) and male Northern Shovelers with an American Coot (r)

This Ring-billed Gull watched me dip on the duck!

Suppose I offered you this scenario ...

You make a three hour drive, stake out a location, get a lifer, have some dinner somewhere, maybe bird some in a National Wildlife Refuge, and drive home.

OR ...

You make a three hour drive, stake out a location, miss the lifer, decide to go birding in a National Wildlife Refuge, meet a really famous person in the birding world whose work you have read quite a bit, spend some delightful time chatting and birding with said person, and leave with a terrific story to tell other birders.

Normally, I'd pick a lifer over almost anything, but a recent encounter has changed my mind. Let me tell you about it.

Lesser Scaup

The goal was a Long-tailed Duck that had been hanging out around Parrish Park near the entrance to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. I had already dipped once on this species during a tremendous rainstorm near Portland, Oregon, and I wanted to see it! So the Red Van Gang (The RVG) made the long trek from Gainesville early on a Wednesday morning. While a Ring-billed Gull watched us, we made a diligent search of the waters near the park. There were plenty of scaup, but the Long-tailed Duck wasn't there. So we were faced with a choice. Should we continue the stakeout in order to give us the best chance of getting a life bird, or should we head into the refuge to bird along Blackpoint Drive and Biolab Road? After a brief discussion we decided on the latter choice and resolved to return to Parrish Park later in the afternoon for a second shot at the bird that was formerly known as an Oldsquaw.

American Coot

I love looking at ducks. I think they are among God's most beautiful creatures. And in the winter, Merritt Island can be a duck-watcher's paradise. I've been there when the number of ducks was in the thousands for each of a dozen or more species. This day was not like that, but it still offered plenty to see. We started along Blackpoint Drive and soon encountered nearly all of the expected waders. White and Glossy Ibises were abundant, but I couldn't find a White-faced all day. Wood Storks; Snowy Egrets; Great, and Little Blue and Tricolored Herons seemed to be present wherever the eye turned.

But I was eager to see ducks ... so eager that I almost missed something I'm glad I saw. American Coots are present here in Florida in huge numbers. It isn't unusual to see thousands on a walk around a lake, so I tend to overlook them. But one Coot was close at hand, and its red frontal shield was more prominent than on any other Coot I've ever seen. I thought it was gorgeous, and I was lucky enough to get the shot on the left.

Roseate Spoonbill

We made one stop to look at some American Avocets and to watch several Reddish Egrets hunting nearby. There were also a few Blue-winged Teals and Northern Shovelers in the area. Then another birder told me to look through the bush right in front of me. There stood a Roseate Spoonbill, just a few feet away. How can you look at that bird and not smile in delight? Not possible!

Another stop held some White Pelicans, Pied-billed Grebes and Hooded Mergansers. What a contrast in size! Some Yellow-rumped Warblers and at least one Common Yellowthroat danced around in the bushes along the road while a flock of Tree Swallows put on an impressive display of aerial skills.

A bit farther along the road we found the pool where the Northern Pintails like to hang out. Once again they were present in decent numbers. I think the Northern Pintail is an elegant looking bird. The brown, white and gray are displayed with clean lines, artistically aligned with a graceful swirl. I found myself taking dozens of photos because I just couldn't stop!

Northern Pintail

Finally we found ourselves at one pool studying some American Wigeons and Green-winged Teals. Another birder pointed out to us a bird that he thought was a Eurasian Wigeon. We got our scopes on it and studied. We weren't convinced. Then as we stood there another car drove up. One of the RVG members whispered, "That's Julie Zickefoose!" Now, for you non-birders (Hi Judy!!), Julie Zickefoose is a well known birding author, artist, blogger and speaker. We knew she was in town to give the keynote speech that very night at the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival. I'm a big fan. I read her blogs, I subscribe to her family's magazine (Birdwatcher's Digest), and I even went on a field trip she led in Texas a few years ago. I found her to be engaging and approachable, so I gathered some courage and walked over to her.

"Aren't you Julie Zickefoose?" I asked. She turned to me with a huge smile, said she was, and she started chatting with us. I told her about the mystery bird, and she came right over to my scope and checked it out. At first glance she thought it could indeed be a Eurasian -- we saw only cinnamon in the head, with no hint of green -- but she also readily admitted she could be wrong. I sputtered out a few thanks for taking a look, and she actually thanked us for getting her on the bird! What a thrill! Then as we stood there, another car drove up. I watched one of the RVG exchange a few words with the driver before the car drove off. The conversation ended with my friend looking a little startled and at a loss for words. When I walked over, I was told "That lady asked what we were looking at. I said a possible Eurasian Wigeon. She said, 'What, just one?' and drove off." We started laughing and did so again and again throughout the rest of the day.

Blue-winged Teal

Eventually we left with Ms. Zickefoose still studying the bird. I turned and said, "She may not be one of the Beatles of the birding world, but she's at least Fleetwood Mac." That wasn't greeted with much enthusiasm. We decided to bump her up farther -- the Beach Boys? The Stones? Hard to say, but she's a rock star in our world and we partied ... ah ... birded with her.

We decided to lunch at the Visitor's Center, so that was our next stop. We spent money in the gift shop, watched a Painted Bunting and some Red-winged Blackbirds at the feeders, admired a Great Blue Heron and enjoyed our lunch at one of the picnic tables.

Our next destination was Biolab Road, a narrow, unpaved drive along the water's edge. This is usually really good for shorebirds, but the tide was high and the time of year not ideal for numbers and variety. Still we got some good looks at Black-bellied Plovers, a Killdeer, a Least Sandpiper, numerous Short-billed Dowitchers, both Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs, and a few Dunlin. One spot held a nice group of Black Skimmers and Caspian Terns.

Great Black-backed Gull

The sun was now moving with determination toward the western horizon, so we decided to leave the refuge and return to Parrish Park for another shot at the Long-tailed Duck. Once again, we struck out. Had we missed it while we were knocking about the refuge? Did it matter in light of our encounter with Julie Zickefoose? Someone told us it hadn't been seen all day, but we didn't need to hear that in order to feel better. But the birding gods left us with one parting gift -- a gorgeous Great Black-backed Gull on a light post. It posed long enough for me to take a few hurried photos and then flew off.

In all, it was a terrific day. We tallied about 50 species including nine ducks. After studying several field guides, we decided that our mystery bird was probably a Eurasian x American Wigeon Hybrid, but I'm no expert so don't take my word for it. And of course the day was crowned by the meeting with Julie Zickefoose. She may not be as famous as the original Jay-Z, but she's our JZ, and did I mention I'm a big fan?