birdtalesblog

Monday February 18 was President’s Day, which meant I did not have to return to work quite yet. For two months I had been monitoring the North American Rare Bird Alert (“NARBA”)….and the presence of a mega-rare female Western Spindalis frequenting the interior of the Key West Botanical Garden.  That bird used to be called a more familiar “stripe-headed tanager”….why the birding authorities changed its name I haven’t bothered to google. But I do know that it isn’t supposed to be in the USA. Home is Cuba or the Grand Cayman’s or somewhere far south. I had to see one. So I contracted a local hotshot birder from South Florida and prepared for a long day of driving, hopefully capped by a stunning sight and photograph of this little gem. Late Sunday night I learned my guide missed his flight out of the Bahamas so I had to scrap the trip (are you kidding!?)….. or go solo.

3:30 am came quickly as I needed three hours drive time, absolutely obeying the island speed limits the entire well-policed way, to coincide sunrise with the best chance of seeing this bird. I arrived at the Key West Botanical Garden promptly at 6:45….only to learn that its gates did not open until 10 am! A lap around Fort Zachary Taylor, a brief peak into the biker’s world at the crowded Waffle House and a bold use of the Island’s fanciest hotel’s lobby for free WiFi use –  killed two hours. But I finally broke down and ordered a breakfast at a Denny’s with tables that had not been wiped since Hurricane Andrew (1992). That was hard to stomach….even more difficult to admit to you.

10 am finally arrived and the next three hours I searched in vain for a six inch, non-vocalizing, gray-brown drab bird with a thin high-pitched call infrequently uttered. Females don’t need to sing to attract attention…that is the male’s burden. The Gardens were “natural” which meant no paths and tons of tangles and even worse…it was actually popular with humans. Talking humans. I did not have a chance. No Spindalis. I needed to make it to Palm Beach by evening so I commenced the 200 mile return drive more than disappointed. Florida City is an unsightly growth on the edge of the Keys and the Everglades. But it has plenty of rest stops and starling-like birds perched on wires squawking at the RV’s.

Only recently I had learned that the Common Myna, an invasive bird from another continent, had not only established a viable population in South Florida but those birding authorities would let me count it on my life list. A quick glance at the hordes of grackles, starlings, and pigeons produced, I couldn’t believe it, two Mynas! #637!! Not a bad day .

The Florida Scrub-Jay is a Federally threatened species endemic to Florida. It is the ONLY bird that occurs just in Florida. It has lost over 90% of its 1970’s population due to the development of its habitat (scrub-oak, sandy soil). Only a couple thousand exist. In other words….this bird is SPECIAL! Conveniently, I was in the Palm Beach area over President’s weekend. February 15…..placed right between Valentine’s Day and Nina’s birthday…presented me an opening to chase this bird 20 minutes north in Juno. Undaunted by the unusually heavy rain, I walked the 50 acre nature spot with my iphone in hand, projecting the call of a male Scrub-Jay thru my “bird app”. Two hours later my list comprised of exactly one catbird and a little blue heron. Not the most productive morning. Actually, an expensive morning! Too consumed by the potential sighting of this 11 inch rarity….I forgot that iphones do not tolerate rainstorms…it died before I reached my car.

Not to be discouraged, my notes indicated that a few miles further north, the Jupiter Ridge Natural Area was known to harbor a pair. The Jay would be hard to miss as it looks and acts like our Blue Jay. Amazingly the rain subsided and an hour later I was wandering an even larger swath of nature…thankfully protected from the encroaching breeding populations of Hess gas stations and Denny’s fast food establishments. With only thirty minutes to explore several hundred acres I headed to the spot that looked most like the text-book area for a Florida Scrub-Jay. Within three minutes I heard the diagnostic call and saw a speck of a bird on a distant telephone wire along Highway 1…about a mile away. My heart raced and incredibly the bird alighted and flew towards me into the preserve. It landed ten feet from me!! Where’s my camera? I had left it in the car since I thought there would be little chance for the bird and even less of a possibility for a photo. I’ll use my iphone. NO! It died, remember?! But who would believe me without a photo? I hustled back to my car, slowed down by the sandy soil and the fact I have not run very much lately. Five minutes seemed like an hour but I returned to the spot and TWO jays were displaying typical behavior. One perched like a sentinel watching for predators while the other foraged for stored acorns in the sand. Amazing!