We reached the Florida Eastern Shore College campus in time to register for the Space Coast birding festival and attend our first session, the sparrow identification workshop. Too much information. It will take another lifetime to actually be able to tell the difference between vesper sparrows and Savannah sparrows and all those other little brown birds. We will, however, keep trying.
The rest of the event was crammed with other workshops and field trips – all of which started at dawn. What were we thinking? Even though we tried hard to get up and out of the campgrounds before the sun rose (and mostly before coffee) we seemed to be late to almost every one. It was either misleading directions or misjudging the distance between points, but we always seemed to be the last birders to arrive. Twice the leaders even had to call to make sure we were coming. How embarrassing. Nevertheless, we had a great time hiking the trails, driving the wildlife roads and meeting great people. We saw many birds we don’t get to see in NY or NJ and even added one to my life list, the Florida Scrub Jay. Although Ron had seen them before on a previous trip to the state (with Al Martens a few years ago) he had never had one land on his head before! Hopefully, the photographer that was hiking with us will remember to send the picture so I can share it here. The jays are not quite endangered but are considered threatened, suffering from loss of habitat and declining in number every year. Brevard County, where the festival was held, has put aside about 100 acres to protect the birds and we were able to visit the Cruickshank Sanctuary and learn about them. They are one of the few birds that nest communally and the young birds never move away from their nesting grounds, creating extended families of two and three generations. They all pitch in to feed the nestlings and to gather and bury acorns from the scrub oak that defines their habitat. It takes a village….
Other highlights: thousands of American coots, hundreds of black-bellied whistling ducks, scores of vultures (turkey and black), dozens of every species of heron and egret, numerous white ibis and pelicans and many, many song birds that will be making their way north in a couple of months. Oh, and more than a few alligators.
We left Titusville after birding the hot spots of Brevard County by bus all day and made our way north to meet Janice, Charlie, Tom and Ann in Palm Coast for a week of relaxation and fun before getting back on the road.
The Ultimate Road Trip 