Winter 2014 Volume 6 Issue 1

Escape the cold! Millions of people from northerly latitudes flock to every winter to escape the snow and ice, and to enjoy our wonderful wild lands and weather. It’s not just people who enjoy Florida’s winter; millions of birds flock to the 500 plus Great Florida Birding and Wildlife sites and wildlife management areas scattered throughout the state. Up to 25 species of wildfowl seek refuge on our natural areas, such as Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and T. M. Goodwin Hooded Mergansers at Wakulla Springs State Park. Waterfowl Management Area. As many as 20 species of wood- Great Florida Birding and watch them. Birding has been warbler can be found at south Wildlife Trail sites that play revolutionized by eBird’s new Florida sites such as Lucky host to this unique animal. Hotspot Explorer, and we show Hammock and thousands of how you can use it to plan your In this issue of Kite Tales shorebirds congregate at areas next birding trail trip. we feature our NEW East such as Huguenot Memorial Section birding trail eBook Have a great winter enjoying Park and St. Marks National now available on Kindle. We Florida’s spectacular wildlife! Wildlife Refuge. explore four birding trail Happy ... Winter is also a great time of sites that play host to large year to enjoy one of Florida’s numbers of waterfowl; and the –Office of Public Access and most recognizable mammals: species spotlight focuses on Wildlife Viewing the Manatee. Visit one of many the Manatee and where to go

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floridabirdingtrail.com Kite Tales: The Great Florida Birding & Wildlife Trail Newsletter Winter 2014 Volume 6 Issue 1

Featured Trail hunting Bald Eagles! Apalachee and Red Knot in migration/ WMA lies on the western winter. Numerous wading Sites (Wildfowl side of the lake and provides birds (including Least Bittern, Hotspots) refuge for several species of Green Heron, Reddish Egret duck. Drive along River Road and Yellow-crowned Night- Panhandle Section and Rock Pond Road and Heron) are always on hand; carefully scan the small ponds and Clapper Rail, American Lake Seminole is a reservoir for Wood Ducks, Ring-necked Coot and Marsh Wren are created at the confluence of Ducks and Blue-winged Teal. quite common. Gull-billed the Flint and Chattahoochee floridabirdingtrail.com/index.php/ Tern, Wilson’s Snipe and Rivers, where they form the trip/trails/panhandle/ Sora are seasonal visitors. Apalachicola; across the river West Section Osprey, Bald Eagle and both lays . Three superb pelicans sample the local Big Bend Wildlife Management birding trail sites lie along fish cuisine while Northern Area: Hickory Mound the shores of Lake Seminole: Harrier and Red-tailed Hawk Impoundment Sneads Park, Three Rivers do their part to keep the small Wintering ducks, shorebirds State Park and Apalachee mammal population in check. and other waterbirds are this Wildlife Management Area. floridabirdingtrail.com/index. site’s real forte, but with more From Three Rivers State Park php/trip/trail/Big_Bend_Wildlife_ scope the lake from two birding than 200 bird species, there’s Management_Area_Hickory_ blinds; hundreds of Canvasback plenty to whet your appetite. Mound_Impoundment/ winter on the lake and large From the observation tower and numbers of scaup are present. roads scan the impoundments East Section T. M. Goodwin Waterfowl From Sneads Park scope the for Northern Shoveler, Redhead, Management Area open water for wintering ducks Lesser Scaup and Hooded T. M. Goodwin, which includes like Redheads, Canvasbacks, Merganser are more common. the Broadmoor Marsh Unit, is Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Expect Willet, both yellowlegs, a wetland restoration project Ducks, Bufflehead and Short-billed Dowitcher and in the upper St. Johns River American Wigeon, as well as Semipalmated Plover most of Basin. One of the premier thousands of American Coots, the year, with the occasional duck hunting locales in which attract the attention of Whimbrel, American Avocet Florida, there is also plenty of opportunity for birding and wildlife viewing too! The open marsh habitat, mudflats and impoundments contain the full spectrum of duck species (including Mottled Duck, Fulvous Whistling-Duck and Black-bellied Whistling-Duck) late fall through winter, as well as wading birds, shorebirds and hawks in migration. Limpkin, Black-necked Stilt, both night-herons, Roseate Spoonbill and Northern Harrier are possible, as are Northern River Otter and American Alligator. View the birds by following the series of dikes American Wigeon flock by Tom Dunkerton. 2 MyFWC.com Kite Tales: The Great Florida Birding & Wildlife Trail Newsletter Winter 2014 Volume 6 Issue 1 around the impoundments. Vehicle access is permitted on Mondays and Thursdays on selected levee roads when conditions are suitable. A three-tier observation tower is located on the southern end of the property; approximately 2 miles north of the office (bring a spotting scope). The road into the area can be good, too, for everything from Swallow-tailed Kite to Northern Bobwhite to Crested Caracara. The site is closed to visitors when hunts are in progress (26 designated hunt days between September & February – visit website for more details). floridabirdingtrail.com/index. Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks by Tom Dunkerton. php/trip/trail/T._M._Goodwin_ Waterfowl_Management_Area/ and Scissor-tailed Flycatcher cell: from the picnic shelter roost near the western end go 1.4 miles due east on the South Section of Deer Fence Canal Road in central levee road. Bring a Stormwater Treatment Area 5 winter. The Florida Panther spotting scope and plenty of (STA-5) has been seen here, so keep food, water and sun protection. Stormwater Treatment Area 5 your eyes open. A new access floridabirdingtrail.com/index.php/ is one of the best birding and point on Deer Fence Canal Road trip/trail/Stormwater_Treatment_ wildlife viewing locations in and a parking area, kiosk and Area_5/ Florida. Constructed to filter vault toilet have been added. agricultural runoff from water As of January 2013, entry is destined for the Everglades, no longer restricted to guided Help us keep Kite Tales this complex of four water tours; however, Hendry-Glades aloft. impoundment cells are an Audubon will continue to offer impressive refuge for birds and car caravan tours at various Please consider a year-round mecca for birders times throughout the year sending a tax-deductible and photographers. Look (highly recommended). Hiking donation to for ducks such as American and biking is now permitted the Wildlife Wigeon, Lesser Scaup and four days per week; consider Foundation of Florida on behalf Fulvous Whistling-Duck; biking to cover more ground. of the Great Florida Birding & Wildlife Trail. shorebirds like Long-billed As each of the four water cells Dowitcher, Stilt Sandpiper is two miles long by one mile Please make checks (in U.S. and both yellowlegs; waders wide, a trip around one cell is funds only) to the Wildlife such as Roseate Spoonbill and Foundation of Florida, with six miles, so plan accordingly. “GFBWT/Kite Tales” written in Glossy Ibis; and raptors such There is little shade here except the memo section of your check. as Snail Kite, Peregrine Falcon for the new picnic shelter in Please send to: (winter) and Crested Caracara the center of the STA. A 240- Wildlife Foundation of Florida (occasional, but reliable in foot boardwalk and observation Attention: GFBT the surrounding area). Small deck are located on the south P.O. Box 6181 groups of Western Kingbird side of the STA’s northeastern Tallahassee, FL 32314-6181

floridabirdingtrail.com 3 Kite Tales: The Great Florida Birding & Wildlife Trail Newsletter Winter 2014 Volume 6 Issue 1

Species Spotlight: minutes when resting. The water. Listen and you may hear manatee’s nose is usually the it when it surfaces to breathe. Florida Manatee only part of the animal that Florida’s crystal clear comes out of the water when it Manatees, often called sea cows, freshwater springs make breathes. Manatees rest from 2 are large, aquatic mammals for great Manatee viewing. to twelve hours a day by floating that eat plants. These large Manatee Springs State Park, close to the water’s surface or plant-eating mammals spend Wakulla Springs State Park by lying on the bottom, usually up to eight hours a day grazing and Blue Springs State for long periods. Adult Park are great places to manatees are typically see Manatees. Other areas nine to 10 feet long and that offer the opportunity to weigh around 1,000 enjoy this unique mammal pounds; however, they can are Merritt Island National grow to over 13 feet and Wildlife Refuge, Tampa Electric weigh more than 3,500 Company’s Manatee Viewing pounds. Center and St. Sebastian River Where can you watch Preserve State Park. Manatees? They live in You can help protect Florida’s coastal waters and rivers, Manatees! Look at and enjoy the and can move between Manatees, but please refrain fresh, brackish and salt from touching them. Feeding water. During the winter Manatees or giving them water Manatees migrate to can make them accustomed to warmer waters in south people, perhaps causing them to Florida, or to a freshwater lose their natural fear of boats spring or warm-water and humans. This could result discharge such as those © Thinkstock in the animals being injured or found at power plants. on sea grass and other aquatic even killed. plants. Manatees can eat a lot: Manatees can be difficult to see, Passive observation from a as much as 10 percent of their especially if you are in a moving distance is the best way to enjoy body weight per day! They use boat. You may notice a swirl Manatees. You will be rewarded their muscular lips to grab and on the water’s surface caused by seeing fascinating behaviors tear plants, much like elephants by a Manatee diving or see the as they go about their lives use their trunk to pick up items. animal’s back, snout, tail or undisturbed. flipper break the surface of the When swimming, Manatees use their flippers and tail to steer through the water and move their tail up and down to move forward. They can swim upside down, roll, do somersaults and move vertically in the water. Like other mammals, Manatees breathe air. They surface about every five minutes to breathe, but can hold their breath for up to 20

4 MyFWC.com Birding Trail Guides Go Electronic! The Office of Public Access and Wildlife Viewing is excited to announce that the newly updated East Section guidebook of the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail (GFBWT) is now available for Kindle devices courtesy of the Wildlife Foundation of Florida. It is also available for Apple and Android devices using the free Kindle app. The East Section of the GFBWT spans 18 counties of the eastern and central Florida peninsula, from the St. Mary’s River on the Georgia border to the northern shores of Lake Okeechobee. We hope this new electronic guide will help plan a successful birding and wildlife viewing experience at one or more of the 182 sites it describes. Maps show “clusters” of 1 to 15 sites within an hour’s drive of one another. The maps show the locations of these clusters; the letter in each box corresponds to the map for that cluster. Descriptions and directions for sites accompany each cluster map. Get your new East Section eBook from Amazon today! http://goo.gl/Lb7Ac0.

The Panhandle Section eBook will be available early in 2014 and the West and South Section eBooks will be available later in the year.

5 5 Kite Tales: The Great Florida Birding & Wildlife Trail Newsletter Winter 2014 Volume 6 Issue 1

Experience the Trail Welcome to Experience the Trail. This new Kite Tales feature highlights your pictures and experiences on the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail.

Kimberly Bohon spotted a Cindy Hansen captured this Gray Fox in Lake County. amazing image of a male Red- breasted Merganser in Destin, Okaloosa County.

Contact Us:

Anne Glick, section leader [email protected] 850-922-0664

Mark Kiser, trail coordinator [email protected] 850-488-9478

Andy Wraithmell, wildlife viewing program specialist [email protected] 850-488-9453

Steven Sampaio, information specialist [email protected] 850-488-8755 Doug Van Den Bergh spotted this Crested Caracara near Alligator Alley on his way to hike the trail in Hendry County. 6 MyFWC.com Kite Tales: The Great Florida Birding & Wildlife Trail Newsletter Winter 2014 Volume 6 Issue 1

This Least Bittern chick was showing off King Rail can be a very difficult bird to see, never mind for Myra Berk at Wakodahatchee Wetlands photograph! Lynette Spence took this incredible picture at in Palm Beach County. Circle B Bar Reserve in Polk County.

While working with Jay Watch volunteers, Indian River County Lands Manager Beth Powell nicknamed this juvenile Florida-Scrub-Jay “Baseball” because its tail had yet to grow in. Beth went on to say that, in spite of this; Baseball was “Flying fabulously!”

Have a picture to contribute to Experience the Trail? Send a high-resolution jpeg (1MB or larger) to [email protected] by February 14th 2014 for inclusion in our spring issue, and include where you took the picture and a short caption. Native Florida wildlife only please! We can feature up to six images per issue; all unused images will be kept on file for future issues. floridabirdingtrail.com 7 eBird Hotspot Explorer For the first time, birders can explore data on eBird.com by using Hotspot Explorer, a map- based tool that provides a quick way to find the best birding spots in Florida or around the world. Hotspot Explorer provides millions of records from over 100,000 eBirders worldwide. At a glance, you can see which birding locations have the most species. You can show results for a particular month or for the last 10 years or view sites with visits during the last month. Hotspot Explorer may even help reveal Screen image showing the features of eBird Hotspot Explorer. some nearby hidden gems that you never knew about! You can see recent and past bird sightings from over 400 Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail (GFBWT) sites using Hotspot Explorer. Almost all of our birding trail sites are designated as eBird hotspots and we have provided links to each of their eBird hotspot checklists on our website. Now you can plan your GFBWT trips accordingly and maximize your trail experience.

Some birding trail sites have Common Ground-dove photo by Tom Dunkerton. not received many eBird checklist submissions or have yet to be designated as an eBird hotspot! We are working on ensuring that all of our GFBWT MyGFBT - Our Facebook page has MyGFBT - As of writing we are sites are designated as eBird 4,750 fans, who enjoy regular over 1,877 followers on twitter. hotspots. If you are an eBirder features such as Species Spotlight, Follow MyGFBT for tweets on please submit a checklist each Fans Photo Albums, Trail News conservation news, trail news, time you visit a GFBWT site. and Trail Site of the Week. Visit anecdotes, birding news and What? You don’t use eBird? Sign our page and click the Like icon more. twitter.com/mygfbt up for a free account and start to receive MyGFBT posts on submitting your bird records your Facebook wall. today. facebook.com/floridabirdingtrail

Kite Tales: The Great Florida Birding & Wildlife Trail Newsletter Winter 2014 Volume 6 Issue 1