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| Purple Sandpipers |
With a few hours birding time today, I decided to spend at least some of the time at
Smyrna Dunes Park in
New Smyrna Beach. The
Snowy owl on
Little Talbot Island had gone
AWOL (later discovered further north on the same island), and I figured either it or another one might be at a place like Smyrna Dunes. Much of the park is old
dredge spoil which is sparsely vegetated. It is perfect habitat for
Snow buntings,
Lapland longspurs, (several sightings of both in Florida this year) and
Horned lark; species quite common on the shores and fields of the northeastern U.S. but quite the delight when they show in our state. Snowy owl would be quite at home here as well, and very visible since there is little place to hide. I would be disappointed to find Lapland longspur here since I already have that one in
Volusia County. I got my first one at
Lighthouse Point Park, right across the inlet from here on a
CBC in the late 1980's. The tide was high, and rising, so Disappearing Island had nearly disappeared. Shorebirds, gulls, and terns are hard to find when they don't have exposed mud flats to rest their feet. I did manage a few species. Three
Purple sandpipers were huddled on the north side of the inlet among ca 50
Ruddy turnstones. Purple sandpipers are somewhat rare in Florida, but occur on rock jetties as far south as
Ponce Inlet every year and occasionally on similar habitat further south. I got one on my first visit to
Jupiter Inlet in
Palm Beach County, and never again.
No owls visible, and I checked all the boardwalks, spur trails, dunes, and even the tops of the condos south of the park, to no avail. I decided to point the truck toward home.
I stopped at the
Click Ponds in Viera and found 49 species in 48 minutes, mostly in the south pond. Water levels have risen some in the north pond since last week and there are not as many birds.
Green-winged teal continue to rule the duck world and
Least sandpipers the shorebird world.
Stilt sandpipers and a single
Western sandpiper were still present. As long as water levels remain low, these birds will likely be there all winter.
Now, it is on to non-bird things and thoughts of next year.
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