Blue Goose ~ Day 228

January 10, 2015 ~ Crawfordville, FL to Ocklockonee River State Park, FL

I had passed through this area two years ago and saw a Red-cockaded Woodpecker at Ocklockonee River SP near Sopchoppy, not far from Crawfordville, so I went back to find one again. The habitat is longleaf pine savanna - tall pines with branches at the tops of the trees and open space between the trees so the effect is park-like, although sometimes marshy. The sun came out, warming me just enough. The park (this time of year) is a peaceful place with 25-30 camping spaces under the pines, and I decided to spend the night here. I registered for a campsite after slowly driving a loop while looking carefully for RCWs. I met a couple who were walking and also seriously looking. Neither of us had see one so far. There were Downy, Pileated and Red-bellied WPs, along with many Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers but no Red-cockaded, although the woman at the registration office said she had seen one that morning. They're here; we just didn't see them.

Ocklockonee River State Park - FL

I spent the afternoon at St. Marks NWR, one of the most frequently mentioned refuges when I talk with people about what I am doing. The refuge is approximately 25 miles long along the Gulf and 5 miles wide, 20 miles south of Tallahassee, stretching over three counties. It was established in 1931 for migratory birds. A paved road out to the St. Marks Lighthouse passes through several habitats of freshwater and saltwater marshes, estuaries and swamps. Other roads and levees are open to hikers, and 50 miles of the Florida Scenic Trail runs through St. Marks.

Part of most refuge management is eradication and/or control of nonnative species. Here is a little primer from the St. Marks website:

WWW.FWS.GOV 

The Scary Facts and Numbers:
"One year's seeding, seven years weeding." - Old gardener's adage  

• In the mid 1990's the economic impact of weeds on the U.S. economy was estimated to be $20 billion annually, ($15 billion agricultural, $5 billion non-crop damage). 

• Nonnative species threaten approximately 66% of all threatened and endangered species 

• Nonnative species are considered the second most important threat to biodiversity, only surpassed by direct habitat destruction. 

• In Florida alone, nearly 30% of plant species growing in the state, excluding cultivated crops, are exotic species. That's 1200 different species of exotic plants with potential invasive properties (they've already met the first requirement of adaptability to local climate and soils)! 

So there's that...At St. Marks, the three biggest threats are Cogongrass (perennial grass), Chinese Tallow Tree (medium-sized tree) and Japanese Climbing Fern.

Also, seven northern Florida rivers flow through St. Marks before entering the Gulf.

Saw Palmetto at St. Marks NWR - FL

Excuse me if I've told this story before but I met a man at Canaan Valley NWR who went to St. Marks with his parents as a young boy. They arrived in the morning after a night of fog, and he said he would never forget the "hundreds" of dead birds of all sizes on the ground around the lighthouse. They apparently had become disoriented by the light and had flown into the structure, which killed them. I couldn't find any references to this phenomenon but will never forget listening to this guy (a college professor with credibility) as he told me the story. The author Rick Bass also tells of driving to deer camp in central Texas as a youth, arriving on a foggy night and hearing ducks and/or geese calling and circling the cabin all night, not able to get their bearings in the fog.

I walked a short trail, watching a good-sized alligator basking on the bank of the pond below the VC balcony before driving to the lighthouse. As far as the alligator goes, I really thought it might be fake; it was utterly motionless to my eyes, so I went inside and asked. They assured me it was real.

St. Marks NWR - FL

The atmosphere on the trail was church-like with palms and pines and palmettos...very quiet, the sun shining through any open spaces in the flora.

I associated St. Marks with one of Maria's last outings as she and Richard stopped here in 2012 and remembered how impressed she was. I often wear the blue T-shirt she bought here.

I then went back to Ocklockonee and relaxed and read until it got too cold and then walked to the river at twilight. The state parks advertises themselves as "The Real Florida," and it is easy to envision the land before condos in a place like this.

I fixed a noodle bowl for dinner after snacking on cheese and crackers. People walked by my campsite, either with dogs or with binoculars. A few others were sitting around campfires. I saw license plates from Ontario, Michigan, Ohio, Texas, Georgia...and Florida, of core. All was very quiet. Darkness still comes quickly, but it's cozy reading in the van under the covers.

Black-crowned Night Heron (immature) - St. Marks NWR - FL

Blue Goose ~ Day 227

January 9, 2015 ~ Niceville, FL to Crawfordville, FL

I left Niceville mid-morning moving east along the Gulf thinking about Ivory-billed Woodpeckers because I had just finished Geoffrey Hill's book, Ivorybill Hunters: The Search for Proof in a Flooded Wilderness.

So I got the map out and took an unmarked turn-off to the Choctawhatchee River.

Choctawhatchee River - MS

It was a firm sandy road and only a couple miles to the river. Still, I get mildly anxious straying too far from the highway hereabouts, both because of the vehicle I am driving and (pathetically) for what I will call The Deliverance Factor. I am easing some on that, but I was raised Up North and the South is still pretty foreign to me with its swamps and moss hanging from the trees and water, water, water everywhere... I almost turned around but went just a bit further and came to a nice little picnic area at a river landing with no name that I could see on either my Google map or my paper map. The river looked exactly like I expected - opaque (all the better to hide the gators and snakes), with grey bare trees and little obvious current. A swamp is a flooded woods so a river course is sometimes indistinguishable from the surrounding land. I walked out on the landing and looked and listened and of course didn't see an Ivorybill. But as I said on Facebook, "Ya never know..."

There are people who love these southern swamps, who fish and hunt in them, who canoe and boat and kayak the waters, who live peaceably in the solitude such swamps offer.

My personal opinion is that there is a good chance Ivorybills exist in remote swamps in the southeastern US and that people (ornithologists / locals) know where they are but are reluctant to publish this knowledge fearing the inevitable onslaught into their habitat. On the other hand, maybe they are extinct, but as the welcome message on www.projectcotyote.com concludes: "While others have given up on the species, we’re not prepared to do so. There is simply too much smoke . . ."

Anyway, such is the beauty of this Blue Goose Adventure; I am not constrained by time or a strict agenda. 

Where to spend the night? Maybe Apalachicola. I actually stopped in front of The Gibson Inn there, googled it and drove on. It was too costly but would have been a relaxing stop. I started seeing waterfowl again - a flock of shorebirds (dowitchers?) probing furiously in the shallows as they do and a few large rafts of ducks settling for night near shore. The sky in the west was shades of grey mixed with blushy colors at the horizon. The Gulf waters shimmered silver. 

Along the Gulf in Mississippi

I kept half looking for a motel but didn't find one so ended up in Crawfordville, driving an hour in the dark on a two-lane, but a two-lane with clean lane markings, wide shoulders and small orange lights to guide night-time travelers. 

I had a delicious Subway sandwich for dinner and starting reading Ebola by David Quammen. 

Blue Goose ~ Day 226

January 8, 2015 ~ Perdido Key, FL to Niceville, FL

I spent the morning in cold sunshine driving to Niceville, FL, stopping at a Starbucks in the town of Mary Esther, which name obviously appealed to me. A few homes had sprinklers on with all the flora covered in thick sparkling ice. It remained below freezing for several hours after sunrise.

Mary Esther, Mississippi

Niceville is the town where my college roommate and her husband live. I spent the night with them, having a wonderful respite - talking for hours, walking the white sand beaches while Gail was in a meeting for Friends of Henderson State Park, eating Chinese for lunch and pizza for dinner, exchanging books, visiting the community college where she taught after her first retirement ended, hearing of their adventures in Africa (and the other places they have lived, including Alaska), admiring their lovely interesting home, sleeping in a comfortable warm bed, getting clean, washing clothes, enjoying a hearty breakfast of eggs, sausage and homemade pecan-cranberry-bran muffins... and finally gratefully accepting a goody bag of food for the road.

While the temperatures were in the 40s, it was sunny and there was no wind so walking the amazingly beautiful beach at Henderson SP was a delightful. I watched individual Sanderlings run the water-line, constantly adjusting to the rhythm of the small waves breaking on the sand. The Gulf water was a clear blue-green.

Ring-billed Gull and Sanderling at Henderson State Park - FL

Blue Goose ~ Day 225

January 7, 2015 ~ Long Beach, MS to Perdido Key, FL

The white sand beaches....I must have seen these at some point in my travels but didn't remember how gorgeous they were. Finely grained white sand with a tiny hint of brown and nearly deserted this time of year.

Long Beach, MS

There are many Gulf Coast barrier islands and thus, sounds, the water between the islands and the mainland. Wherever possible, these lands have been "developed," a counterintuitive term in a way. Messing around with sand on ocean beaches is an ecologic devolution. The intermittent protected beaches are flanked by high-rises, homes and industrial infrastructure (mainly oil down here).

Not far from Long Beach is the Mississippi Sandhill Crane NWR where a subspecies of 150 nonmigratory cranes reside. The habitat is wet pine savanna with an acidic clay soil that supports orchids and several carnivorous plants. It is also a prime wintering sanctuary for the Henslow's and Bachman's Sparrow, neither of which had any interest in my brief visit. The public is not allowed on most of the refuge, but a short trail near the VC is maintained and has numerous interpretative signs. It must be vibrant with color when the plants bloom. I could only see the ghosty brown winter foliage now, although the pitcher plants were still recognizable. It was sunny, windy and chilly.

Mississippi Sandhill Crane NWR - MS

An articulate and eager woman volunteer at the desk immediately began talking to anyone who walked through the door about the refuge in general, the five subspecies of Sandhill Cranes and said she would start the short film. The cranes are managed partly by captive breeding and subsequent egg and/or chick transport. Since this subspecies is critically endangered and subject to predation by raccoons, armadillos and bobcats, when two eggs are laid, one is sent to Patuxent NWR, incubated, raised with care so the cranes do not imprint on humans and then eventually brought back to Mississippi. The handlers wear crane costumes and crane hand puppets, a delightful image.

Visitors don't often see the cranes but guided tours are sometimes available.

I know I'm putting in a lot of quotes but extraordinary people in NWR history (like Jake Valentine) need recognition:

WWW.FWS.GOV
The true story of the Mississippi Sandhill Crane NWR involves the hard work and dedication of a leader in conservation. Jacob M. (Jake) Valentine, Jr. was a champion of the Mississippi sandhill crane and "father" of the Refuge. Jake was born May 18, 1917 in Racine, Wisconsin. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, assigned to the 32nd Division in New Guinea. He received a Silver Star at age 26 for heroism in action at Saidor where, under Japanese fire, he risked his life swimming a river several times carrying wounded comrades. 

He received his MA in Zoology in 1950 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Upon graduation, he joined the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and served as refuge manager at several refuges. Eventually, he became Regional Wildlife Biologist for the Gulf Coast Region, making Lafayette his home for over 39 years. One of his early assignments was an investigation into the effects of the building of Interstate 10 on the sandhill crane population in Jackson County. With severe habitat decline and other problems, he realized the cranes were at great risk and called for a refuge. In the 1970s during the ensuing "cranes and lanes" controversy, stoppage of I-10 construction, and case in federal court, Jake's expertise, courage, and determination led eventually to the creation of the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge.

Without him, there would simply have been no refuge. 

Leaving this refuge I continued east and south to Bon Secour NWR, five small units on the barrier island / peninsula at the mouth of Mobile Bay, another naturally stunning area with man-made structures wherever possible. Houses built on sand....hurricanes....wind...major ecological disturbance...

Where the beaches are protected (as on NWRs and to a certain extent on state park properties) there are signs forbidding dune access, and small paths lead between the sea oats and other dune flora for beach access. The beaches here are nesting habitat for Kemp's and loggerhead sea turtles and home of the endangered Alabama beach mouse.

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It's all beautiful and wild in-between the multistory hotels and condos. I arrived just as the office was closing but was assured there was no hurry. Even though the reception area was small, it had an impressive collection of beach and dune natural history specimens and information. The visitors just before me in the guest book were from Lapeer, MI.

It was late afternoon. I didn't walk any trails but did drive to the beach and a couple of the trailheads which disappeared into thick dense scrub / bush. Inevitably, the scene becomes serene as one drives onto a refuge; birds appear; advertising and commerce disappear.

I drove through Gulf State Park thinking I might camp there, but it was cold, the park was full of RVs and I would only sleep. I figured I could do that in a parking lot for free so continued along the coast before turning northeast to Perdido Key which sounds exotic but was actually a suburb of Pensacola. I ate horrid Chinese food at a restaurant across the street and slept until 1:23 when I woke up, read an hour and ate half a scrumptious chocolate pecan caramel brownie I had also bought at the same gas station as the king cake. This product had a great Southern name...something like Mama's Sweet Wishes. I awakened because the temperature was dropping. It got to 21 degrees. I piled on every blanket and my down jacket and went back to sleep soundly until 6:30. The deal about waking early is the chance to watch night leave the eastern sky, which first pales and then colors as a new day begins (on clear days); otherwise, it is mostly just the subtle replacement of dark with light.

I do admit that simultaneously reading, eating, managing the reading light and trying to stay warm in a van in the middle of a cold and getting colder night will be a lasting memory....

Just in case you missed the first one... 

Blue Goose ~ Day 224

January 6, 2015 ~ Fontainebleau State Park, LA to Long Beach, MS

After showering and dressing warmly (and thanks to Andree, I have just the right warm clothes tucked in nooks and crannies in the van), I walked a mile to the public area on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain. Bluejays and Red-headed Woodpeckers were poking around empty campsites and grills.

Fontainebleau State Park - LA

Spanish moss hung from the grand live oaks. I could just barely see the high-rises of New Orleans across the lake, and the busy Causeway (actually two parallel bridges), the longest in the world over continuous water at nearly 24 miles, supported by 9500 concrete pilings. [Wikipedia]

I had donuts and coffee on my mind...with a plan to return to Big Branch Marsh, enjoying them while waiting for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers to show. I needed gas so went into convenience store at the station. They had no donuts but there was something from Randazzo's Camellia City Bakery that looked like a good substitute which I bought. It had colored sprinkles on top of thick white frosting on a round sweet bun. It was called a "king cake" which meant nothing to me until five minutes later while listening to NO radio station and heard, "Today is the first legal day to eat king cakes." From  the web site on the packaging:

WWW.KINGCAKES.COM

The Mardi Gras or Carnival season officially begins on January 6th or Twelfth Night - also known to Christians as the "epiphany." Epiphany comes from a Greek word that means "to show." Bethlehem is where infant Jesus first showed himself to the world. As a symbol of this holy day, a tiny plastic baby is placed inside each King Cake. the King Cake tradition is thought to have been brought to New Orleans from France in 1870.

A King Cake is an oval-shaped bakery delicacy - a cross between a coffee cake and a french pastry that is rich in history as it is in flavor: It's decorated in royal colors or Purple which signifies Justice, Green for Faith, and Gold for Power: These colors were chosen to represent a jeweled crown honoring the wise men who brought gifts to the Christ Child on the Feast of Epiphany. In the past such things as coins, beans, pecans, or peas were hidden inside each King Cake. Today a tiny plastic baby is the common prize. At a party, the King Cake is sliced and served. Each person looks to see if their piece contains the baby. if so, then that person is named "King for a day" and bound by custom to host the next party and provide the King Cake.

There was a tiny naked plastic baby stuck in the frosting. It was totally zu-zu delicious (the pastry...not the baby).  And the coffee was the best coffee I've had in months...rich, not bitter, maybe a faint hint of chocolate...

Even though it was chilly, there was no wind and the sun kept me warm while I hung out in the parking area by the white-ringed trees for an hour, seeing a Red-bellied Sapsucker and a Pileated Woodpecker but no Red-cockaded WPs. There was very little bird activity but a lot of peacefulness. A car with Illinois license plates was in the lot with a "Bird Nerd" bumper sticker.

Bayou Sauvage NWR was close and is the largest urban refuge, located within the city of New Orleans. I hadn't planned to go there, wising to avoid heavy traffic, but after researching roads and options, I realized it might not be congested, and it wasn't. While it is in the city limits, this fact is not at all obvious and consists of 23,000 acres of "fresh and brackish marshes," heavily affected and now recovering from Hurricane Katrina. It was actually pleasant driving through on highways with almost no traffic and pulling off in the few areas with short boardwalks. Go figure.... a very serene place in the city of NO on the opening day of Carnaval.

Snowy Egret at Bayou Sauvage NWR - LA

There were houses on stilts at the water's edge as I drove north out of the refuge, but it was mostly marsh with grebes, herons, ducks, stilts, sandpipers, pelicans, a few American Avocets, ospreys, Northern Harriers....all the birds I've been seeing for days, feeding, foraging, flying in bright sunshine under a clear blue sky. The alligators must all be denned up. So far I've not seen one.

I crossed into Mississippi on a four-lane highway and soon came to Long Beach, with gorgeous sugar-sand beaches on my right and lovely spacious homes and deep lawns on the left. The Walmart on the west end of town had a view of the Gulf as did the restaurant I found. I ordered a simple pasta with a Cajun sauce and crawfish tails and a small green salad. Good enough....

Tricolored Heron - Bayou Sauvage NWR - LA

Blue Goose ~ Day 223

January 5, 2014 ~ Hammond, LA to Fontainebleau State Park, LA

I didn't travel far today, just moseyed along route US190 parallel to Interstate 10 so not busy. I made a reservation at Fontainebleau State Park, on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, very close to Big Branch Marsh NWR. This time of year, the campground was probably 25% full - mostly large RVs but also a few tents and truck-campers, peaceful, quiet and blessedly dark at night.

I found a good spot, paid my $24 (apparently LA does not have reciprocity with MI for cheaper rates) and, after two false turns, found the refuge. It has a half-mile boardwalk over a marsh, rebuilt after major Katrina damage. What surprised me was that I saw almost no birds...maybe one egret, but nothing else in this prime habitat. I still don't know why.

I lingered in the parking area by the boardwalk because of the seven trees with wide white painted rings near the bases, trees where the Red-cockaded Woodpeckers nest.

Big Branch Marsh NWR- LA

These birds are endemic to the US, do not migrate and live in the longleaf pine forests of the southeastern states.

I was lucky enough to see one at Ochlockonee River State Park in Florida's Panhandle in the spring of 2012 which is where I learned about them. It is estimated that only 1% of the original population is left, due mostly to habitat loss. This woodpecker could be an icon for sexual role reversal / feminism / equal sharing of parental duties....

WWW.ALLABOUTBIRDS.ORG 

• The Red-cockaded Woodpecker nests only in live pines. But, it often selects ones that are infected with the red heart fungus. The fungus softens the wood and allows the woodpecker to dig out a cavity. The live pine tree then "bleeds" pitch around the nest hole. The heavy flow of gum helps keep tree-climbing snakes away from the nest.

• A family of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers excavates a number of cavities within their territory. It may take two years or more to completely dig out one cavity. The breeding male roosts in the best cavity, usually the one most recently created and with the heaviest sap flow. The eggs are laid in this cavity, and the male incubates them at night.

• The Red-cockaded Woodpecker is a cooperative breeder, and lives in small family groups composed of one breeding pair and several helpers. The extra birds usually are sons from previous breeding seasons; daughters only rarely stay with their parents. The helpers assist in raising young, including incubation, brooding, and feeding. The entire family usually forages as a group, moving together from tree to tree.

I didn't see any RCWs but late in the afternoon, there was a flurry of activity from other birds: Eastern Bluebirds, Downy Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Yellow-rumped Warblers....I did something which goes against my loose personal rule of not playing bird songs or calls. I saw what I figured was a Swamp Sparrow and impulsively played its song. A total of FOUR Swamp Sparrows popped out of the brush and perched nearby, obviously lured by the song, which is why I don't like to do this. I also saw Song Sparrows and Mockingbirds, Cardinals and Blue Jays. I felt I was in a Michigan woods again with the advent of the jays. 

Boy Scout Boardwalk - Big Branch Marsh NWR - LA

The amount of litter in the water-filled ditches was appalling - white plastic bags and cups, beer bottles, soda and beer cans, and the occasional discarded appliance. 

My firm intention to cook a meal didn't happen due to a long phone conversation with my daughter. By the time that ended, it was dark and chilly, so I had some cheese and crackers, a glass of wine and a can of Vienna sausages. 

A lovely full moon moved through the tall trees during the night. It got COLD, so I was particularly happy with a warm bathroom and shower early the next morning. It's a little tricky trying to figure out where to put toiletries, clean clothes, dry towel and foot-wear in these campground bath-houses, but they are clean. There was one hook and no shelving of any kind except a bench in the common area. The shower curtain stopped three inches above the tile so the water dripped all over outside of the shower. I was the only person here. An overly modest woman would have issues in the busy season.

Blue Goose ~ Day 222

January 4, 2015 ~ Natchez, MS to Hammond, LA

South from Natchez (after coffee and light in the sky) on a good road over rolling hills to St. Catherine Creek NWR:

WWW.FWS.GOV

We strongly recommend you do not rely on an electronic navigation device to find your way around the refuge. Inaccurate maps and limited reception can lead you astray...Roads are passible in a two-wheel drive vehicle, but some are in poor condition. Refuge access becomes restricted when the Mississippi River reaches 34 inches on the Natchez gauge. Click here to see the current river stages.

OK, I'm getting the message. I'm also reading a delightful book about searching for Ivory-billed Woodpeckers in the swamps. I see "Swamp Thing / Swamp People" T-shirts at gas stations. The floodplain here along the Mississippi and the Gulf is often a wet swampy, marshy, bayou-defined land. But with just a little more elevation, the flora changes, often to lovely savannah-like areas with sun lighting the brown pine needles and live oaks. My ignorance of the geography surprised me when I looked at the map closely: I had always thought the Mississippi River came from the north, flowing along the east of New Orleans and then moved in a "crescent" shape to the west, but it actually comes at a 45-degree angle from the northwest, moves south and east around the city and then out to the Gulf. The Pearl River is more to the east and forms the boundary between Mississippi and Louisiana near the Gulf.

St. Catherine Creek was still dry enough today, a highway compared to Bayou Cocodrie (cocoa-dree) yesterday. I first went to The Swamp and then drove part of Wildlife Drive, Wood Duck Lane and partway around the Sibley Impoundment.

St. Catherine Creek NWR - MS

Rather suddenly, mid morning, I felt spring had arrived. Mainly, the sun came out, but I also saw chickadees, a Downy Woodpecker, cardinals and what I first thought was an Ash-throated Flycatcher which would be rare here; however the Brown-crested or Great-crested would also be, so hmmm....I submitted it to eBird alerting them to the possibility but knowing they wouldn't accept it. Which is fine as I was not positive of the ID. Still....it could be....

I also saw ATVs, usually on trailers behind pickups. The refuge map shows "ATV trails." Nearly every refuge lately posts regulations for hunting and fishing, but also a refuge bird list and often lists of other flora and fauna. I know I seldom mention all the non-birding related animal and plant protections for which refuge managers are responsible, but they are significant. Refuges are also a hydrologist's dream....moving water around. I've probably mentioned this before. To have the great hurricanes sweep through and destroy so much of their work must be heartbreaking. Where do the birds shelter in these ferocious winds?

Bald Cypress trees in the swamp on St. Catherine Creek NWR - MS

As I drove south, I went back into Louisiana and tried to find Cat Island NWR adjacent to the "southernmost un-leeved stretch" of the Mississippi; thus, it is actually often underwater. 

WWW.FWS.GOV

The refuge is accessible by vehicle when the Mississippi River gauge reading in Baton Rouge is less than about 18'. The refuge is completely inundated by the river each year, generally between January and June. 

It is January but I tried anyway (since the Baton Route gauge was currently at 14'), driving deeper and deeper into swamp on Solitude Road and soon found myself next to bayous again on another marginal road. I came to a fork, took it, looked ahead and it didn't look good, turned back (carefully so I didn't get stuck in the swamp), took the other fork through more bottomlands but on a better road, saw a pretty Carolina Wren, passed by a long drive to a plantation out of sight over a small rise, went a bit farther and quit even though the road was now climbing. Later I realized that I was very close on the first fork choice and should have continued another half mile. But I had at least seen the habitat which must be amazing in a month or two with birds (and snakes and mosquitoes and alligators).

Cat Island NWR that-a-way - LA

As I continued south, I began to get in Baton Rouge / New Orleans traffic on Interstates 10 and 12. I stopped in Hammond for the night, eating a delicious meal at Applebee's: lightly crusted salmon with an artichoke sauce and a mix of steamed spinach, peas, asparagus and small diced zucchini. It was satisfying and tasty and just enough.