Day 311 / 54 Birds on the Trail

My aunt sent me a Nutcracker dressed as a birder for
Christmas. I loved it. He’s about 10” tall, wooden of course and is adorned
with binoculars, camera, bird book, bird feeder and of course a bird sitting on
top of his hat. She asked in the note she sent along with it, if there was any place
to look at birds in Florida.

We discovered the trail that leads into the wooded area
behind the RV park. There is a nice greenbelt tract of pine woods that separates
the neighborhoods west of the interstate. Miraculously, it has not been developed
yet.

Just 200 yards from our site we can walk across the lawn at
the end of the last row of campers and follow the trail back into the woods
where a maze of sandy service roads winds through the trees. I set out this
morning with my binoculars and bird app to help me identify the birds making
the many calls unfamiliar to me.

I walked far enough into the woods to feel like I was not in the city any longer accept for the steady hum of the interstate in the distance. On my way  I ran into a man from the park who stopped me and asked if I was aware there were black bear in the woods. I told him I had heard there were. He showed me a picture on his phone of one from the day before.  We visited for a minute and I headed out not sure if I was more excited about seeing a bear or seeing some new birds.

When I sit on my patio here at Ocala Sun, the only aviary wildlife I see are crows, turkey vultures and American Pipets. But, I hear lots of stuff going on in the woods behind us. Today I was treated to a few new species, for me, when I ventured out. I didn’t take my camera. This was an identifying walk for me today. I spent time listening to the songs that were new to my ear and matched the new birds with the calls to expand my mental catalog of bird calls. A few were familiar and that helped me know what to look for. In an hour I identified several Warblers. The beautiful Palm Warbler – Pine Warbler- Yellow Rump Warbler and Black and White Warbler, Two woodpeckers, the Northern Flicker and Red Belly. I heard the illusive Pileated Woodpecker but still have yet to see one. Northern Cardinals – Tufted Titmouse – Eastern Phoebe- Black Capped Chickadee and another small gray bird I never was able to pin down. There were a couple of places were I got a nice show from Eastern Towhee’s busy flipping leaves over searching for bugs to eat. They were so busy feeding they didn’t notice me standing less than 3 feet away.

Black Bear Track on the trail. A little bigger than the palm of my hand.

I didn’t see a bear but I did see tracks on the sandy road. With
any luck I’ll see them before we leave Florida. Despite the sad evidence of
illegal dumping that occurs along the trail there is some nice birding right
out my back door. One just has to tune out the tire hum and occasional engine
break of a semi in the background and the scattering of old analog TV’s and
couches that are deteriorating on the forest floor just feet from the edge of
the road. If you look up there is beauty for the eye and the ear here in this
concrete jungle.

In March our new friends Barb and John have a teenage grandson
coming to visit, who is an aspiring birder. I’m looking forward to sharing this
piece of Ocala with him while he is here. By the time he comes I’ll be familiar
enough with the trail to be able to help him identify some of what I’ve found.
I’ll have more calls down by then, and who knows we may find something new
together.

In 2 hours I’ll be in the city behind the teller line
processing transactions and smiling at the memory of my morning in the woods.
Next time I’ll take my camera and start photographing the birds in the area
that are new to me.

Until next time…