By Rey Wells
A group of 16 folks enjoyed a beautiful morning there thanks to our host, Christie Anderberg of Florida Audubon. They own the 200+ acre property. Christie manages it. Notable among the participants shown here are Effie and Mike Smith.
I did not inquire about Effie’s age (I wasn’t born yesterday). Mike offered, without my asking, that he is 93. Before he settled into a shaded chair for the duration with Christie and Billy (her pooch), he walked with us around the back of Sanctuary headquarters. I don’t know if he got any Mulberries from the tree there, but some of us did. They were delicious! We beat the waxwings to them. Effie Smith accompanied the rest of us on our bird hike down the hill and back.
For the second year in a row, we did not detect a Red-headed Woodpecker. But other great birds were identified, mostly by their songs. Among them were a Hooded Warbler, a Summer Tanager, and an Ovenbird. I sent Bill Zemaitis and some others on a short wild goose chase. They saw no geese, but they did flush out three Bobwhite Quail.
Sometimes one needs a resting place for one’s camera for steadiness. That was Rick Pragluski’s excuse for using Maria’s hat for that purpose while focusing on a bird.
Upon reentering the meadow below headquarters, this pair of bluebirds was checking out a box for a possible nest site. They checked others, as well. Back at the beginning, we had a nice shady visit. It included Myrna Bradshaw, who had come to visit with Christie. As we were conversing, cries rang out above the trees we were under. We stepped out in time to see three Swallow-tailed Kites hunting overhead.
Bill Zemaitis had volunteered to make a list of our findings. He recorded 36 species. He posted it on ebird. It can be found at https://ebird.org/checklist/S220909620