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Posted by ken archambault on 17:52:41 04/28/07
In Reply to: RFI about Fort Jefferson posted by tricia
no insect problems at all; rather windy most days there. TAKE SUNSCREEN and plenty of water.
Among the birds seen:
SHORTEARED OWL (Caribbean race) - 2
PEREGRINE FALCON - 2
BLACK NODDY (seen by several observers from "lighthouse" corner of the Fort, looking to the "Closed Island" sign; the bird was seen recently on separate days in the frontmost left clump of Opuntia cactus well left of the "closed island" sign -- scope needed for best views, which still would leave one wanting a better view)
Brown Noddies - abundant, many close views from east shoreline (rusted pier remnants held many close to shore)
Sooty Terns - abundant, but no close views
Magnificent Frigatebirds - around 30 at once, close views
Northern Harrier - 3
Sharpshinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
American Kestrel - 3
White-crowned Pigeon
Common Nighthawk (perched on one of the few trees inside the fort)
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Blue Grosbeak (several starving males and at least one female)
Indigo Buntings - several
BOBOLINK - 4 males
Baltimore orioles - several (check seagrape clump on east side of fort near brown noddy spot)
Orchard orioles - several included one adult male, same location as balt. orioles
Ruby-throated hummers - several, males and females
Ruddy Turnstone - several
Short-billed Dowitcher (lame)
Willet
Spotted Sandpiper - 2 in breeding plumage
Blackbellied Plover
Laughing Gull
Herring Gull
Brown Pelican - 12+
"WURDEMAN'S" HERON (seen on tern roosting island, from a distance)
Great Blue Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron (flying over fort)
BROWN BOOBY - (Immature resting mere feet from the walkway at edge of western moat)
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Gray catbirds - several/many, conspicuous; frequent victims of the many raptors hunting inside the fort
Yellowbilled Cuckoo (several inside fort) - 2 dead birds, looked to have starved to death
Thrushes: Graycheeked, Swainson's, others reported Veery and Wood Thrush as well
unidentified female cowbird species (shiny or possibly brownheaded) in the eastern seagrapes outside the fort
WARBLERS: blackthroated blue male, wormeating, cape may male - 2, blackandwhite, Hooded (males and a female and a first year male -- one cattle egret killed but did not eat a male hooded warbler near the bird water fountain), Ovenbird (several), Northern Waterthrush (2-3) (check shoreline outside of fort), American Redstart (at least 2, including male and female), Tennessee, Common Yellowthroat (several), Kentucky - 2, Prairie - 2+, Chestnutsided male, Northern Parula, Blackthroated Green male, Palm (many), Blackpoll male. More warbler species seen by others, but i did not see a Swainson's that was present the week before.
Hope this helps. Editorial Note: i wish i had taken birdseed to discreetly scatter in the seagrapes, because many of the blue grosbeaks and other seedeating birds were unable to find food. the situation was pretty desperate for them. i think some people would not approve of this, and the rangers would take you to task, most likely, and one would have to be careful not to put out any food that would encourage the (predatory) gulls, but i don't think gulls could find birdseed scattered in the seagrapes on the east side of the Fort. MEALWORMS would have been a great boon to the many cuckoos and warblers, since there are virtually no insects for the migrants to eat. The cuckoos, especially, were totally out of luck inside the fort. many pet stores sell mealworms, and mealworms will live for several days in the container the store provides, but i would not put mealworms out in the open unattended because seagulls might find them (seagulls eat tern chicks and eggs, and humans leaving food out has encouraged the gulls to remain longer into the tern nesting season, causing increased predation on tern colonies). i think the park rangers might even cite anyone openly attempting to feed the birds anything, so caution is advised. Still, it was heartbreaking to see the lack of food resources for the small migrant birds. the water fountain only gives birds a chance to drink and bathe, but one could argue it merely prolongs their suffering and eventual demise, because many birds were clearly struggling and were unable to rebuild their energy reserves. Some might argue that this is natural selection at work and food should not be offered to stranded migrating birds, but man has already so altered this ecosystem (e.g., seemingly daily lawnmowing!). following that line of reasoning, one might argue that water should also be withheld. that said, i counted at least 2 yellowbilled cuckoos, an ovenbird, a waterthrush, several gray catbirds, and several hooded warblers dead on the ground, and most of these appeared to be casualties of starvation and not predation. i do not see the harm if the national park service would one day erect a feeding station for the neotropical migrants, as long as wired, caged feeders for example could be used so that cattle egrets and seagulls could be kept away. but, i doubt NPS would even be interested. next time, i'm taking mealworms and a bag of birdseed, but i will be very discreet about it. Good luck, and don't forget the sunscreen.
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