A Day for the Birds

I was out the door at 7:50 this morning. Driving down the street I spied two small flocks of white ibis making their way through the yards. Their big hooked beaks were digging up bites of breakfast from the ground. My first notice of the ibis came in the early ‘60s when a fellow I was dating told me he liked to shoot them to keep them from spreading diseases to the herd of cattle on his property. Today I like watching them meander about the neighborhood rarely making a peep.

North of Umatilla I came upon a very small bird trying to walk across Hwy 19. I was so startled and started to blow my horn. (I don’t like hitting any animals) Thankfully the bird fluttered its wings and raised itself three feet off the ground and made it across the two lanes before I got to it. Whew!

Made my turn onto 445 (Okay you classmates, what is 445 known for? Hint: cold water in the woods) Out of the grass on both sides of the road came birds by the gazillion! I noticed several to be female cardinals—now that’s a challenge. They reminded me of the love bugs in the wee hours of daylight just as the sun is coming up. They were everywhere! It was a delight watching them flitter about.

Before I knew it I was on 40 east of Astor and out 11 north toward Bunnell. I don’t care much for those big black birds—starlings? Martins? Crows? Who knows. I’ve never been able to tell those birds apart. They were thick as thieves but not as bad as in the movie “Birds” by Mr. Hitchcock. (I hated that movie) Some had the makings of nests in their beaks. Guess it’s that time of year for them.

On my return trip from St. Augustine I was zipping down I-95. On the left side of the highway there was a stand of very tall, dead, bare what-use-to-be trees in a thicket of Florida pines. In the tip top of a pine I glimpsed an eagle’s nest with its occupant moving around. Yea, I know, “Are you sure it wasn’t an osprey?” No, I’m not sure. But we do have lots of eagles and their nests scattered about Florida. So I honestly believe it was an eagle. Pictures I took of one recently down the road from the house were just too far away. The photos came out fuzzy; however, it was definitely an eagle—white head and all.

During the entire trip I saw flocks of birds hovering and circling. When they do this, they get my attention really fast. Six or seven years ago I witnessed circling birds over a house in downtown Eustis. Stopped by the police department to pass along my observation. The officer I spoke to knew the resident—a local hunter. He figured the birds were waiting over an animal carcass. Turned out to be an old woman at the house had died and dropped in the back yard. I watch those circling critters.

The bird I missed seeing all day was the sandhill crane—birds on stilts. I do enjoy watching them and listening to their strange vocal emanations. Yes, it was a wonderful day for the birds.