In mid-January, a group of 11 young birders and their parents visited the Tall Timbers Field Station.
Our host, Jim Cox, and a few local bird experts took us to a number of local birding hot spots. We started with a trailer ride around the Tall Timbers property and got good lucks at Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, Brown-headed Nuthatches and a number of other species.
The next day started very early with a visit to St. Marks National Wildlife Reserve to see a Short-eared Owl at dawn, tons of ducks around the refuge and, after a pizza dinner, a special walk out into a coastal salt marsh to listen for Black Rails (which we heard). The sunset and stars were amazing!
The weekend concluded with a morning session of bird banding for wintering sparrows. The kids got to see a Bachman’s Sparrow, Eastern Towhee and a few Swamp Sparrows up close and see the banding process.
Overall, the trip went really well, and it allowed young birders from all around north and central Florida to get to know each other and begin to make friends.
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