My Quest for an RCW

7:15 I peek through the curtains. Sun won't be up for another 25 minutes. Palm fronds are scraping across the window. The winds up, not a good day for birding. Back to bed. An hour later, the sun shining through the window wakes me. Damn, I should be on the road already. This is the day to see an RCW. I may not pass this way again. I look out the window. The wind is still howling. There will be no birding today. Time for some coffee. I turn on CNN. They still haven't found that missing jet liner. I should be on my way to Unit 54...the Apalachicola National Forest, part of The Great Florida Birding Trail. I stall, another cup of Joe. Really, I should go. I look out the window. Whoa! The wind has dropped, the sun is peeking through the clouds. I must go. It's already 10:45.

11:02 I'm on my way. I make my way through Indian Pass, then Apalach, then Eastpoint, I turn north on SR 65, pass through Sumatra, which could tell a few stories. Finally, a little after noon I turn onto Forest Road 123. I should have been here three hours ago at least. This is not a good time to be searching for RCWs.

And then I see it, two trucks, kids in the back of one. Oh my, this is not good, I need peace and quiet, no disturbance of any kind. I slink into the pull-off beside one of the trucks. Three adults are munching on sandwiches. I power my window down. "I'm looking for woodpeckers," I drawl trying to sound chipper. The girl in the sunglasses, looking like a movie star with short cropped hair frosted in two tones, says, "You're in the right place, we're RCW biologists." If I wasn't already sitting, I would have fallen down. Are you kidding me. "My name's Sarah, this is Joel and that's Joe. We're checking on some red-cockaded woodpecker groups in this area. We call them RCWs for short. We don't even use the AOU abbreviation RCWO, just RCWs." Wow, from what was a dismal morning, my day is turning golden. My odds of seeing this endangered species has now become a real possibility.

The red-cockaded woodpecker has been listed endangered since the 1970s. It is found only in mature longleaf pine savannahs and most of this habitat has been cut and logged. However, here in the Apalachicola National Forest, biologists like Joel are micro managing this species in such a way that through banding of chicks they know each and every individual bird. And the species is thriving to the point where some birds are used in restocking programs through the southern States. It is very much a success story, which unfortunately is not being promoted as well as it could be.

Joel gives me directions to two areas nearby where I have an excellent chance of seeing an RCW. We exchange emails and I'm on my way. I stop at the first site. Turn off the engine. I walk carefully through the savannah being careful not to step on anything that would make noise. A number of mature pines have white rings painted on them. They each have a cavity. The RCW excavates a number of cavities but only uses one, the others are for roosting at night. Usually the one that is used secretes the most sap and resin which is a deterrent to tree-climbing snakes. Yikes! Sarah has told me that I will hear them first. They travel in small groups. Their call sounds similar to a squeaky toy played with by a dog. But all is quiet, eerily quiet. I move on to the next site. The same thing. Not a sound. I backtrack to where I met Sarah, Joel and Joe and drive slowly along the forest road.

Longleaf Pine Savannah - note trees with white rings

Pine cavity - note sap around entrance

Finally, I hear pecking. This is it. I scan the trees in the direction of the sound. Any second I will see my quarry. There it is. It's tucked behind a pine bough, difficult to see, but no doubt an RCW. It moves into view. I set my binoculars, focus. Oh no, that's not a red-cockaded, it's the far more common red-bellied woodpecker. My hopes are dashed. Okay, you want to play it that way...take this. I pull out my phone and go to my bird app. Let's play the call of an RCW and see how the red-bellied reacts. I play the squeaky toy. Boom. Seconds later, I'm surrounded by red-cockaded woodpeckers. They seem to have appeared in a puff of magicians smoke. One, two, three at least, probably more. I scan a long-leaf pine where I have seen them fly. And there it is. A woodpecker about the size of a Downy back home with a white cheek patch, diagnostic for the species. Then I see another one. Finally, I have three of them in my binocular view. Beautiful. I follow them a short ways through the savannah. I play their call on my app one more time and they come to me immediately to investigate. I get great views of the diminutive little guys. They are not gaudy like their cousins the red-headed or boisterous like flickers or the pileated, but in their own way they are a marvel of adaptation and evolution. And then they are gone. As suddenly as they had arrived they disappear. I stand there alone. I'm in awe. And I'm proud of the work the biologists do to protect this species. Somehow, the pine forest would not be genuine without it.

Two RCWs - note the diagnostic white cheek patch

Life's a Beach

I know, I know, the title of this post is about as cliche as they come. However, after a cool first week it's been nothing but sunshine and temps in the high teens and low 20s. Just about as good as it gets for the beach, birding and birdies. It's hard to believe we begin our last week on the Cape tomorrow. The last three weeks have blown by. I've managed to get in four games of golf, two at St. Joseph Bay and two at St. James Bay, three of those with Michael who joined us for seven days. A treat. We lost a few balls, however, we hit it pretty darn good for a five month lay-off. Oh yes, watch out for the gators.

Michael booms one!

One of my favourite things about traveling is always the people you meet and the new friends made. We've enjoyed our visits and exploring with Emmett and Pam Doiron, a great couple from Nova Scotia we met last year and who, like ourselves, enjoyed the dog friendly beaches (they have three) so much they decided to return this year. And Emmett loves to fish.

Another cast, another fish

A highlight for me was meeting David Jones from Boston on St. George Island. I had gone there in search of piping plovers and to see if I could find any that were banded. David just happens to be a kindred spirit with an eye and the tools for amazing bird photography. We were fortunate to find two groups of pipers, one group of four and a second group of seven. Of the 11, David was able to take close-up photographs that identified four full combinations of bands and one partial. He later identified a number of pipers on Dog Island and we have now determined that one bird was banded on the Great Lakes in 2008 and amazingly, another banded at Big Quill Lake, Saskatchewan in 2005. This bird has made the trek south nine times. You read right, NINE times. That is an incredible feat. To view more of David's wonderful photos go to his web site at www.pbase.com/clamflats.

The Group of Four

And my favourite local is The Tap Room in Apalachicola. A fine selection of craft beers from across the United States, good pub grub and a cool vibe. A must if you're in the area.

The Tap Room sandwich board

And last, Bobbie and Arnie have had a blast at the beach. No surprises there, Arnie's a Portuguese Water Dog for cryin' out loud.

Ken & Arnie lovin' the beach