13 December 2019
FRIDAY THE 13th
The day started off eerily. There was a heavy fog blanketing
the coast, making visibility on the water all but impossible. We arrived at the
boat ramp at a quarter to nine in the morning, proceeded to bundle up (it was cold
and damp outside), ready the boats, and then launch the boats into the gray
mist. We boated out to our first transects without trouble, making sure our GPS
tracks were on in case we needed to use them to find our way back in the
limited visibility.
Upon reaching the first transect survey of the day, I walked
along looking and listening for birds, and found quite a flurry of activity.
There were Marsh Wrens arguing with one another, Seaside Sparrows chipping
incessantly, Nelson’s Sparrows darting in and out of thick vegetation, Sedge
Wren’s chattering and scurrying among the grass, and flocks of Red-winged
Blackbirds flying purposefully.
I was having a hard time walking at the normal survey pace due to the amount of bird activity. About ¾ of the
way along the transect, the vegetation changed from short, pleasant, and easily
walkable smooth cordgrass to the dreaded black needlerush, so named for its
exceptionally pointed tips that always seem to line up perfectly at eye-level.
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| Me standing in eye-level black needlerush. |
The bird activity decreased when I entered this new
vegetation, with only Marsh Wrens to keep me company now. I had just reached
the 400 meter mark, when a startling, heavy burst of an object sprang up from
the marsh beside me.
I had just startled a Barn Owl from its rest. It held still
among the dense needlerush until I was within 3 meters of it, and all at once,
it sprang to life and erupted out of the marsh. It hovered just above my head
for about 30 seconds before flying off. All the while, staring at me intently with
a look of, “who dares to disturb my peaceful rest at this hour?!?” It was not
happy with me. That was the first Barn Owl that I had ever seen (a “lifer” as
we bird nerds call it), and the first Barn Owl that we have detected while out
in the marsh. I sprang my hands up in the air (in a celebratory fashion), and
gave an excited “wooo” to honor the occasion. After jotting down a few delighted
notes on the experience in my field notebook, I continued on with the survey.
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| A stock picture from the internet of a Barn owl, since I wasn’t quick enough to take a picture of the encounter. |
Upon nearing the end of the transect (500m), I heard a duck calling
from just beyond the marsh. I thought that I may be able to see it when I
reached the end. Just as I walked up to the end of the transect, and about 50
meters away from where I thought I was hearing the duck, shotgun blasts rang
out. It was then that I realized that the duck I was hearing wasn’t in fact a
duck at all, but rather hunters using an artificial duck call to lure in any nearby,
or flying over ducks (or unsuspecting birders) in the pursuit of harvest. In
this instance, the birder was lured in instead of the bird! I hurriedly turned
around, and scampered back through the marsh to where I began, so as to not be
confused with a tasty-looking duck.
The rest of the day wasn’t as exciting as the Barn Owl
encounter, but we saw many more birds, some of them coming up to us and
perching nearby, and cocking their heads as if to say, “who is this strange
creature walking through the marsh?” We observed more Marsh Wrens, Sedge Wrens,
Seaside Sparrows, Swamp Sparrows, Nelson’s Sparrows, a Song Sparrow, and even a
Sora that flushed up within a couple meters from us.
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| A Nelson’s Sparrow that we caught and banded the week prior. |
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| A Seaside Sparrow that we caught and banded earlier in the year. |
All the while, the fog continued to blanket our surroundings.
In true Friday the 13th fashion, we did have a few mishaps. A GPS was lost in the marsh (never to be found again), one of the seat cushions on the boat decided to abandon ship, and of course, on our way back to the boat ramp, the foggave way to a carpet of damp, chilled, heavy
rainfall that soaked us to our bones and forced us to employ the services of
our boat bilge pumps.
All in all, it was a great day. We had a few mishaps here
and there, but that is what makes field biology exciting, fun, and
ever-changing. In addition, it was only fitting that one of the last owls in
the southeast that I had not yet seen would show up so unexpectedly, of all
days, on Friday the 13th.
By: Spencer Weitzel
