Tally Big Day

Our mission was to see 100 birds in one day. What we didn't expect was gloomy skies and heavy rainfall. But I'm jumping ahead, it all started with some scouting first. The day before our Big Day we headed out to Tall Timbers to check the trails. We weren't disappointed we saw Brown-headed Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch, Wild Turkey, American Goldfinch, Common Ground Doves and more Red-headed Woodpeckers than you could shake a stick at. We had a great feeder station and the Red-cockaded Woodpecker cavities were laid out for us. This would be our end of the day site if St. Marks wasn't successful. There was talk that we may never make it this far north if the coast was productive. Twenty-four hours later we would be back here in the rain.

Birding Tall Timbers

The Big Day arrived earlier than expected; we woke up at 4am. After some rumblings about we were off to find owls. We had a Barred Owl by 5am but the Eastern Screech Owl let us down after a few unsuccessful stops. We made it to Bottoms Road by daylight where the birds started rolling in. There was a Horned Grebe and a few White Pelicans off the coast and we had killer looks at Clapper Rails and Bald Eagles galore in the marsh. We headed to Bald Point State Park where we picked up a Northern Parula and some swallows. Ochlocknee State Park was our RCW site but we came up with just 5 birds. Luckily two of them weren't seen the rest of the day so they were great snags, Yellow-throated Warbler and Hermit Thrush.

After a disappointing show at Ohlocknee we headed to St. Mark's. We got a late season Bufflehead and lots of shorebirds. Highlights included: Marbled Godwit, American Oystercatcher, Sora, Wilson's Plover, American Avocet, and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. We had 80 birds on the day but the wind was fierce and chances for warblers was slim so we decided to make a dash back to Tallahassee for our last 20 of the day.

IDing out the shorebirds

Our short ride back to Tally turned into a slow steady battle through heavy rainfall. We were becoming a little skeptical about the last 20 but we stayed the course. In town we picked up 11 more birds including Killdeer and Wood Duck and a surprising Ruddy Duck. Things were definitely looking up.

By late afternoon we were pulling back up at Tall Timbers. We were tired and soon to be wet but still very optimistic. We had to look into the gourds to find the Purple Martins and then it was off to the trails. We picked up a House Finch and Northern Bobwhite and then finally, the 100th bird of the day gave us a look, the White-breasted Nuthatch. After a celebratory round of high fives we grabbed 3 more birds and waited for the RCW to show itself. After a 30 minute wait by the suspected nest cavity we called it a day. We didn't get the RCW but a little Pine Warbler gave us a show before we left and we ended on 104 total. Not bad considering the strong winds, the overcast sky and the heavy rains. In good birder fashion we went home and planned our next Big Day challenge over some drinks.

The Tally Big Day Crew: Matt, Kim, Maggie, myself, and Andy