St. Johns Audubon Society - Camp Blanding Trip Info

Camp Blanding - Field Trip

Trip Summary & Journal Entry
"Target Birds Achieved! We arrived at Camp Blanding and headed straight for the scrub jay habitat and in a matter of minutes found the ‘one’ scrub jay that has been documented in this particular scrub. Towhees, palm warblers and kinglets were also seen. Next target bird was found in the red-cockaded woodpecker habitat. Even though it is not nesting season, we did manage to see at least two of these cute woodpeckers in the area. A yellow-bellied sapsucker was also in the vicinity. Ulgonda Kirkpatrick, Wildlife Biologist explained how the red-cockaded woodpeckers are captured, tagged and monitored. We were able to get a ‘scope view’ of the inside of a nesting cavity looking through her camera, which is lifted into the nest sites. With the field trip ending so early, we felt we ‘needed’ to find some more birds, so we headed over to Magnolia Park in Green Cove Springs. The cool windy weather was not on our side, so we only managed a few marsh waders in this beautiful park. As we were leaving, we spotted a red-shouldered hawk on a lawn, which was a delightful surprise. Still looking for birds, we headed for Bayard Conservation Area to take a two hour hike on one of the trails. We found brown-headed nuthatches, blue-headed vireo and three northern bobwhites flushed from the palmettos. Other surprises in store for us were Eastern bluebirds, common yellowthroat, house wrens, red-bellied woodpecker, yellow-bellied sapsucker and plenty of palm warblers. Our group consisted of Bill & Nell Pennewell, Terry and Shirley Jennings, Veronica Peterson, Joan Tasca, Margaret Carver, Peggy Cook, Diane Reed, and Camp Blanding Field Trip Leader Ulgonda Kirkpatrick." - Diane Reed, 11/17/07
Trip Notification and Itinerary
Target species: Red-cockaded woodpecker Leader: Diane Reed Trip Guide: Ulgonda Kirkpatrick, Biological Scientist, Camp Blanding Date: Friday, November 16, 2007 Time: Meet at Camp Blanding at 8AM for a 2-3 hour field trip. Maximum participants: 20; You will need to submit your RSVP to Diane Reed at 904-829-9854 by November 1st, as this trip requires all participants’ names forwarded in advance of the trip. Be sure to have a photo-ID with you as you will be entering a military base. What to Bring: Beverage, snacks/lunch as desired, insect spray, binoculars, prepare for the weather. Difficulty Level: Some walking through sandy areas – be sure to wear proper walking shoes. Directions: Camp Blanding is located west of Green Cove Springs and is slightly over a one hour drive from St. Augustine . Travel on SR 16 west from St. Augustine through Green Cove Springs and Penney Farms. The main gate is on the south side (left) of the road on Hwy 16 just past CR 215. Additional directions will be provided to the participants. Itinerary: Join our chapter as we visit Camp Blanding for an informative field trip to the special habitat of the red-cockaded woodpecker and learn what makes this endangered species so unique. We will bird the area as led by our Trip Guide and afterwards decide on birding on the way back to St. Augustine . We hope to visit the scrub jay community at Camp Blanding as well.

Species List & Count This area contains a listing of the species seen or heard on the trip.
1. Great egret 2. Snowy egret 3. Little blue heron 4. Turkey vulture 5. Red-shouldered hawk 6. American kestrel 7. Northern bobwhite 8. Rock dove	9. Red-bellied woodpecker 10. Yellow-bellied sapsucker 11. RED-COCKADED WOODPECKER 12. Eastern phoebe 13. FLORIDA SCRUB JAY 14. Brown-headed nuthatch 15. House wren 16. Ruby-crowned kinglet	17. Blue-gray gnatcatcher 18. Eastern bluebird 19. Northern mockingbird 20. Blue-headed vireo 21. Pine warbler 22. Palm warbler 23. Common yellowthroat 24. Eastern towhee