Brevard's birds lure thousands from around the world

As thousands of enthusiasts in floppy hats flock to this week's Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, the uninitiated might wonder what all the fowl fuss is about.

But while birders scope species with an expert eye, there's still plenty of easy-to-identify frequent fliers for novices to spy, often right in their own backyards.

Or they can meander the marshes of Merritt Island, the mangroves of the Indian River Lagoon or the fringes of the St. Johns River to see birds that others travel from around the world to witness.

A unique climate mix creates our birding paradise.

Two climates converge here along the Space Coast — warm-temperate and subtropical — spawning a mix of life few other places can boast. Ecologists rank the region among the most biologically diverse in North America, with more than 300 bird species calling the lagoon region home.

So if you're a budding birders itching to spy a spoonbill, wood stork or maybe something a bit more rare, you've come to the right place. And no expertise or expensive scope is required to enjoy these backyard gems with a bit more educated eye.

Here are some of the common feathered friends that frequent Brevard's backyards, ponds and prairies that you might want to keep an eye out for:

Mallards

Wild mallards are common wintering waterfowl in Florida, traveling in small, scattered flocks. They're popular with hunters and birders, alike.

But better see them now. As with the loss of the Florida mottled duck, mallards face a similar fate from hybridization. For aesthetic reasons, residents have been for years illegally releasing domesticated mallards to local ponds, lakes and canals.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission estimates more than 12,000 mallards are purchased statewide from feed-and-seed stores and potentially released each year.

These domesticated mallards can be seen year-round, floating on ponds, mating with native mallards and producing hybrid offspring.

Roseate spoonbill

Birders say these pinkish birds appear more plentiful this winter.

These guys sport pale pink plumage and a platypus-like bill with sensitive nerve endings to detect prey. You can often see spoonbills sweeping their bills through shallow water for small fish, shrimp, crabs and insects.

By the 1920, plume hunters and habitat destruction severely depleted spoonbills in the United States.

They have no federal listing status, but Florida protects them as a threatened species.

Wood stork

This federally threatened bird can grow more than four feet tall. Look for them wading in man-made ditches and ponds. They have mostly white plumage, but juveniles are dingy gray with a yellowish bill.

You may be seeing a few more of these storks around. After three decades of federal protection, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last year reclassified the bird from endangered to threatened.

Sandhill crane

These majestic birds can frustrate as much as they fascinate.

They prance into traffic, pecking at cars and taking their sweet time to cross roadways as they squawk to guard their young, sometimes getting hit and killed by cars.

Sandhill cranes also are infamous for dinging parked cars when they peck at their own reflections. They seem to obsess on roads and won't fly away when cars approach. That's because they are highly territorial, so moving a family from a particularly dangerous roadside location to a safer, more suitable habitat occupied by other crane families isn't an option.

Roads and ditches also offer easy pickings for these feathered omnivores: tadpoles, grasshoppers and other insects, galore.

Marvel at their beauty, but don't feed them. Florida lists sandhill cranes as a threatened species. In 2002, Florida lawmakers made it a second-degree misdemeanor to feed them, punishable by a $500 fine and 60 days in jail.

Some seen less often

Florida scrub jays. Among federally threatened species, the Florida scrub jay is surprisingly easy to find in Brevard, if you know where to look.

This sociable bird can be seen hopping and darting along the Cruickshank Sanctuary in Rockledge, the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, near the Valkaria airport and most anywhere else where ample, open, high-and-dry scrub habitat dominates the landscape.

White pelicans: They migrate here each winter from Canada, showing off long white-and-black wings, often floating in the Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands, located past the county's sewer plant at the west end of Wickham Road. Bird lovers can circle the man-made wetlands by car, making them one of the region's most popular wildlife viewing sites.

Harlequin duck and masked duck

In 2010, birders thought these two quacks must be lost. The two ducks — a harlequin duck and a masked duck — seldom seen in Florida popped up in Brevard County just in time for that year's Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival. Birders spotted a Harlequin duck in Sebastian Inlet and the masked duck at Viera's Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands.

Maybe this year they'll return.

Want to join in?

Here are some bird festival events that make sense for novices to attend. And after the Titusville birding festival is finished, there are still plenty of ways to get involved:

•January Beginning Bird Watch Tours at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.They begin at 9 a.m. on the following days: Tuesday Jan. 27, Thursday Jan. 29 and Saturday Jan. 31. Join a refuge volunteer for a guided three-hour driving tour in the refuge shuttle bus to learn how to identify a variety of bird species. A fee of $5 per person, children under age 16 are free. Cash or check only. Space is limited, so call 321-861-5601 for reservations.

•Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival runs Jan. 21-25. For a schedule of events, visit: http://www.spacecoastbirdingandwildlifefestival.org

•Pine Flatwoods Trail Hike:

Join Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge volunteers for a guided walk on the 1-mile Pine Flatwoods loop Trail at 9 a.m. Friday, Jan. 30. Learn about wildlife you'll see there, which may include the threatened Florida Scrub Jay, the gopher tortoise and the the bald Meet at the refuge visitor center, located on SR 402, 5 miles east of U.S. 1 in Titusville, then caravan in your own vehicle to the trail head located 12 miles from the visitor center. Insect repellent, sun screen, water, and closed sturdy shoes are recommended. Loaner binoculars will be available. Call 861- 5601 for reservations.

•6th Annual Florida Scrub-Jay Festival, is 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 28 at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge visitor center. The free event celebrates the endangered scrub habitat and Florida Scrub-Jay, a threatened species found only in Florida. The festival offers live music, nature tours, live animal displays, children's activities and games. Call 861-5601.

•Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands, located at the west end of Wickham Road, past the county's sewer plant. The wetlands are accessible by car. Visit: www.brevardcounty.us/NaturalResources/EnvironmentalResources/VieraWetlands

•Blackpoint Wildlife Drive on the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge: http://www.fws.gov/merrittisland/Drive.html

•Bird watching basics: http://floridabirdingtrail.com/index.php/resources/birding_basics/