On our way home from visiting family in Florida during the holidays, we passed by Hugeunot Memorial Park north of Jacksonville where a Snowy Owl had been reported the day before. However, no one reported finding the bird that day and it was nearing dusk, so we pressed on north to Amelia Island, where we planned to look for sharks' teeth on the beach the next day. I had a haunting feeling, though, as we drove past all those white dunes and called a local birder to confirm that no sighting had been reported that day.
The next morning I was up early, anxious to hit the beach. My wife and daughter, on the other hand, had a different idea of wake up time, and told me basically to clear out and stop making noise. I had already made a run to Starbuck's for coffee for my wife and some breakfast items and was still looking at an hour before light and two before I would have company on the beach.
I decided to try a spot at the south end of Amelia Island that is good for sea duck, but when I arrived there I realized a was only 5-10 minutes from where the Snowy Owl was last seen. Needless to say, I kept trucking south back to Hugeunot Park to scan the dunes with my spotting scope. Although I could just picture the owl sitting on the dunes, I had no better success than those who had searched the day before. As I had not been too hopeful in locating the bird and my family would be ready to go soon, I packed it in and started back north.
Just after crossing the bridge from Huguenot Park to Little Talbot Island, where the owl had originally been discovered, I saw a sign that said 'No Parking', a wide area next to the road that looked like a perfect place to park, and a short trail down to the dunes. I skidded to a halt. We could be onto something. I walked a short distance to where the trail ended at the dunes and set up my scope. I though I saw something white - a sign. In fact, many white signs were marking the boundary of a summer breeding area for birds and warning 'Area Closed'. I scanned four, five, six times. I had to get going so one last scan. I moved the scope to another vantage point and as I panned from left to right something stopped me cold. A large white bird partially hidden by a white sign and two eyes staring at me.
Because I had not been very confident in finding the owl, my camera was back in the car. I ran back for it and took a few photos through the scope. I then excitedly called my birding friend and one-time Jacksonville resident, Rex Rowan, with whom I often bird when I am in Gainesville, and let him know the bird had been relocated so he could alert others who would want to see it. It was time to rejoin my family for a spot of fossil hunting. There still was a small matter of a Harlequin Duck that had been reported at Fort Clinch State Park on the north side of Amelia Island. That bird had also come a long way to Florida, but I supposed he would be nice and content working the jetty until I made it there. It was a nice way to close out all the great birding in 2013.
