Headquarters Pond lies about five miles past the St. Marks NWR Visitor
Center on Lighthouse Road. It is not a particularly large pond, only
17-acres or so. Named for its proximity to the refuge’s former
headquarters site, it was formed when the construction of Lighthouse Road
dammed a section of marsh. It has a raised viewing platform that gives you
a good vantage point over the pond. To get to it, park at the Tower Pond
Trailhead, where the bathrooms are located, and walk out the short,
well-marked trail.
I have been watching Headquarters Pond slowly change over the years. It
was once a good spot for ducks. I have a photo taken back in the eighties
that shows open water, but no cattail or floating-leaved plants. I have
recorded about a dozen duck species there, including Long-tailed Duck, a
winter sea duck normally found in the Gulf. The bare branches of an old
dead oak at the back of the pond are a favorite resting spot for Roseate
Spoonbills in early summer and for White Ibis in winter, when herons and
egrets roost on the pond. Black-crowned Night Herons roost in the trees at
the back of the pond year-round.
Both of the refuge’s gallinule species, Common and Purple, are found at
Headquarters Pond. Common Gallinules are dark duck-like birds with
red-and-yellow “candy corn” bills that extend up to a red frontal shield on
their forehead. They spend most of their time swimming near floating leaved
plants and will occasionally walk on them. They are year-round residents at
St. Marks. Once called the Florida Gallinule, in 1983 ornithologists lumped
them with the Common Moorhen, a species found in Eurasia and considered
them a single species. In 2011, they were separated from the moorhen and
the Common Gallinule is again considered a distinct species.
Their Purple Gallinule cousins are slimmer and more brightly colored with
deep purple, light blue, and iridescent green plumage. They also have a
red-and-yellow bill, but have a pale blue frontal shield. Unlike Common
Gallinules, they spend almost of their time walking on floating leaves.
They have long toes that spread their weight and allow them to climb stems
to reach seed heads. Although some overwinter, they are mainly summer
residents. Headquarters Pond has always been the easiest spot on the refuge
to find Purple Gallinule.
The pond has always had a marshy edge; a good place for Green Herons and
Least Bitterns or for Sora and Virginia Rails, depending on the season.
Shallow wetlands like Headquarters Pond can evolve over time. Successive
generations of wetland plants die and decompose, forming an ever-thickening
layer of mud that fills the pond. New species of wetland plants are brought
in by birds, wind, or storm surge.
White water lily, a common wetland plant at St. Marks, became established
on Headquarters Pond and for years its large round floating leaves covered
parts of the pond, providing habitat for Purple Gallinules and leaving
deeper open areas for ducks, American Coots and Common Gallinules. This
changed after Hurricane Michael’s storm surge inundated the pond. In the
years since that storm, American Lotus has replaced the water lilies.
American lotus has large yellow flowers that open in late morning and
close in mid-afternoon. The plant’s seed pods resemble a showerhead. Some
of its large round leaves float on the surface of the water, while others
are raised above the surface. This summer, its leaves have almost
completely covered the pond, leaving few spots of open water. Common
Gallinule numbers are down, but Purple Gallinules, which feed on lotus seed
pods, seem to be doing well.
There are also other changes occurring on the pond. Cattail has become
established and now forms a border along the edge of the pond. Cattail
creates a single-species thicket, crowding out all other plants. Each year
the cattail border gets wider.
The changes that are occurring at Headquarters Pond are natural processes
of wetland succession. Other natural processes, like drought, storm surge
or fire, may intervene, but unless they do, cattail will eventually form a
monoculture in the shallows and American lotus will dominate the deeper
areas. Both American Lotus and Cattail are native species and are not
without wildlife value. However, a wetland dominated by two plant species
has less diversity of insects and birds and is a less interesting place.
St. Marks NWR is a dynamic and ever-changing landscape. The larger pools
at St. Marks are actively managed by refuge staff, primarily for waterfowl,
but also for species like Wilson’s Plover and Least Tern. Without periodic
draining and flooding, they would slowly fill with vegetation. However, the
refuge has limited staff and resources and is facing increasing shortages.
Because of that, Headquarters Pond can no longer be actively managed and is
slowly changing into Headquarters Marsh.
Date: 6/4/25 6:07 am From: 'Candy Pfau' via NFLbirds <nflbirds...> Subject: Re: [NFLbirds] A Possum raided both bird houses. Took all the bluebird eggs and then killed a house full of baby chickadee’s. One adult chickadee was left dead in the bird house. dead
I am removing my last bird house. Yesterday a black bear ripped the entire bluebird house full of eggs off its pole. We have a severe black bear problem here in Gulf Breeze Florida next to the wetlands. He managed to strip some wood off and got the door open. The female bluebird may have been on the nest. To protect the house from black bears. We would have to surround the pole with a high chain link fence. Unless I move. I’m giving up providing housing. It’s just hurting the birds. I will continue to fill the birdbath with water but this is my third birdbath. The bears have destroyed two previous bird baths. To protect the birds here it’s best to not draw them to any housing or feeders. If I move to a non black bear area. Maybe then I can once again enjoy feeding the birds.
Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPad
On Monday, May 5, 2025, 8:14 PM, Nicholas Petryk <nicholas.petryk96...> wrote:
Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear that. Opossums are very opportunistic and will eat anything! Unfortunately, that’s just how nature is sometimes… it might help to put baffles underneath the bird houses, and you can add a predator guard to the box entrances. I hope you have successful clutches next time!!
On May 2, 2025, at 18:19, 'Candy Pfau' via NFLbirds <nflbirds...> wrote:
Date: 6/1/25 11:08 am From: Don Morrow <donaldcmorrow...> Subject: [NFLbirds] June at SMNWR
It is June at St. Marks NWR and the season slowly shifts into full summer.
This month marks the end of Spring migration. Ten million birds have
already crossed over the refuge this year on their northward journey.
Another hundred thousand or so, mostly sandpipers, will pass through during
the early part of June, but the excitement of Spring migration is over for
another year.
Late June is the low point of bird life at the refuge. Avian diversity is
down by a third and there are only about one hundred and twenty species on
the refuge. There are also many fewer birds. By late June there may be only
a fifth of the total number of birds that there were on the refuge in late
January. Winter bird numbers are boosted by species like Dunlin and Redhead
that occur in huge flocks. Additionally, the distribution of many of our
summer birds is based on dispersed territories and they are less visible
than the wintering birds that were concentrated in flocks on the mudflats,
pools, and open water along Lighthouse Road.
June is a quieter time. However, life never stands still at St. Marks and
there is always lot going on at the refuge.
As birds shift from setting up territories to parental duties, bird song
is diminished. Some of our summer breeders have already fledged. Parula
warblers are feeding young in the East River floodplain at the Double
Bridges and half-sized Willets are following their parents on the
Lighthouse salt flats. Some species, like Swallow-tailed Kites, still have
young in the nest.
This is the peak month for Roseate Spoonbills and Reddish Egrets in the
pools and ponds along Lighthouse Road. They breed in peninsular Florida. By
June they have completed their nesting cycle and have begun to disperse
northward.
There are Black-necked Stilts on East River Pool. This species breeds at
the refuge, but their rudimentary nests are only slightly above water level
and are susceptible to flood events. If their nests are flooded, stilts
will not attempt to renest and usually leave the area.
The first of the summer fruits are ripening. Watch for birds feeding on
swamp dogwood in the East River floodplain at the Double Bridges. Along
Tower Pond Trail, blueberries and huckleberries are attracting towhees and
grackles. Summer flowers, like American Beautyberry and Elderberry, are
blooming. Their fruit will ripen in time to feed Fall migrants. Sawgrass
seed stalks are sticking up in the marshes, providing perches for
dragonflies, like the pennants, darners and pondhawks that prey on flies
and mosquitos.
June is just one more point on the refuge’s annual seasonal cycle. The
seasons at St. Marks shift and change in a reasonably predictable pattern
caused by the revolution of the earth around the sun and the tilt of its
axis. The earth has been revolving around the sun for almost five billion
years and there is every indication that it will continue to do so for the
foreseeable future.
You, however, have a strictly delimited lifespan. Come down to St. Marks
and immerse yourself in the changing season. It’s hot and a little buggy,
but relative to the earth, you don’t have much time left. Hurry down to the
refuge. You don’t want to miss this.
