Bird migration rings in the advent of fall

The mercury throbs above 90 every day. Not a single autumn color appears on the landscape. Yet, when I was paddling a kayak through smooth water in Matlacha Pass recently, I heard a sign of fall.

Yes, heard.

There was a loud, harsh rattle from behind the mangroves. Then I saw a belted kingfisher emerge, its large head and heavy bill leading its way as it chased another kingfisher like an Air Force pilot through the sky.

"Hellllllooooooo" I called to the birds, each of them bluish and medium-sized with a shaggy crest atop. Kingfishers perch on Southwest Florida's telephone wires and plunge-dive head first into the region's plentiful waters through the winter.

Fall is here.

The birds know it, and each fall they show us residents.

Whether you wait for warblers, catbirds or robins - or whether you just happen to notice a lot more feathered friends flitting through trees and bushes - you can delight in fall migrants' and winter residents' arrivals. Just open your eyes and notice them. After a few autumns, you'll get as excited as I do.

Whenever the kingfishers come back, my daughter, husband and I cheer. We know mere weeks - not months - of hot days exist and that soon a cold front will cause humidity to evaporate and temperatures to drop delightfully.

PHOTO FLORIDA WEEKLY Kingfisher Each bird lover has a species that for him or her triggers the "thank goodness it's fall" feeling.

Roger Clark, a colleague of mine at Lee County Parks & Recreation, looks forward each year to the arrival of the American kestrel.

The small, delicate falcon perches on powerlines or snags near fields and pastures.

"It's so visible, active and vocal along roads and open areas," said Clark, an Alva resident who bird watches daily on his commute to and from Fort Myers as well as during his off time in the woods and along beaches.

When the weather cools, chances are he'll roll down his truck window and listen for the signature shrill "kli, kli, kli, kli, kli, kli, kli, kli" or "killy killy killy" the raptor belts out.

Yes, the weather will cool sometime soon.

And pretty soon we'll see white pelicans return. Some may fly here all the way from Yellowstone National Park, Idaho and the Grand Tetons.

I remember one summer on a roadtrip out west rounding a corner and seeing a dozen of the huge, snow-colored birds on a mountain lake. I felt like I was in one of those "what's wrong with this picture" puzzles.

I'd only seen the birds here in Southwest Florida during winter, their presence conspicuous as they feed in flocks on Pine Island Sound. They're so much bigger than our year-round brown pelicans, and they don't go for that solo sit-on-a-piling activity like the brown pelicans do. No, they're like our snowbirds. They get together in groups and have meals of seafood.

And speaking of snowbirds, a friend and colleague of mine who doesn't care much for ID'ing birds but enjoys watching feathered friends told me he'd chatted recently with his letter carrier. That loyal U.S. Postal Service staffer reported that the volume mail in his delivery truck already is increasing.

So as I drive around Pine Island and watch for belted kingfishers atop the powerlines, I guess I need to keep a look out for the northern license plates on the road in front of me.

You know the mercury is likely to stop throbbing soon when the human form of birds have started returning, too. ¦

- Betsy Clayton is a freelancer based on Pine Island and also is Lee County Parks & Recreation's waterways coordinator. Contact her at boatingbybetsy@yahoo.com .

Bird Watching

>>Bird watching is no longer for the aficionados with binoculars, tripods, cameras and bird guides. Anyone can do it - especially in Florida during fall when sightings are plentiful and fun.

>>What: Great Florida Birding Trail guide booklets

>>Where: www.floridabirdingtrail.com

>>About it: four booklets covering 445 trail sites across the state, including dozens in this area

>>Cost: free

>>More help: "Birdwatching Basics" is a free, 12-page publication offered by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Association via the same Web site above. It's designed to get beginners started.