A great blue heron is easy to recognize for its gold-colored beak, yellow circle around the eye and 4-foot wingspan.
Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
This red shouldered hawk takes advantage
of a tall snag to announce his desire to mate.
Sandy Komito is easy to spot with his notepad, binoculars, camera and wide-brim hat.
By Rich Pollack
Sandy Komito has been standing at the entrance to the Green Cay Nature Center and Wetlands for maybe 20 minutes and already he has seen 13 different species of birds.
Each time, he extracts a small notebook from his pocket and jots down the name of the bird. Before this day is over, Komito will see close to 45 different species, and today is not even one his best days. Just a day or two earlier he had seen more than 50 different kinds of birds.
Komito, who has been writing down the names of the birds he spies for almost 75 years, is not your garden-variety bird watcher. He is at the extreme end of the spectrum, having traveled all over the globe.
His 1998 escapades, in which he set a long-standing record of seeing 748 species in North America, were captured in the book The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession, written by Mark Obmascik, which was later made into a film. Komito was portrayed in the movie by actor Owen Wilson.
But Komito, who makes his home in Boynton Beach, will tell you there’s no need to travel all over the world to catch a glimpse of a wide array of bird species. In fact, if you live in South Florida, you can probably catch several hundred species right in your own backyard.
“There have been more than 500 birds seen here in Florida,” says Komito, noting that only California and Texas have more. “Florida has a couple of dozen birds you won’t find anywhere else.”
Over the years he has seen more than 180 species at Green Cay alone, ranging from reclusive limpkins and sora rails to common gallinules, blue jays and cardinals.
Other local spots that Komito says are good for either a bird walk or for a serious bird watching trip are the Wakodahatchee wetlands on Jog Road, just north of Lake Ida Road; the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge on U.S. 441 in Boynton Beach; Spanish River Park in Boca Raton; and even the Boynton Inlet.
“Every spot is different because you have different birds there,” he says.
The markings allow this Wilson’s snipe to blend
into the vegetation upon which it rests until it chases after a meal.
An obsessive note-taker, Komito averages about 50 species in a morning walk at Green Cay.
This four-day total was added to his spreadsheet that records years of observations.
For Komito, who is driven by an intense curiosity, there’s always something new to see on each trip. “I get surprises every time I come out,” he says. “It’s like panning for gold.”
On this day, one of the nuggets Komito found as he walked the boardwalk was a chance to see a Wilson’s snipe, a fairly uncommon visitor to Green Cay, which are well camouflaged and tricky to see without a little help.
Those surprises may be what drive people who enjoy bird watching, but Komito says even novices and others who aren’t as passionate about finding something they’ve never seen before can enjoy a bird walk — which he describes as simply a walk where you can see the natural world around you.
“When I take you on a bird walk all I want to do is introduce you to a new world you might not be familiar with,” Komito says. “There’s another world aside from the world you get with your TV remote. This is a world of sight and a world of sound.”
Should you decide to go for a bird walk, Komito has a few suggestions for the best ways to enjoy it.
• Plan your bird walk for mornings because that’s when birds are the most active.
• Go on a field trip with someone familiar with the birds in the area. The Green Cay Nature Center and Wetlands offers guided bird walks.
• Bring a bird book with you. Even experienced birders carry a book with them. Komito’s favorite is the National Geographic Field Guide to Birds of North America.
• Bring a note pad to record what you saw.
• Keep your eyes — and ears — open.
• Come with the right mindset. Come curious and ready to learn.
In addition to the scientific allure of birding, Komito also points out the social aspect. On this day, he stops many times to talk to people he has seen at Green Cay and other local spots on a regular basis. He is also stopped by others who ask questions or just want to share stories.
But even so, he’ll still stop in the middle of a conversation when he hears a bird call. Then out comes the notebook so he can record another bird he’s seen right here in his own back yard.
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