From: Rex Rowan <rexrowan@gmail.com>
To: Alachua County birding report
On the evening of November 22nd Sam Ewing emailed, “I am almost sure I just saw some Vaux’s Swifts over NW 8th Avenue. There were at least a dozen swifts flying around overhead, disappearing and reappearing, so it was hard to know how many. I heard some odd calls (almost bat-like) and both times it seemed to be the swifts. After listening to the calls of Vaux’s Swifts at home, I am nearly certain that at least one or two of the swifts, possibly all, were Vaux’s. Again, I could be wrong, but it is worth checking into, I think. I will probably go back tomorrow evening. They seem to sort of congregate over 8th Avenue, but there is so much traffic noise that hearing them is difficult when they do vocalize. 8th Avenue does give you the best view of the sky though, so it is hard to know where the best place to go would be.”
On the 23rd Mike Manetz and I joined Sam and his brother Ben to watch for swifts on 8th Avenue near the boardwalk a quarter mile west of the hill (or two-thirds of a mile east of 34th Street). We saw only one – it came and went quickly and did not vocalize – but it would be worth keeping an eye on the sky from about 4:30 or 5:00 onward, especially if you live in the vicinity of Loblolly Woods or the UF campus. Chimney Swifts have often roosted at J.J. Finley, which isn’t too far away from where we were standing; I wonder if these swifts could be headquartered there.
If these are Vaux’s Swifts – “Vaux’s” rhymes with “foxes,” by the way, it’s not pronounced “voze” – then this is the ninth winter during which they’ve been seen in Alachua County. They were first reported here in December 1982, were almost annual from 1992-97, and were last seen ten winters ago. When they show up, they sometimes stick around for weeks or even months (for instance, late December to mid-March in 1995-96).
The Nashville Warblers – and yes, that was a plural, there are two of them – are still at Chapmans Pond as of this morning. Matt O’Sullivan’s checklist offers a nice photo (click on it for an enlargement): http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25953572
I notice that Franklin’s Gulls are still being seen along both coasts of Florida. With the passage of that cold front this past weekend, a Franklin’s might show up on any of the big lakes around here.
On the morning of the 23rd Ron Robinson saw Common Loons flying over his house west of Gainesville. Six birds passed overhead, going northeast to southwest, between 8:18 and 8:32. We often see spring-migrant loons going in the opposite direction at that time of the morning in March and April. I wonder if fall flights are as regular and predictable as spring flights.
Sandhill Cranes are arriving. David and Kim Stringer saw a flock of 150 land at the edge of Paynes Prairie on the 22nd. Sadly for us, more and more migrant Sandhills are wintering farther north, as explained in this blog post from last March: http://fieldguide.blogs.gainesville.com/19/bye-bye-birdies/
I still had two Indigo Buntings coming to my NE Gainesville feeder as late as the 23rd.
The Home Depot Pond has been fairly low recently. Three weeks ago (October 30th) I counted the birds there – as well as my limited time would permit, anyway – and came up with 7 Muscovy Ducks (others no doubt hidden in the shoreline vegetation and in the Home Depot parking lot), 3 Blue-winged Teal, 2 Pied-billed Grebes, 3 Snowy Egrets, 55 Little Blue Herons (24 adults, 31 all-white juveniles), 2 Tricolored Herons, 80 White Ibis, 5 Glossy Ibis, 2 American Coots, 14+ Killdeer, 17 Greater Yellowlegs, 7 Lesser Yellowlegs, 1 Least Sandpiper, and 10+ Wilson’s Snipe. Who knows what might be there now?
Mike Manetz reports that River Rise Preserve State Park has a new entrance policy: “The outer gate by the road is open. You drive in a quarter mile to an open parking area and pay station – 5 bucks per car (or free with the annual pass). Driving down to the Rise will not be an option, with this exception: until the first of January you can drive down to the Rise for an additional two bucks. After the January 1 you will have to walk in from the parking area.”
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