At 5 p.m. on Tuesday the County Commission will hold a public meeting at Eastside High School to vote on Plum Creek’s “Envision Alachua” plan. There will be presentations by county staff and by representatives of Plum Creek. There will be time for public comment. All of this may extend to a second meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday. The county’s Environmental Protection staff have produced a report that advises against Envision Alachua: “The Plum Creek proposal contains policies that would reduce protections and allow intense growth that is incompatible with this rural area of the County….Staff has analyzed the Envision Alachua Sector Plan application including the supporting data and analysis and, based on the results of that analysis, is making a recommendation to the County Commission that it deny the proposed amendment.” (You can see the full report at this link.) This may be the meeting that decides whether Gainesville continues as Gainesville or starts turning into Orlando, so come to the meeting if you can to support the county staff and to urge the County Commissioners to hold the line.
Spring is running late this year. I saw my first redbud blossoms last week, and a few maples in bloom along Waldo Road. Wild plums are just getting started. Virginia Peppergrass and Black Medick are only now beginning to bloom. Generally all of these are well along by mid- to late January. In fact last winter we saw a Red Maple in full bloom, attracting hundreds of honeybees, in mid-December! True, that was unusually early; but this year everything is unusually late.
Winter rarities are still around, but I wouldn’t wait much longer to see them. The most recent eBird reports for the Brown Creeper at Tuscawilla Prairie, the Black-chinned Hummingbird at the Ewings’ home, and the Vaux’s Swifts at UF’s Dauer Hall are all dated February 13th.
Our rare wintering warblers are gone, or simply being seen less often (maybe because no one’s looking for them any more): the most recently-reported Wilson’s Warbler was at La Chua on the 4th; the Worm-eating Warbler at UF was last reported on the 6th; the American Redstart at the Hague Dairy was last seen on the 7th; the one remaining Nashville Warbler was last reported at Chapmans Pond on the 8th. On the other hand, as of the 14th Adam Zions is still seeing one of the two Black-throated Green Warblers that wintered in his SW Gainesville neighborhood.
The two Purple / Gray-headed Swamphens are being seen semi-regularly at Sweetwater Wetlands Park, but not in their old spot. You have to walk out to the farthest point on the boardwalk, cross your fingers, and hold your mouth right. They were seen earlier this afternoon by Barbara Shea (who followed those instructions to the letter).
Speaking of colorful birds at SWP, a pair of Painted Buntings has been seen regularly around the gate down the slope from the restrooms, most recently by Jeffrey Graham on the 13th, “near a picnic table to the right on the paved path just after the gate.” Jeffrey included a couple of photos in his eBird checklist. Dick and Patty Bartlett, who live in an adjoining neighborhood, have had two females visiting their place recently.
Using a GoPro camera, Bubba Scales of Wild Birds Unlimited has posted some up-close-and-personal feeder videos that are both amusing and amazing. Check out all the orioles in Lloyd and Marie Davis’s back yard and the throngs of waxwings and goldfinches at Gene and Pam Stine’s place: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbOKxl32u5t9tkmHF6igPXQ
The Common Loon was still in the North Florida Regional Medical Center pond on the 10th, but I didn’t see it on the 12th. “Loonacy” will begin a month from today, when Andy Kratter starts tallying northbound loons during daily skywatches from Pine Grove Cemetery. Last year I wrote a Gainesville Sun blog post about Andy and his dog Newman conducting a loon watch: http://fieldguide.blogs.gainesville.com/62/loon-migration-over-gainesville/
And of course the Sandhill Cranes are leaving. Yesterday Adam Zions estimated 275 going north over SW Gainesville, Chip Deutsch counted 98 going north over NW Gainesville, and Donny Griffin saw a flock of 75 going north over the Osceola National Forest.
Once again Bob Carroll’s Third Thursday Retirees’ and General Layabouts’ Birding Group is sticking its thumb in the eye of the working man. Bob writes, “As promised, this month we will be visiting Circle B Bar Reserve in Lakeland. Many of you will remember the great time we had there last year. And recent reports from the Reserve have been very promising including four male Painted Buntings! My plan is to leave from the Target parking lot on Archer Road at 6:30 on Thursday morning, February 18. That should get us to the Reserve by 8:45. I’m going to take a different route this time to try to avoid some of the heaviest traffic, and I’ll have details for you on Thursday morning. Last year we ate lunch at Palace Pizza in downtown Lakeland. The food was terrific, but the parking was a nightmare. Well, there’s good news on that front. Palace Pizza has opened a second location that is fairly close to the Reserve. It has a very large parking lot because it’s part of a Publix shopping area. So that’s our lunch destination this time, and I am really looking forward to it. I thought their pizza was really delicious! Please let me know if you’re planning on going with us.” Bob can be reached at gatorbob23@yahoo.com
The Sierra Club is hiring a “grassroots organizer” for its water-quality campaign, and the position will be based in Gainesville. The job description reads: “Sierra Club seeks an Organizing Representative based in Gainesville, Florida to coordinate a broad, volunteer-based citizen education effort and build teams of activists on our campaign to promote clean water for Florida’s springs, rivers, lakes and estuaries. The ideal candidate has a strong background in recruiting and motivating people to build grassroots power and possesses strong coalition-building, media relations, advocacy, and communications skills. If you can engage volunteer committees, interact with stakeholders at all levels, and have a passion for Sierra Club’s mission to explore, enjoy, and protect the planet, take a look at the full job description and application information here: https://chm.tbe.taleo.net/chm01/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=SIERRACLUB&cws=1&rid=674&org=SIERRACLUB ”
Remember: Eastside High School, Tuesday, 5 p.m. Let the County Commissioners know that you like Alachua County the way it is.