Mike Manetz holds the record for the most bird species seen in Alachua County during a single calendar year. That record is 255, set in 2012 (to see the historical standings, go here and scroll down to “Big Year” under Alachua), and he is presently in the process of beating it. He went into mid-November with 249 species on his list. Then on the 14th Jonathan Mays found a Hairy Woodpecker on the Red Loop at Longleaf Flatwoods Reserve, and Mike relocated it on the 15th (#250). On the morning of the16th he went looking for two Black-bellied Plovers that Becky Enneis had photographed from the La Chua observation platform on the 11th, and though he didn’t see them he did find an American Avocet which he photographed (#251). He went back later that day, in hopes that the afternoon light would help him to see birds south of the platform, and it did: the plovers were #252. He went to Powers Park on the 17th and found 11 Red-breasted Mergansers (#253). And on the 19th he joined Bob Knight, Debbie Segal, and Jennifer Donsky on Bob’s boat at Lake Santa Fe and counted ten Horned Grebes (#254). Mike is currently out of town celebrating Thanksgiving with family, but with over a month to go he’s certain to set a new record. He hasn’t seen a Herring Gull yet, which is not too hard to find at Newnans Lake or Lake Lochloosa in winter, and that will tie the record. Anything else – Fox Sparrow, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Dark-eyed Junco, Snow Goose – will set a new one. I remember, back in the early 90s, Barbara Muschlitz wondering in the Audubon newsletter whether 200 species in a year was possible in Alachua County. Right now eBird’s Top 100 for Alachua County shows 12 birders with 200 or more (and Howard Adams at 199), so I think we’ve got an answer.
Speaking of competitions, Glenn Israel won Best Yard Of The Day on the 23rd, when a Red-breasted Nuthatch AND a Western Tanager showed up at his NW Gainesville home.
Lloyd Davis found a Western Kingbird along the La Chua Trail on the 21st. It’s been photographed several times since, generally between the boardwalk overlooking Alachua Sink and the water control structure just a little farther down the trail. Trina Anderson got a nice shot on the 23rd: https://www.flickr.com/photos/46902575@N06/31202421455/in/datetaken/
The two female Vermilion Flycatchers are still in the wetland under the powerlines west of Sparrow Alley. Lloyd Davis, who made the initial discovery on the 11th, saw both birds on the 23rd.
The American Avocet that Mike found on the 16th was still present on the 23rd. The Black-bellied Plovers were last reported on the 19th, when Andy Kratter saw three, but they might still be there.
Andy has been keeping tabs on the twin chimneys at UF’s Dauer Hall, where a flock of Vaux’s Swifts roosted last winter. On the 14th he saw one swift, which was silent, but he felt that its flight style was more like a Chimney’s than a Vaux’s: “lots of soaring, less frantic.” On the 17th he again saw a single swift, probably the same bird. But on the 21st he saw three: “They came in separately, the first at 5:14, the second at 5:25, and the last at 5:39 (nearly dark). I only got good looks at the second bird, which flew in erratic choppy flight like Vaux’s and had noticeably paler throat and rump. Didn’t hear a peep though.” So they may be returning. Tomorrow will be one year since Sam and Ben Ewing discovered the roost. Sam wrote at the time, ” Ben and I climbed to the top of the stadium this evening to watch the skyline for swifts. Around 5:15 the first swift showed up and flew all over the place for a while. It finally began circling between the stadium and Century Tower, and finally dropped down into a chimney. We could not see exactly where, so we hurried to the tip top of the stadium, and spotted eleven more swifts flying around. We watched them, and spotted them go down a chimney a few buildings over. We first figured out where it looked to be on a satellite map, and then biked over and confirmed the location – they are roosting in the double chimney at Dauer Hall, right next to Pugh Hall.” A year later I’m still impressed at that.
The Halifax River Audubon Society has produced a 30-page coloring book of the birds of Cuba as a fundraiser to help Cuba’s school children: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4E7iNkfaDyUMC1wX1ZkaUxWM3gwTzYtZUlHdGpmZXlaMzRZ/view?usp=sharing
Remember the Alachua Audubon holiday social on December 2nd! Details in the second paragraph here: https://alachuaaudubon.org/2016/11/11/black-bellied-plovers-and-vermilion-flycatcher-at-la-chua/ I donated a laundry basket full of bird books, including some good ones.
Happy Thanksgiving to all! Birds are my life, and right now my favorite bird is roasting in the oven!