From: Rex Rowan <rexrowan@gmail.com>
To: Alachua County birding report
The next issue of The Crane (the Alachua Audubon Society newsletter) should arrive in your mailbox in the next couple of days. It will contain two inserts. One is the complete 2015-16 field trip schedule, suitable for pinning to a bulletin board or hanging on a refrigerator with a magnet. The other is a set of four pre-stamped postcards, one each for Governor Scott, Representative Perry, Representative Watson, and Senator Bradley, telling them that we’re against leasing out Paynes Prairie for cattle grazing, forestry, or hunting. Please separate these postcards at the perforations, put your name and address on each one, and drop them in a mailbox.
Andy Kratter found the first Cerulean Warbler of the season at the Bolen Bluff Trail today, “in sweetgums 100 yards from parking lot, in feeding flock with Prothonotary Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Prairie Warbler, etc.” Andy had ten warbler species overall this morning. In addition to the Cerulean he saw 5 American Redstarts, a Worm-eating Warbler, an Ovenbird, 2 Northern Waterthrushes, 8 Yellow Warblers, and 3 Prairies.
Debbie Segal, Trina Anderson, and Rob Norton also accumulated ten warbler species at Owens-Illinois Park and the surrounding area this morning, “along the floodplain and upland fringe (after walking through the Owens Illinois Park) on the south side of the Windsor boat ramp. In just 1.5 hours, we saw 10 warbler species, which included Worm-eating, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Hooded, Prairie, Prothonotary, American Redstart, Black-and-white, Yellow-throated, and Northern Parula. We also spotted at least one Black Tern from the lake shore at the Windsor boat ramp and several more unidentifiable terns across the lake.”
Earlier in the morning, Debbie Segal saw the fall’s first Blue-winged Warbler at her place north of the Hague dairy.
Felicia Lee and Elizabeth Martin found a Kentucky Warbler at Bolen Bluff on the 22nd, “on the south branch of the trail near the first pond/puddle on the right.” On the day after, Felicia also found the season’s first Black-throated Blue Warbler at Palm Point; “in the same tree were a Prairie Warbler, a female/juv. American Redstart, a Northern Parula, and a Black-and-white Warbler, along with about a dozen local birds.”
Greg Hart of Alachua and Ron Robinson of western Gainesville have both reported Rufous Hummingbirds at their feeders since the 23rd, though Ron’s came and went in a day.
Remember to mail those postcards!