From: Rex Rowan <rexrowan@gmail.com>
To: Alachua County birding report
Cole Fredericks of Winter Haven saw both the Purple Swamphen (“Gray-headed Swamphen” in eBird) and the Fulvous Whistling-Duck on the 29th. Can’t guarantee that we’ll see them on this week’s Wednesday Wetlands Walk, but we’ll look. The walk starts at 8:30 a.m. Admission to the park is $5 per vehicle. Here’s a nice picture of the swamphen by Jerry Pruitt: https://www.flickr.com/photos/74215662@N04/23268690302/in/dateposted-public/
The Hague Dairy was hopping on the 28th. Andy Kratter kicked things off when he heard the call note of a Dickcissel: “It was initially in the parking area, but Adam Zions saw it along the entrance drive after I left. It was hanging out with Chipping Sparrows and Palm Warblers [near the concrete cattle troughs a hundred yards in from County Road 237]. I also found a Pine Siskin and a Northern Parula. Adam found the Yellow-headed Blackbird after I left.” I tried to relocate those birds on the 29th with Jacksonville’s Kevin Dailey and two friends, but we failed to find anything but the Northern Parula. We did see one or two Blue Grosbeaks, plus a Western Kingbird, by the concrete troughs. The kingbird may be the same one recorded at the dairy several times between the 13th and the 19th. Kevin’s eBird checklist contains a photo: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26046891
(In case you didn’t know, Hague was named for the community’s first postmaster, Archelaus Hague. They don’t make postmasters like that anymore!)
Vaux’s Swift update: At about 5:00 p.m. on the 27th I sat down on a little wall in front of Pugh Hall that gave me a good view of the Dauer Hall chimneys. At 5:34 a flock of fourteen swifts appeared flying south over the roof of Dauer. They circled for a couple of minutes, and then eleven fluttered down into the right chimney, one by one in quick succession, at 5:36. The other three went out of sight then reappeared and went into the left chimney at 5:38. So it was only four minutes between appearance and disappearance. I thought I heard a moment’s vocalization, which agreed with Vaux’s but not Chimney. The wings struck me as shorter than Chimney’s, the wing beats more rapid, which are also traits of Vaux’s Swift.
At least one Nashville Warbler was at Chapmans Pond every day from the 21st through the 27th, with two individuals seen periodically between the 22nd and the 25th. The birds may still be there. Look for them in the brush and small trees growing along the fence at the west end of Chapmans Pond (under the power lines). A male Vermilion Flycatcher was reported there on the 24th by Ocala’s Doug Richard, so keep your eyes open.
Cedar Waxwings are a little early this winter. Geoff Parks had the season’s first, a single bird in a flock of robins, on the 11th, and waxwing flocks have been reported here and there around Gainesville during the past week – mostly small groups of 10-25 birds, but Debbie Segal reported a flock of 80 at Barr Hammock’s Levy Loop Trail on the 27th.
It used to be that winter kingbird roosts were a South Florida thing – Lake Okeechobee and points south – but over the past couple of decades they’ve been creeping northward. Now a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher and up to 7 Western Kingbirds have been wintering in Ocala since early November, the Scissor-tailed and two Westerns at the Ocala Regional Sportsplex and along the adjoining stretch of SW 38th Street, and up to five Westerns at the Big Sun Soccer Complex (both locations are easily Googled). Here’s an eBird checklist from Dorothy Dunlap, featuring photos of the Scissor-tailed and two Westerns: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26042913
Alachua Audubon’s 9th Annual Holiday Social and Silent Auction is coming up this Friday, December 4th, from 6:30 to 9:00 pm at the Mill Pond Clubhouse at 240 NW 48th Blvd. Celebrate conservation, birds, and the holidays with the Alachua Audubon Society! This festive event will include hors d’oeuvres, beverages, and a silent auction—one of our important annual fund raising events. The holiday party will be held at the Mill Pond Clubhouse. Directions: From Newberry Road, turn south on NW 48th Blvd (across from Gainesville Health and Fitness Center). Drive south about 2 blocks. Look for tennis courts on the right. The Clubhouse is next to the tennis courts on the right. Look for our Alachua Audubon signs! We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming Holiday Social!