Category: Birding Reports

From: Rex Rowan <rexrowan@gmail.com>
To: Alachua County birding report

Bob Carroll says the male Black Scoter was in view from Owens-Illinois Park (AKA the Windsor boat ramp) at 11:00 this morning. Yesterday afternoon there were nine, eight females and a male. Eight of the birds were at the far northern end of the lake, one a little closer. John Hintermister also saw a Red-breasted Merganser out there yesterday.

The Vaux’s Swifts are still being seen at Dauer Hall. Murray Gardler got a great photo of six swifts descending into one of the chimneys on the 2nd. And on the 1st Jonathan Mays got video of three going down the chimney like little gray Santa Clauses while eight more sped past in the background.

On the morning of the 2nd Mike Manetz and Matt O’Sullivan went in search of the Dickcissel and Yellow-headed Blackbird seen at the Hague Dairy on the 28th. They didn’t see either – no one has, since the 28th – but they did find an Ash-throated Flycatcher, which Matt photographed: https://www.flickr.com/photos/118053703@N02/23505222965/in/dateposted/ As you enter the dairy property from County Road 237, the first pond you come to, just past the concrete feeding troughs on the right, is so heavily vegetated around the edges that you can’t actually see the pond. That’s where they found the flycatcher.

The Purple/Gray-headed Swamphen was in its usual place on the 3rd. It’s the best kind of bird, one that always stays in the same place and stands right out in the open so that birders can see it. On the 30th Dotty Robbins and Emily Schwartz went to see the swamphen and found something even better: “Right before we got to the water control structure, a small dark bird flew from the near edge of vegetation across the open water into the thick veg and disappeared. It flew about 20 feet. It was around noon, and the light was glarey. The bird appeared dark, rail-shaped, like a Sora but smaller. What I noticed most was the very clearly defined white patches on the trailing edge of the secondaries. I immediately thought Yellow Rail. But the bird appeared almost black–maybe a result of the light. Does any other rail-like bird show that white patch on the secondaries? If not, this was a Yellow Rail. To be clear about the location, we started our walk by heading to the right, so we were approaching the water structure from the west.” This is only the ninth or tenth report of Yellow Rail in Alachua County.

Carol Foil writes to announce the first Putnam County Christmas Bird Count: “Joyce King and I have got together with the State Park people and decided that Putnam County needs a CBC! We are just aiming to do an unofficial test run this year. We have chosen Sunday, January 3 for our date. The center of the circle will be in Satsuma. The circle will encompass the new jewel soon-to-open Dunn’s Creek State Park, Ravine Gardens State Park including their riparian bottom lands, Welaka State Forest, lower Ocklawaha R, middle St John’s River from Little Lake George to East Palatka, Dunn’s Creek, top of Crescent Lake, Rodhever Boys Ranch, Caravel, Rodman Lock and Dam. We will have at least one boat party. Should be fun, but we need at least 7 teams to cover all this. We plan to partner birders with Park and Forest Rangers and local naturalists who know the trails. We wonder if you could post a ‘save the date’ to Alachua Audubon and tell anyone who is intrigued to email us at Cbcputnam@gmail.com .”

Other local Christmas Counts planned for this month include Melrose on the 17th, Gainesville on the 20th, Ichetucknee/Santa Fe/O’Leno on the 22nd, Cedar Key on the 30th, and Lake City on January 2nd.

Remember the Alachua Audubon Society’s 9th Annual Holiday Social and Silent Auction is tonight from 6:30 to 9:00 at the Mill Pond Clubhouse, 240 NW 48th Blvd.

Santa Fe Audubon in Melrose is starting its own tradition this year with a Conservation Celebration and Silent Auction on December 8th. It’s going to be quite a do, with a chili and cornbread dinner, live music, and a program called “John J. Audubon Speaks” with Michael Adams portraying the great American wildlife painter. It will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church’s parish hall between 6:00 and 9:00 p.m. Everyone is invited. For more information contact Joyce King at sjoyceking@comcast.net . Visit Santa Fe Audubon’s web site here: http://www.santafeaudubon.org/pages/activitiesAll.aspx

From: Rex Rowan <rexrowan@gmail.com>
To: Alachua County birding report

Reported just now by Matt O’Sullivan!

Third county record and a county lifer for me, if I get there in time!

That is all!

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!

From: Rex Rowan <rexrowan@gmail.com>
To: Alachua County birding report

John Hintermister found a Yellow-headed Blackbird at the Hague Dairy at about lunchtime today. That’s the third of the fall.

There’s a scene in “True Grit” where Rooster Cogburn, impressed with the persistence and daring of Mattie Ross, declares, “She reminds me of me!” I’d like to say that about Sam and Ben Ewing, but I was never half as intrepid as they are. Sam wrote on the 25th, “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. All twelve seemed to go into the same chimney, the first going in probably shortly after 5:20, and the rest going in around 5:30 or shortly after. I don’t know if we will make it out there tomorrow night or not, but staking out directly below the chimney should yield a positive identification.” Sam and Ben and Matt O’Sullivan went back to Dauer Hall the next evening: “We saw a minimum of fourteen swifts enter the chimney between 5:30 and 5:40, but unfortunately they were all silent. After they all went in, individual birds kept flying out one at a time, circling, and then going back in. The last one did that at about 5:54. I guess we will just have to continue staking the location out, and hope for vocalizations.”

The Gray-headed Swamphen was seen daily from the 19th through the 22nd and then disappeared, but luckily it was just taking a little break. It was seen yesterday and today in the same spot where it was found, at the water control structure on the far (south) side of Cell 1. Unfortunately the Fulvous Whistling-Duck hasn’t been seen since the 22nd, when Pete Hosner photographed it: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25948405

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!

From: Rex Rowan <rexrowan@gmail.com>
To: Alachua County birding report

Andy Kratter just called to tell me that he’d spotted Alachua County’s first-ever Purple Swamphen in Cell 1 at Sweetwater Wetlands Park. Cell 1 is the cell with the boardwalk in it. From the parking lot, come straight out the walkway to Cell 1 and turn right. Andy saw the bird a hundred yards or so past the first shelter you’ll pass. He said it flew out to the middle of the cell, so it might be worthwhile to explore the boardwalk as well. The Purple Swamphen, more correctly known as the Grey-headed Swamphen, is found across southern Asia from the Middle East to Thailand. The Florida population originated with avicultural escapes in Broward County, Florida, and resisted pretty energetic efforts by FWC to exterminate them. They’re now thoroughly established in the state. Can you count it on your ABA list? Why yes you can. (In fact, I’d better get down there right now! If Mike Manetz sees this bird before I do, he’ll relegate me to third place in the Alachua County life list standings!)

No photos were taken this morning – so far – but here’s a photo from the internet to show you what Grey-headed Swamphens look like. Something like a Purple Gallinule with a parrot bill: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z_HfoEELQbU/Vc3kX2JujPI/AAAAAAAAVgI/3Eex28MaTI4/s1600/Grey-headed_Swamphen.jpg

In other SWP news, the Fulvous Whistling-Duck was seen again yesterday. Mike Manetz reported, “The Fulvous was present in open water at first light, but flew into the marsh across from the end of the boardwalk at about 7:20. It reappeared for the Alachua Audubon group at about 10:00 and remained in view sitting on a small hummock for about 15 minutes, and then flew back into the marsh.” Here’s Danny Shehee’s photo from the 17th: https://www.flickr.com/photos/74215662@N04/22520194634/in/dateposted-public/

From: Rex Rowan <rexrowan@gmail.com>
To: Alachua County birding report

Harrison Jones, a grad student who’s studying winter feeding flocks, sends out this invitation to anyone who likes birds and/or beer: “The graduate student organization in the Department of Wildlife Ecology & Conservation is organizing an outreach event with First Magnitude Brewing. We will have around twenty students presenting their research in a poster-presentation style format, but without the jargon and the statistics of a formal scientific presentation. I realize that it is late notice, but we would be delighted if Alachua Audubon could join us this Wednesday, November 18th, from 6-8:30 PM at First Magnitude Brewing Company for the event. I know that there will be several bird-related presentations, including one from yours truly, if that might sway some members to attend. More broadly, there will be an interesting sampling of research projects on a range of topics both local and abroad.” See you there!

Bob Carroll writes that The Third Thursday Birding Society will be Rubbing The Nose Of The Working Man In It one day late this week: “Due to the expected rain we’re meeting on FRIDAY (not Thursday) at 8:30 AM in the parking lot at Sweetwater Wetlands Park. The address is 325 SW Williston Rd. in Gainesville. If you use Google Maps, you can search for “Sweetwater Wetlands Park, SW Williston Rd” and it will give you the exact location. Lunch will be at La Pasadita on NW 6th Street in Gainesville. Please let me know if you plan to join us.” You can RSVP to Bob at gatorbob23@yahoo.com

One of the earliest Golden-crowned Kinglets ever recorded in the county was seen at Longleaf Flatwoods Reserve on the 31st. Debbie Segal wrote, “I found a single Golden-crowned Kinglet at Longleaf Flatwoods this morning. We parked at a gate that is about 1/4 mile north of the main entrance of Longleaf Flatwoods on the west side of CR 325 (the same side of the road as LL Flatwoods). We walked through the gap next to the gate, and immediately inside the property on the north (right) side of the mowed dirt road, we heard a lot of bird sounds coming from the brush. I thought I recognized one of the calls as a GCKI so I played its call. One emerged from the brush immediately. I quickly turned off the tape and waited for Felicia Lee to arrive. The kinglet continued to call during that time. When Felicia arrived, I played the tape again, and the kinglet emerged from the brush again and stayed in the open for a few minutes. Dave Peppar took the attached photo of the bird.” Here’s Dave’s excellent photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/74215662@N04/22455309963/in/dateposted-public/

Like most birds, Red-winged Blackbirds grow a new set of feathers in the fall, to replace those worn out by the exertions of nesting season. In males, this fresh plumage is especially beautiful. Jet-black feathers are tipped with reddish-brown, and you get a bird that looks something like this: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gRr-4-_gIpE/UPnFPc8acwI/AAAAAAAAEdg/LH-v2jc8UoU/s1600/IMG_7985.JPG I saw several Red-wings in that plumage at Magnolia Parke this morning while searching unsuccessfully for early Rusty Blackbirds.

I saw several American Robins there too. My first robins of the fall flew over during the Hague Dairy field trip on November 7th, but on the morning of the 14th someone opened the floodgates. Flights of robins went over all morning, most appearing to move east. The day before, Bob Duncan had written from Pensacola, “This morning until about 9:30 a.m. there was a huge movement of Red-winged BBs, Robins, Yellow-rumps, Goldfinches, Waxwings and other assorted winter visitors over Gulf Breeze. Thousands of birds passed over from about 7 a.m. to about 9:30 a.m. Everywhere you put your binos on the sky, from near treetop level to birds only visible in binos, there were large flocks of birds. Truly one of the heaviest movements in a long time. Few put down to feed, most continued back to the mainland, having apparently overshot during the night.”

More winter birds: Ben Ewing saw the season’s first Hooded Mergansers, four of them, on the UF campus on the 10th. The main arrival of American Goldfinches began on the 11th (four observers, three locations) and they’re now being seen all over the county in small numbers, mainly as flyovers.

I was finally able, after two weeks without internet, to put up a blog post about the Chimney Swifts at the Seagle Building on October 27th. It’s worth your time, if only for the amazing videos of thousands of swifts: http://fieldguide.blogs.gainesville.com/631/a-sky-full-of-birds/ At Gina Kent’s suggestion, I sent these videos to Paul and Georgeanne Kyle at the Chimney Swift Conservation Society, who replied, “This is spectacular. We are unaware of any other roosts of this size so far south and so late in the season. We forwarded this to all of the participants of a major Chimney Swift forum in North Carolina a few weeks ago. Thanks so much for sharing!” Since the blog post went up, Sam Ewing has reported even more Chimney Swifts – three on the 15th, the latest free-flying swifts ever recorded in the county.

Bubba Scales reports that he saw a flock of 15 Sandhill Cranes flying south over NW Gainesville at midday on the 16th. This is a little early for migratory cranes to arrive, but only a little.

Remember First Magnitude on Wednesday, and Third “Thursday” on Friday!

From: Rex Rowan <rexrowan@gmail.com>
To: Alachua County birding report

(After nearly two weeks without home internet access, AT&T got us back online yesterday afternoon. So … Hi! I’ve missed you!)

We’re in the midst of a large southward movement of Franklin’s Gulls along the Atlantic Coast. Most of those sighted in Florida have been on the beaches, but a few have been photographed in the St. Johns River as far south as Green Cove Springs. On the morning of the 15th Andy Kratter saw three gulls over Newnans Lake, but the morning glare was too strong for identification. Several of us convened at Palm Point that afternoon in hopes of relocating these birds, but we had no luck. We saw up to 25 Ring-billed Gulls, but none of them could have been mistaken for a Franklin’s Gull. Today around lunchtime Peter Polshek and I were back, but we had no better luck: a few Ring-billed Gulls, a few Forster’s Terns, some scaup and Buffleheads, one Dunlin, and one breeding-plumage Common Loon. Over the years we’ve had six occurrences of Franklin’s Gull in Alachua County, all of them at Newnans Lake. Three have been in May-June (here’s one), the others in late November and December (29 Nov 1998, 18-19 Nov 2000, and 17-19 Dec 2006), so keep an eye out when you’re birding around one of the big lakes during the next month. You can read more about this season’s “Franklin’s Gull Fallout” here: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/frgu2015/

There have been two good birds at the Hague Dairy for a couple of weeks. Alachua Audubon looked through the few cowbirds present during its field trip there on the 7th, but missed the Bronzed Cowbird found on the 30th by Steven Goodman and still present on the 13th, when Steven relocated it and also found a Western Kingbird! Both birds are still present today. Three of Lloyd Davis’s photos of the Western Kingbird, taken this morning, are here. A photo of the Bronzed Cowbird taken on the 14th by Matt O’Sullivan is here, while one taken on the same date by John Martin is here (look just left of the starling).

There are still a few Summer Tanagers hanging around, though at this stage it’s anybody’s guess whether they’re late migrants or wintering birds. Sam Ewing heard one calling in his NW Gainesville neighborhood on the 12th and 13th but not since then, so it may have been a late migrant. Adam and Gina Kent, who hosted four Summer Tanagers a couple of winters ago, have had at least one visiting their place in SE Gainesville since the 1st, and this morning they saw three, which are likely to be wintering birds.

It’s an interesting time of year. There’s a Mountain Bluebird at Big Cypress National Preserve in South Florida. If a bird like that can turn up in Florida, almost anything can. There are all kinds of strays, vagrants, and wanderers out there, many, many more than we know about. Get out there and see what you find.

From: Rex Rowan <rexrowan@gmail.com>
To: Alachua County birding report

If you’re going on the Cones Dike trip this Sunday, remember that you have to register by calling Wild Birds Unlimited at 352-381-1997: https://alachuaaudubon.org/event/camps-canal-cones-dike-trail/?instance_id=433

Adam Kent was startled to see a Magnificent Frigatebird fly over his office on the morning of the 28th. This is the latest – by over a month! – of the 15 occurrences in the county’s history. There have been numerous sightings all along the Gulf Coast during the past few days.

Tom Neal happened across a Lawrence’s Warbler (Blue-winged x Golden-winged hybrid) in his NW Gainesville neighborhood on the 24th. It’s only the sixth in the county’s history, and by far the latest, all the others having occurred between August 31st and September 29th.

But not all our birds are setting late records. A rather early Winter Wren was discovered at O’Leno State Park on the 21st by John Hintermister and Phil Laipis. Cross the hanging bridge over the Santa Fe River, turn right, and follow the trail to some fallen timber near a wet cypressy area. Try to minimize your disturbance of both the bird and the area. Here’s Phil’s photo of the bird: https://www.flickr.com/photos/74215662@N04/22547816062/in/dateposted-public/

I think of November as the month when the sparrows arrive in Gainesville, and I think that’s generally true, but this year most of our normal wintering species have already been reported. Here’s the list, in chronological order: Savannah Sparrow at Sweetwater Wetlands Park on the 2nd (Geoff Parks), Swamp at La Chua on the 10th (Lloyd Davis), Lincoln’s at Cones Dike on the 11th (Frank Goodwin), Chipping at Ron Robinson’s on the 15th (Ron, of course), White-crowned at Cones Dike on the 17th (Matt Bruce), Vesper at the Hague Dairy on the 21st (Dean and Sam Ewing; Sam posted a photo in his eBird checklist), Song at Sweetwater Wetlands Park on the 23rd (Danny Rohan), Grasshopper Sparrow at Watermelon Pond Wildlife and Environmental Area on the 23rd (me). Still to come: Field, White-throated, Henslow’s, Le Conte’s, Fox, and maybe Dark-eyed Junco.

Likewise the ducks are arriving early. I don’t know if it has something to do with the weather or if it’s just easier to find them now that Sweetwater Wetlands Park is open – certainly SWP is where they’ve all been seen. Jonathan Mays saw 3 Ruddy Ducks, a Green-winged Teal, and a Ring-necked Duck there on the 20th, and Pete Hosner saw an early Northern Pintail there on the 24th.

Speaking of Sweetwater Wetlands Park, next week the Alachua Audubon Society and City of Gainesville will begin weekly walks around the park. Show up any Wednesday morning at 8:30 a.m. and you’ll find a field trip waiting for you.

It looks like there’s a new attack on Florida’s State Parks. Senator Charlie Dean has filed Senate Bill 2016570, proposing “a state park entrance fee holiday” during the entirety of 2016, which means free admission. Retired State Parks chief Jim Stevenson explains, “Senate bill 570 will prohibit the Florida Park Service from charging an entrance fee at state parks so as to increase visitation. It ignores the fact that some parks are at their ecological carrying capacity in addition to parking lots and septic tanks at capacity. The DEP secretary wants logging, cattle grazing and hunting to enable state parks to be self-sufficient. Yet Senator Dean wants to eliminate 36% of the state parks revenue through this legislation. Perhaps the strategy is to reduce revenue, and overuse the parks to justify timbering, grazing and hunting to replace the lost revenue. This will also justify privatizing the run-down parks.” You can read the bill here and contact Charlie Dean at the previous link.

From: Rex Rowan <rexrowan@gmail.com>
To: Alachua County birding report

Our fall migration seems to have materialized at long last. On the 14th Ron Robinson wrote, “Wow! I finally have some birds over here. This morning is the best I’ve seen here in some time. Veeries, Catbirds, Scarlet Tanagers, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Bay-breasted Warblers (2), Chestnut-sided, Redstarts, Parulas, Black-and-whites. Plus the regulars were moving. It was like a mini fallout.” Debbie Segal reported something similar at her place north of Gainesville.

Matt O’Sullivan had found a Bay-breasted Warbler at Bolen Bluff on the 13th: https://www.flickr.com/photos/118053703@N02/21529623303/ He went back on the 15th and found something that’s even less common in fall, a Blackpoll Warbler: https://www.flickr.com/photos/118053703@N02/21583374233/

The Third Thursday birding group walked the Lake Trail on the 15th, starting at the Lake Wauberg parking lot, following the Lake Trail to the paved driveway, and then walking back along the driveway. Our best birds were a Bay-breasted, pointed out by Rob Norton, and a Black-throated Green, found by Ron Robinson; the two birds were within twenty feet of each other. We also saw Magnolia, Tennessee, Blackburnian, and Chestnut-sided Warblers (a dozen warbler species overall), Wood Thrush, Swainson’s Thrush, Veery, and Scarlet Tanager. Becky Enneis and Linda Holt got there late, so just birded around Lake Wauberg, and they saw “three or four” Brown Pelicans, which had departed by the time the rest of us got back to the parking lot.

John Killian reported a probable Philadelphia Vireo on the 16th: “I was on Sparrow Alley off of La Chua Trail this morning and I found a vireo. It was most definitely not a White-eyed Vireo. I started thinking it might be a Red-eyed Vireo. However, it had a fairly bright yellow throat and/or upper breast and a faint yellow wash on its flanks. I did not get a look at the vent. The facial pattern seemed close to a Red-eyed Vireo. No picture. Chance of a Philadelphia Vireo?” I’d say so. In fact I’m going to drive over there and look for it.

On the 14th City of Gainesville park ranger Danny Rohan found a Great White Heron at Sweetwater Wetlands Park. Lloyd Davis got a photo on the 15th (the bird was still there on the 16th): https://www.flickr.com/photos/74215662@N04/22037949859/in/dateposted-public/

I went to Northeast Park at lunchtime on the 16th to look at the trees behind the tennis courts and found what appeared to be a Least Flycatcher. It never vocalized, but it was a short-winged Empidonax flycatching in open areas within a few feet of the ground. Lots of Pine Warblers were feeding on the ground in the same general vicinity.

Remember we’ve got field trips this weekend, San Felasco Hammock (Progress Center entrance) with Adam Kent on Saturday, and O’Leno State Park with me on Sunday. And don’t forget Bob Wallace’s photo presentation on the Birds of Oaxaca, Mexico, on Wednesday evening.