Garrison's Photos

Garrison Shindelbower, LCCC student and new Audubon member, has sent us some terrific photos of a merlin at Alligator Lake.


Garrison says,

Check out this merlin. And her breakfast. Poor mouse, oh well, that's the food chain

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Backyard Bird Count

Count For Fun, Count For the Future!

This February 15-18th bird watchers all across North America will be participating in the 11th annual Great Backyard Bird Count- what about you?

This popular hobby and can be done from your yard, a city park, nature center, even your fire escape. Best of all, your actions truly make a difference as your count is included with thousands of others, helping science and conservation spotlight changes in bird populations and distribution from year to year. (from Audubon's Great Backyard Bird Count Site)

Beginner Bird Walk March 8th

Audubon member George Baldwin invites you to a Bird Walk for Beginners at O'Leno Park.
Participants should meet him in the parking lot at O'Leno Park at 8:30 a.m. Remember there is a $4 entry fee to enter the park.

Email georgebaldwin@earthlink.net for details.

Virlyn and Jerry Lead Bird Walks at Alligator Lake

Jerry and the South Dike Birders

Hi folks

Four Rivers Audubon had a successful outing at Alligator Lake yesterday morning and the birds were cooperative. We split up into two groups with Jerry Krummrich leading one to the south dike and the rest of us heading to the north dike. I haven't talked to Jerry but our group had plenty to keep us busy.

At Ponderosa Pond we had palm warblers, loggerhead shrike and a pair of kestrels that entertained us for a long time with their aerial feats. One lit on a post and gave us a good look, almost posing for the scope. He then made a pass at one of the palm warblers, but I believe he missed. Activity was constant and we only made it to the bridge before it was time to return for brunch. We saw plenty of phoebes and catbirds. A couple of harriers were swooping over the marsh and the dog fennels hid a lot of small birds, mostly palm warblers. There was an indigo bunting and a warbler which I got a good look at and after getting home and looking at the books concluded was an orange-crowned. One house wren chattered away for us.

As we arrived at the open water near the bridge we found about 100 teal in the pond on the left side of the dike. I sat up the scope to look at them and saw 8 or 10 mottled ducks nearby. I immediately spotted a black-bellied whistling duck and focused the scope on him so everyone could get a good look. It began aggressively attacking the teal, landing in the middle of them and raising sand (water). He kept at it, flying short distances to attack them again and again. I was looking through my binocs when I found the reason for his behavior. His mate came out of the weeds and they led 3 recently hatched duckings out, one adult in front and one bringing up the rear. The male (I assume it was the male) continued to attack the teal and run them off and they were still at it when we had to go back for brunch.

We also had downy and red-bellied woodpecker, blue jays, white-eyed vireo and I think George spotted a prairie warbler while I was fascinated with the whistling ducks. All in all, an eventful hour and a half. By the way, if you go out there forget the center dike. The sides are overgrown making observation difficult and there is basically no visible water.

Virlyn

Hey Everyone,

I thought I would add in the stuff we saw heading out south dike just to make the day report complete.

In the large magnolia trees in open park area we had several Swainson's thrushes, yellow-billed cuckoos, red-eyed vieos, redstart, catbirds. In brushy areas heading our dike we had hermit thrush, indigo buntings, blue-grey gnatcatchers, white-eyed vireos, yellow-throated, prairie, and 2 crisply plummaged Tennessee warblers feeding in bushes close to ground (They gave a different appearance that usual underneath view when feeding high in trees.), and common yellowthroats.

We never made it out to water areas and we saw no waterfowl etc. We had distant views of shrikes and kestrels, probably same birds you saw and a pair of sharp-shinned hawks soaring high overhead. Other migrants were northern flickers and imm. male rose-breasted grosbeak.

Jerry

Flocks of Redwings

http://www.baylink.org/wpc/images/rwblack.jpeg


Oct. 2, 2007
Hi folks
Thank goodness for a couple of overcast days. Migrant activity has picked up somewhat over the last two or three days around my yard which is on the west shore of Alligator Lake. I have had Baltimore orioles, scarlet tananger, catbirds, indigo bunting, flickers, gnatcatchers and white-eyed vireo regularly. Warblers remain elusive with redstarts, yellow-throated and magnolia about all I have seen. A huge (100+) flock of redwings and common grackles were in the trees this morning and a large group of mostly black vultures was trying to get airborne.

Hi folks (Oct. 5, 2007)

I just spent about 30 minutes in the back yard. There were 50+ redwing blackbirds around the feeders, all male. I also had a group of 10 - 15 noisy catbirds. Maybe they were discussing how good the berries are but their constant mewing kept bringing in other catbirds until they seemed to be everywhere.

Other than that, I had a summer tanager, flicker, white-eyed vireo and ruby-crowned kinglet. Warblers are scarce to nonexistent for me. I'm not getting any reports from anybody so I assume it's slow for you too.

Gainesville is reporting a fair number of migrants. They have a lot more eyes out there than we do. Now is pretty much the peak time for our pass through migrants and we should start seeing our winter resident migrants any time.

Day Trader

http://www.abc.net.au/quantum/scripts99/9907/img/warbler2.jpg


Hi folks: (Oct. 8, 2007)



Well, this is the time of year when things are happening, weird things in my book. This afternoon about 3:00 I went out in the back yard to see what I could see. My neighbor's black gum tree and all the trees around it were full of grey catbirds. I'm guessing 30. Nothing else other than the regulars, cardinal, blue jays, titmice, chickadees, Carolina wrens calling, red-winged blackbirds with their screech.





I was thinking of writing and asking if any of you would like to trade a few catbirds for a warbler or two, I really wouldn't care what kind since I saw none. But, I didn't write. So, I'm cooking a roast about 5:30 and I see all these red-wings (again all male) on the feeders. Then I notice they are not all red-wings. Upon closer observation I realize there are many, (maybe 20), brown-headed cowbirds on the feeders. I'm sure I never saw that many at one time.





Still, no warblers. Therefore, I will be happy to trade any of you two catbirds and 4 cowbirds for any two warblers you have.



Virlyn

September migratory activity

Hi folks,

Migratory activity seems to be picking up a little bit, with red-eyed vireos and blue-gray gnatcatchers arriving. A couple of days ago it was vireos and a couple of gnatcatchers and this morning it was the other way around. Everything I looked at or heard seemed to be gnatcatchers.

Still no warbler activity to speak of but the next month or so is the prime time. My neighbor's black gum tree doesn't seem to have many berries this year so I don't know what kind of success I'm going to have with tanagers, rose-breasted grosbeaks and Baltimore orioles this fall. They usually like to stop over for a week or so to pick the tree clean. The white-winged dove which have been around all spring and summer seem to be decreasing in number and they usually leave in September - October to show up again in April.
Exciting times ahead.
Virlyn

Buffalo Egrets in the August Heat

Cattle Egret pair, St. Augustine Alligator Farm, FL
Image copyright 2004 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART



Hi folks:

I couldn't let August end without a trip to the north dike on Alligator so I went this morning. I got there about 9:00 and left about 10:30.

When I first arrived there was small bird activity in the trees right at the parking area so I checked that out. A nice prairie warbler put on a show for a few minutes and then I saw several groups of 3 to 5 small birds drop from fairly high into the trees. Unfortunately they were too far back for me to make contact with them but I did see 2 yellows and a redstart. I was kind of hoping for a cerulean, but none to be seen by me. At the corner there were cardinals, blue jay, C. wrens, indigo bunting. A catbird has arrived although he might not have traveled far. Between the corner and the bridge was a yellow-billed cuckoo, yellow warbler, waterthrush sp. Except for one small flock of female red-winged blackbirds flying east I saw no redwings or grackles. I did see both vultures and American crows.

The lake is still full with no mud flats, so the only shore bird I saw was a lone kildeer. I saw maybe 20 - 30 waders total, no spoonbills or wood storks. I did not see a duck of any kind although I expected to find blue-winged teal had arrived. No teal, no woodies, no whistling ducks, no mottled ducks. I did see one adult black-crowned night heron. There were red-shouldered and red-tailed hawks. By 10:00 nothing was moving, so I blame the continued hot weather on the lack of activity. I'm sure the birds were there, they were just hunkered down where it was cool.

On the way back to the truck I saw a flock of about 100 cattle egrets twisting and turning into the area where the buffalo and ostrich can be seen. I guess today they were buffalo egrets.

So there was not a lot of activity, although the warblers were nice. I worked up a good sweat, enjoyed the outing and look forward to better days.

Virlyn

Moccasin Dinner at Alligator Lake

Hi folks,

After Jerry's email yesterday I couldn't help but go this morning. The water level has risen quite a bit since Saturday and the mud flats were mostly covered. I did see my first ever Alligator Lake hummer on some trumpet vines just as you enter the dike. It doesn't surprise me, I just never look for hummers there. I also had a harrier, which seems very early to me. She flew from a tree just before you get to the bridge and went on toward the west side of the marsh. Indigo buntings at the beginning, a pair of ground dove flying, and a lot of Carolina wrens singing.

Once I got to the bridge I realized the water was higher. Just past the bridge was a yellow-billed cuckoo. I saw plenty of egrets and herons, a great blue was eating what appeared to be a 3 foot moccasin so I applauded him heartily.

As I got to what were mud flats on Saturday I saw that the water had indeed covered a significant amount of them. There were 10 black-necked stilts and a couple of yellowlegs in the first pool and a gobler standing by the water on the north shore of the lake. On the marsh side I found a pair of black-bellied whistling ducks, so I guess the lone bird I saw Saturday did find a buddy. The lone coot was still there. The only shore birds I saw were black-necked stilts, stilt sandpipers, pectoral sandpipers and yellowlegs. No prairie or yellow warbler. Plenty of redwings and some common grackles.

After I left there I decided to go to the south boat ramp where I also found higher water. There were 20 or so black-necked stilts there and a couple of yellowlegs, along with herons, egrets and ibis, both white and glossy. They were far enough away that I could not id any of them as whitefaced. There were three black-bellied whistling ducks.

I got back in the truck and cranked it up and a yellow warbler flew in front of me and landed. You never know what to expect.

Virlyn (August 1, 2007)

A Willet! A Willet!

Hi folks!

Russ Plummer and I walked the north dike this morning back to the remaining mud flats. To our surprise we found a willet on the flats toward the middle of the marsh. His black and white wings were very visible in flight and when I first glimpsed him I id'd him as an avocet but the scope, cranked down to 60X, gave us the id. It was a Columbia County first for me.

The hummer was on the trumpet vine and the indigo buntings were cooperative. A yellow-billed cuckoo greeted us when we started and we saw the usual cardinals and mockingbirds. A red-bellied woodpecker was calling away along with numerous Carolina wrens. Male redwings were giving a one note whistle and the females were flocking together just past the bridge. Several crested flycatchers were in the trees just before the bridge.

The normal waders were in the pool north of the dike in the lake, along with a hen turkey and 6 young birds. There were probably more in the weeds that we could not see, as Jerry reported seeing 18 at the boat launch earlier this week. For shorebirds, which were not plentiful, we had kildeer, black-necked stilts, stilt sandpipers, pectoral sandpiper, and greater and lesser yellowlegs. Don't forget our willet. We had red-tailed and red-shouldered hawks and an osprey. About 10 o'clock it got too hot for us, but on the return trip a nice prairie warbler showed up for us. The weather report said rain, but we didn't get a drop.

By the way, if you are downtown drive around Lake Desoto behind the courthouse. Ignore the muscovy ducks, nuisances of the world, and you can see numerous common moorhens and one purple gallinule at the SE corner of the lake. Hundreds of ringnecked gulls roost on the lake during the winter.

Virlyn

Cool Birding

Hi folks

It's been a hot week so most of my birding has been done in air conditioning. The birds are still very active on the feeders and I had a collared dove join the group yesterday. The mourning and white-winged are there also, with the white-winged landing on the feeders and the mourning feeding on the ground underneath, although they do trade places occasionally.

I've been noticing fairly large groups of common grackles flying off the lake and heading west in the early morning. The indigo bunting is still singing down by the lake, but for whatever reason it has never made the 100 yard trek up to the feeders. House finch, chickadees, titmouse, wrens, red-bellied woodpeckers, cardinals, and blue jays pretty much make up the balance of the feeder birds. Barred owls are around, so are downy woodpeckers. No yellow or prairie warblers in the yard so far that I have seen, just parula and yellow-throats with a random gnatcatcher.

I heard from Pat Burns that the mud flats on Alligator are covered as I expected, what with 8 inches of rain lately. They were pretty well covered when Russ and I were there last week. The shorebirds will have to find better territory for a while.

Jacqui had a yellow warbler at her mister in Ft. White, so a sprinkler/mister on these hot afternoons could be rewarding.
Lots of common moorhen, some pied-billed grebe, boat-tailed grackles and red-wings on Lake Desoto. Again, block out the Muscovy ducks, but if you must look you can see every possible hybrid among them. Yuk.

Virlyn

Screaming Black-Necked Stilts

Hi folks

After reading Pat Burns report of activity on Alligator Lake I decided it was exciting enough for me to brave the heat and go see for myself, so I loaded up scope, binocs, water and snack and headed to the other side of the lake. Once I parked and got out, laziness set in and I decided to leave the scope in the truck.

I hiked the center dike first and found nothing to write home about. There were plenty of redwings and common grackles and a smattering of waders so I decided to walk the north dike where Pat had made her observations. There was very little before I crossed the bridge and then I began to encounter black-crowned night herons, both young and adult, the adults being in excellent plumage. There were a number of green herons on the inside of the dike, plenty of redwings and quite a few mourning dove. After I passed the bench seat I found a fairly large open body of water on my right which held wood storks, great and snowy egrets, white ibis, a pair of mottled ducks and, yes, the sought after roseate spoonbills. There were four of them on a mud bank on the north shore of the lake. As I was watching the spoonbills I could hear the black-necked stilts a little farther down on my left and I went on down to check them out. You don't have to worry about finding them because as soon as you invade their perimeter one will come directly at you screaming his head off, only to veer off at the last minute.(Photography from Titusville, Florida / Stilts-BlackNecked / Bob Paty 12/14/2001

In that same pool were all the usual waders, except no wood storks, a couple of lesser yellowlegs, coots, kildeer, common moorhens, osprey, kestrel, and a drake lesser scaup. I also heard, but did not see, wood ducks. There were a couple of fairly large ducklings standing in a deadfall. There was one shorebird in flight that appeared smaller than a kildeer, gray above and plain below, but definitely not a yellowlegs. When it landed I could not see it because of the vegetation. I did not see the first glossy ibis. I always hope for a purple gallinule, but none to report.

Anyhow, it was a good morning just as any time outdoors with Mother Nature is a good outing, and I came back to the truck, rehydrated myself, came home, took a shower, and will spend the rest of the day in front of the air conditioner.

Virlyn