Birdingonthe.Net Recent Postings from SouthWest Florida > Home > Mail > Alerts Updated on Monday, August 30 at 10:57 AM ET The most recently received Mail is at the top.	Hooded Grosbeak,©Sophie Webb

30 Aug Fw: eBird Report - Stump Pass Beach State Park , 8/30/10 -- Migrating Cattle Egrets ["Ken Blackshaw" ] 25 Aug FW: Purple Martin RFI ["Charlie Ewell" ] 29 Jul Six-Mile Cypress Slough ["obrte73" ] 15 Jul RE: ID assistance needed for unfamiliar tropical bird ["Jeff Bouton" ] 15 Jul ID assistance needed for unfamiliar tropical bird ["Dena" ] 30 Jun Long-billed Curlew [Vincent McGrath ] 30 Jun Long-billed Curlew [Vincent McGrath ] 08 Jun Our vacation report ["paul84727" ] 13 May RFI- buildings with nesting seabirds and shorebirds in Florida ["Charlie Ewell" ] 5 May eBird announcement ["Charlie Ewell" ] 05 May Great Crested Flycatcher ["Blair" ] 05 May Photos - Great Crested Flycatcher ["Blair" ] 5 May Re: unconfirmed report of La Sagra's Flycatcher - Lakes Park, Fort Myers [] 4 May unconfirmed report of La Sagra's Flycatcher - Lakes Park, Fort Myers ["Jeff Bouton" ] 13 Apr RE: Extraordinary Mangrove Cuckoo Viewing at Ding Darling ["Floyd, Chris" ] 12 Apr Extraordinary Mangrove Cuckoo Viewing at Ding Darling ["Floyd, Chris" ] 11 Apr Albino Brown Pelican? ["Bob" ] 9 Apr FW: Birds Rock! Video to Promote Conservation Birding [Steve Holmer ] 3 Apr May 8 NAMC ["Margaret England" ] 2 Apr list reminder ["Charlie Ewell" ] 27 Mar Sanibel Lighthouse photos ["johndrty" ] 27 Mar sanibel lighthouse, Friday eve ["mayhill10" ] 25 Mar Estero Lagoon tour this Saturday ["Charlie Ewell" ] 24 Mar FLorida birding trip in Jan, 2010 ["Joan Chasan" ] 25 Mar Owls at Shell Point ["eastkingbird" ] 24 Mar Sanibel Lighthouse birds [Cheyenne Szydlo ] 23 Mar Raptors in the hood ["Jeff Bouton" ] 23 Mar Follow migration on radar ["Bob" ] 22 Mar sanibel lighthouse ["mayhill10" ] 21 Mar New Photos ["Blair" ] 14 Mar unknown bird? ["talon AT bellsouth.net" ] 13 Mar birding hotspots? ["paul84727" ] 11 Mar RE: unknown bird? ["Jeff Bouton" ] 10 Mar unknown bird? ["talon AT bellsouth.net" ] 22 Feb FW: Six Mile Slough parcels go to commissioners tomorrow ["Charlie Ewell" ] 17 Feb Re: White-winged Scoter, Naples Water Treatment Plant, 2/16/10 [2 Attachments] ["Charlie Ewell" ] 16 Feb White-winged Scoter, Naples Water Treatment Plant, 2/16/10 ["Charlie Ewell" ] 25 Jan American Avocets and Lesser Black-backed Gull at Bunche Beach [Cheyenne Szydlo ] 24 Jan Longboat Key roost ["ericwalt40" ] 24 Jan Siesta Key beach birding - Jan. 21st ["ericwalt40" ] 24 Jan Myakka River State Park on Jan 21st ["ericwalt40" ] 24 Jan Sarasota Birding ["ericwalt40" ] 24 Jan Siesta Key beach birding - Jan. 21st ["ericwalt40" ] 23 Jan San Carlos Bay-Bunche Beach shorebirds, Sat 23 Jan 2010 ["Charlie Ewell" ] 21 Jan FW: Upcoming birding opportunities ["Charlie Ewell" ] 13 Jan Painted Buntings growing in numbers. [F Stevens ] 04 Jan Off Topic: Blue Moon ["Blair" ] 27 Dec Ruddy Duck & Scaup ["Blair" ] 25 Dec Fabulous Painted BuntingS Christmas morning! [F Stevens ] 25 Dec Painted Bunting in Sebring [Bruce Makuk ] 20 Dec Ruddy Duck yes! [Vincent McGrath ] 18 Dec SRQ Bird Alerts 18 December 2009 - Common Goldeneye ["Peter Rice SRQ Bird Alerts" ] 16 Dec Date correction CBC assistance to December 19th ["Peter Rice SRQ Bird Alerts" ] 16 Dec SRQ Bird Alerts 16 December 2009 & request for CBC assistance [3 Attachments] ["Peter Rice SRQ Bird Alerts" ] 10 Dec Curlew at South lagoon of Holiday Inn/ Fort Myers beach . [F Stevens ] 9 Dec Bonita beach north end back side. [F Stevens ] 27 Nov newbie [Kenny Patrowicz ] 24 Nov SRQ Bird Alerts 24 November 2009 ["Peter Rice SRQ Bird Alerts" ] 22 Nov North Bonita beach 22 Nov. sunset. [F Stevens ] 20 Nov Bunche Beach birding tomorrow ["Charlie Ewell" ] 15 Nov STA5 Nov. 14 ["Margaret England" ] 12 Nov Great Black-backed Gull at Bunche Beach [Cheyenne Szydlo ] 10 Nov Target Sparrows ["kacressman" ] 02 Nov American Avocet ["mybuntings" ] 21 Oct Target SWFL Species for a December Visit ["Pete" ] 18 Oct STA5 Hendry County: 10/19/09 ["Margaret England" ] 17 Oct SRQ Bird Alerts 17 October 2009 - Mangrove Cuckoo, Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Golden-winged Warbler ["Peter Rice SRQ Bird Alerts" ] 10 Oct American Redstart at OK Slough Sic Island Road Boardwalk (Hendry County) ["Margaret England" ] 9 Oct RE: Stilt Sandpiper still present at Six Mile Cypress Parkway Publix near Colonial Blvd, Ft Myers (Lee County) ["Charlie Ewell" ] 9 Oct Stilt Sandpiper still present at Six Mile Cypress Parkway Publix near Colonial Blvd, Ft Myers (Lee County) [1 Attachment] ["Charlie Ewell" ] 1 Oct RE: Lee County report: A true fallout- almost ["Charlie Ewell" ] 1 Oct RE: Lee County report: A true fallout- almost ["Charlie Ewell and Arlyne Salcedo" ] 1 Oct Lee County report: A true fallout- almost ["Charlie Ewell" ] 15 Sep RE: Re: [SWFLBirdline] Digest Number 999 ["Jeff Bouton" ] 15 Sep Re: Digest Number 999 [Dany Sloan ] 15 Sep RE: Digest Number 999 ["Jeff Bouton" ] Subject: Fw: eBird Report - Stump Pass Beach State Park , 8/30/10 -- Migrating Cattle Egrets From: "Ken Blackshaw" <kenandcindy1 AT comcast.net> Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:56:43 -0400 Location: Stump Pass Beach State Park Observation date: 8/30/10 Notes: Walked Stump Pass Beach with Stanley from about 8 to 10 a.m. Sunny, light breeze from SE. Number of species: 28 Brown Pelican 30 Double-crested Cormorant 3 Great Blue Heron 1 Great Egret 2 Snowy Egret 8 Tricolored Heron 1 Cattle Egret 55 Interesting - 3 large flocks apparently migrating off-shore several hundred yards - heading south. White Ibis 14 Osprey 3 Black-bellied Plover 8 Wilson's Plover 14 Semipalmated Plover 5 Willet 18 Ruddy Turnstone 15 Sanderling 20 Least Sandpiper 1 Short-billed Dowitcher 14 Laughing Gull 25 Royal Tern 4 Sandwich Tern 26 Rock Pigeon 1 Eurasian Collared-Dove 8 Mourning Dove 10 Belted Kingfisher 1 Fish Crow 6 Bank Swallow 1 Noticed one of the fly-by's was this species. Barn Swallow 45 European Starling 6 This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) Subject: FW: Purple Martin RFI From: "Charlie Ewell" <anhinga42 AT comcast.net> Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2010 06:39:18 -0400 All, CROW, the wildlife rehabber on Sanibel Island in Lee County has a young Purple Martin they would like to release with others of the species. Does anyone know of any groups/flocks/families that are still present in southwest FL? The Ft Myers roost was apparently not active this season, so that is not an option at this time. Please reply to me off list if you have any suggestions. Thanks! Charlie Ewell Cape Coral, FL anhinga42 AT comcast.net (new email address) Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife info: http://www.ccfriendsofwildlife.org/ Lee County Bird Patrol info: http://www.birdpatrol.org/ SWFL Birdline info: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SWFLBirdline/ FL Ornithological Society info: http://www.fosbirds.org/ Subject: Six-Mile Cypress Slough From: "obrte73" <obrte73 AT yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:07:32 -0000 After hearing about the sighting of Black-and-White Warbler and a Red-eyed Vireo on Sunday at Six-Mile Cypress Slough, I stopped by this morning for a walk. Arrived at 8:30am and found it was not very birdy and I did not find the warbler or the vireo, but did find a female American Redstart and a great viewing of a male Prothonotary Warbler. Also seen was a Hairy Woodpecker, Red-Bellied Woodpecker, a couple of Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers, a couple of Carolina Wrens and a Green Heron. Tom Obrock Ft Myers Subject: RE: ID assistance needed for unfamiliar tropical bird From: "Jeff Bouton" <jbouton2 AT earthlink.net> Date: Thu, 15 Jul 2010 08:32:15 -0400 Hey Dena, Your mystery bird is a newer introduction so not covered in most guides. A small finch/seedeater relative native to India, the Tricolored Munia (Lonchura malacca) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tricoloured_Munia Best, Jeff Bouton Port Charlotte, FL jbouton2 AT earthlink.net From: SWFLBirdline AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:SWFLBirdline AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Dena Sent: Thursday, July 15, 2010 8:06 AM To: SWFLBirdline AT yahoogroups.com Subject: [SWFLBirdline] ID assistance needed for unfamiliar tropical bird I recently returned from a vacation in Cozumel. It was not a birding trip, but you birders know that EVERY trip is a birding trip... you know what I mean. Anyway, being from NJ I have extremely limited knowledge of tropical birds, but you SWFL birders may know this immediately, so I request your expert assistance. At the foot of the lighthouse in Faro Celerain Eco Park was a hedgerow that hosted about 5 of the birds shown in this photo. My attempts to ID this through my not-great Caribbean field guides have failed. Can anyone assist? It sported a striking rust-colored back, a black head and throat, a bluish or white finch-like bill, and a striking black and white belly. This is a very busy tourist area, and the birds seemed not to mind all the human activity. Size was comparable to a large sparrow or finch, smaller than a robin. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30836312 &l=4edef53b4f&id=1214964770 Thanks in advance, Dena Temple Atlantic Highlands, NJ (but SWFL at heart) denat01 at verizon.net Subject: ID assistance needed for unfamiliar tropical bird From: "Dena" <denat01 AT verizon.net> Date: Thu, 15 Jul 2010 12:06:11 -0000 I recently returned from a vacation in Cozumel. It was not a birding trip, but you birders know that EVERY trip is a birding trip... you know what I mean. Anyway, being from NJ I have extremely limited knowledge of tropical birds, but you SWFL birders may know this immediately, so I request your expert assistance. At the foot of the lighthouse in Faro Celerain Eco Park was a hedgerow that hosted about 5 of the birds shown in this photo. My attempts to ID this through my not-great Caribbean field guides have failed. Can anyone assist? It sported a striking rust-colored back, a black head and throat, a bluish or white finch-like bill, and a striking black and white belly. This is a very busy tourist area, and the birds seemed not to mind all the human activity. Size was comparable to a large sparrow or finch, smaller than a robin. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30836312&l=4edef53b4f&id=1214964770 Thanks in advance, Dena Temple Atlantic Highlands, NJ (but SWFL at heart) denat01 at verizon.net Subject: Long-billed Curlew From: Vincent McGrath <McAvian AT aol.com> Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2010 19:45:27 -0400 A beautiful L-b has returned to Bunche Beach in S Ft Myers as of 6/25. The shortish bill suggests it may be our friend that winters here. It sports a lovely tawny breast and undersides Lots of Oystercatchers as well. Looking forward to an awesome fall migration. Mcavian AT aol.com Vince McGrath Fort Myers, Fl Subject: Long-billed Curlew From: Vincent McGrath <McAvian AT aol.com> Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2010 19:45:27 -0400 A beautiful L-b has returned to Bunche Beach in S Ft Myers as of 6/25. The shortish bill suggests it may be our friend that winters here. It sports a lovely tawny breast and undersides Lots of Oystercatchers as well. Looking forward to an awesome fall migration. Mcavian AT aol.com Vince McGrath Fort Myers, Fl Subject: Our vacation report From: "paul84727" <paul AT nutbags.co.uk> Date: Tue, 08 Jun 2010 18:28:37 -0000 Hi all in SW Florida,I posted a few months ago asking for advice on birding locations ahead of our vacation.We have just returned home to rainy England so thought i'd post a quick summary of some sightings. After spending a week in Kissimmee we travelled to Sanibel on Memorial day.Bird wise we found it to be very quiet with very few passerine type birds about at all,apart from lots of Cardinals and Mocking birds.Terns and beach waders were also in short supply this year.Highlights though were a juvenile northern gannet seen flying past "our" beach by sanibel arms west on east gulf drive,and then seen again(or another bird)from the captiva cruises dolphin watch boat trip on sunday 6th June. A swallow tailed kite seen over the eastern end of ding darling reserve on june 7th and then as we approached the causeway to head for the airport a bald eagle(probably juvenile flew over). We failed to locate any burrowing owls at the Cape coral library though lots of nest sites seen.Also visited Bunche beach preserve for the first time but at high tide so not much about.We loved the new parking area and elevated restrooms.I'll expect to hear lots of good bird reports from here later in the year. I failed to find any hummingbirds or bluebirds,as asked about in my previous post. All in all it was perhaps our least productive year on sanibel,bird wise. I know its probably not the best time of year but we hoped to find more! thanks for all the replies to my last post,we hope to come back again one day but as I funded this holiday using some of my redundancy(severance)pay from my last job,we will have to see! Paul www.nutbags.co.uk Subject: RFI- buildings with nesting seabirds and shorebirds in Florida From: "Charlie Ewell" <anhinga42 AT comcast.net> Date: Thu, 13 May 2010 16:05:50 -0400 FYI Charlie Ewell Cape Coral, FL anhinga42 AT comcast.net (new email address) Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife info: http://www.ccfriendsofwildlife.org/ Lee County Bird Patrol info: http://www.birdpatrol.org/ SWFL Birdline info: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SWFLBirdline/ FL Ornithological Society info: http://www.fosbirds.org/ _____ From: Burney, Chris [mailto:Chris.Burney AT MyFWC.com] Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2010 4:29 PM Subject: RFI- buildings with nesting seabirds and shorebirds in Florida Hello all, The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, together with numerous partners, is currently conducting a statewide survey of shorebird and seabirds nesting on tar-and-gravel rooftops in Florida. The previous statewide survey was done more than 10 years ago, and since then much has changed. Researchers are trying to determine the present distribution and size of rooftop colonies to assess the importance of these sites relative to coastal beaches. This information is particularly important given the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. If you know the location of a rooftop colony/nest, please send an e-mail to rooftopcolonies AT myfwc.com with as much of the following information as you can: 1. Name of building/type of building: 2. Address of site: 3. City or town: 4. County: 5. GPS coordinates (if known): 6. Any major intersections or landmarks nearby: 7. When you last saw this rooftop occupied: 8. Species: 9. Your name and phone number: 10. Is the site being monitored by anyone already (e.g. local Audubon Chapter)? If yes, who? IMPORTANT: When you reply, please list the COUNTIES for your sites in the SUBJECT line of the e-mail. This way, biologists in different parts of the state can receive the e-mail promptly and make preparations to go and inspect the site. THANK YOU!! Subject: eBird announcement From: "Charlie Ewell" <anhinga42 AT comcast.net> Date: Wed, 5 May 2010 09:48:35 -0400 All, If interested in the oil spill situation and what eBird is doing to help deal with the effects on birds, see David Simpson's email below: Attention birders! EBird is launching an initiative to help track the effects of the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Log onto www.ebird.org to see what you can do to help scientists and conservationists. The idea is to provide an up to date base line of where bird species are occurring, give officials and heads up on areas of concern, and document the ongoing effects of the spill. If you are new to eBird, this could be a good way to get started. If you are an old hand, this is a way to see an immediate benefit to your data. David Simpson Coordinator eBird, Florida Charlie Ewell Cape Coral, FL anhinga42 AT comcast.net (new email address) Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife info: http://www.ccfriendsofwildlife.org/ Lee County Bird Patrol info: http://www.birdpatrol.org/ SWFL Birdline info: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SWFLBirdline/ FL Ornithological Society info: http://www.fosbirds.org/ Subject: Great Crested Flycatcher From: "Blair" <skink AT embarqmail.com> Date: Wed, 05 May 2010 03:43:47 -0000 Hmmm . . . Lets try this again, my original post didn't post for some reason. I have added a photo album of a pair of Great Crested Flycatcher. These birds greeted me on two mornings at the parking lot at Bunche Beach about two weeks ago. I have never had an opertunity to get this close or photos like these and thought I would share them. Have a great day, Blair Subject: Photos - Great Crested Flycatcher From: "Blair" <skink AT embarqmail.com> Date: Wed, 05 May 2010 03:33:48 -0000 Hi All, I thought I would share a few photos of this Great Crested that was at the Bunche Beach parking lot a couple mornings in a a row. I had never gotten so close to a Great Crested before and was thrilled to photograph this one. The photos are in a photo album of the same name, Great Crested Flycatcher. I hope you all enjoy. Blair Subject: Re: unconfirmed report of La Sagra's Flycatcher - Lakes Park, Fort Myers From: anhinga42 AT comcast.net Date: Wed, 5 May 2010 02:37:55 +0000 A few of us checked, but did not see subject bird today. Charlie Ewell Cape Coral, FL Anhinga42 AT comcast.net Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T -----Original Message----- From: "Jeff Bouton" Date: Tue, 4 May 2010 10:05:09 To: Subject: [SWFLBirdline] unconfirmed report of La Sagra's Flycatcher - Lakes Park, Fort Myers All, Received an intriguing report of a possible La Sagra's Flycatcher from Lakes Park in Fort Myers on Sunday. The original message that was forwarded to me is seen below. I spoke with Matt this AM and he provided me with some details on the sighting to include the clear song, slight appearance, and overall light coloration. Hopefully someone in the area can go out and look for this bird, I'd love to but am tied up for the moment. Matt's original message: "Hey, Soo, don't know where you are, but I don't have your phone # or any local birding contacts down here in Ft. Myers, where I'm winding up a short business/birding trip. You're gonna think I've finally gone off the rails, but I'm pretty sure I had a La Sagra's Flycatcher in Lakes County Park this afternoon. If you know anybody who might be willing to look for it, feel free to pass on this email or info. The bird was in a loop trail that runs through a woodland on the northwestern side of the park. There's a short spur leading into the woodland, and then the trail forks around a declivity. I had taken the left fork, which is unpaved, and the bird was in a pine only about 50-100 feet after the fork. It flushed out of a tree on my side of the declivity and flew onto a dead branch in a pine near the other side. It was clearly a Myiarchus but also clearly not a Great Crested. I had no guide with me but noted smaller size, head with much less of a crest, almost no coloration on the underside, and no prominent rufous in the tail (the tail looked flat brown, a bit darker than the back). Fairly strong wingbars. Its call was suggestive of a G. C., but quieter, and without the ringing, rolling quality of a Great Crested. It called persistently for about five minutes, so I know this wasn't just a flukey call. When I got back to the car and checked what sources I had (Nat. Geo. and Bill Pranty's birdfinding guide), the description in Bill's book sounded exactly right -- "similar to the Wheep! of a Great Crested Flycatcher, but it is higher in pitch, lacks the burry quality, and not as loud." There were a couple of G. C.'s operating in the area, including one crunching dragonflies from a comm. tower., so I was able to calibrate my brain, and I'm 100% sure this bird was a different species. I guess a Gulf Coast sighting would be odd, but it was blowing pretty hard from the SE overnight and today. Heaven knows there weren't any trans-Gulf migrants around today! Doubt anyone will believe this one, and indeed they probably shouldn't -- out-of-state birder, decent but not a great look, no previous experience with the species. Indeed, I would say this wasn't "countable" if I cared about countability. But I feelt certain enough that I would have felt guilty if I didn't mention it to someone. I have to be at the airport at 8:00 tomorrow to fly home, so I don't really have time to go back to try for a better look. Dull around here today in other respects -- I birded Sanibel and a few places around Ft. Myers. Indeed, the whole trip has been kind of slow -- very few migrants around, and it has been so bleeding hot that even the resident birds aren't doing much. Dipped on both Mangrove Cuckoo and Short-tailed Hawk, which were about the only two things I really cared about seeing. Cheers, Matt Matt Pelikan Oak Bluffs, MA 41.45 N 70.55 W" on the map above or found the bird was seen along the left path of the loop at the top left corner of the map (just up & right from the "d" on the word "Legend") if the map is removed by the server, view it at the following link: http://www.leeparks.org/maps/Overview_maps/Lakes_Trail_Map.html Good luck to any who look for this bird, please offer a report with details! This would obviously be a significant Gulf Coast record if confirmed, and more intriguing given that at least 2 overwintered in the Miami area! Best, Jeff Bouton Product Specialist - Birder/Naturalist Markets Leica Sport Optics, USA jbouton2 AT earthlink.net 941-255-3021 office 941-847-0872 fax Leica Bird Blog: http://leicabirding.blogspot.com/ Subject: unconfirmed report of La Sagra's Flycatcher - Lakes Park, Fort Myers From: "Jeff Bouton" <jbouton2 AT earthlink.net> Date: Tue, 4 May 2010 10:05:09 -0400 All, Received an intriguing report of a possible La Sagra's Flycatcher from Lakes Park in Fort Myers on Sunday. The original message that was forwarded to me is seen below. I spoke with Matt this AM and he provided me with some details on the sighting to include the clear song, slight appearance, and overall light coloration. Hopefully someone in the area can go out and look for this bird, I'd love to but am tied up for the moment. Matt's original message: "Hey, Soo, don't know where you are, but I don't have your phone # or any local birding contacts down here in Ft. Myers, where I'm winding up a short business/birding trip. You're gonna think I've finally gone off the rails, but I'm pretty sure I had a La Sagra's Flycatcher in Lakes County Park this afternoon. If you know anybody who might be willing to look for it, feel free to pass on this email or info. The bird was in a loop trail that runs through a woodland on the northwestern side of the park. There's a short spur leading into the woodland, and then the trail forks around a declivity. I had taken the left fork, which is unpaved, and the bird was in a pine only about 50-100 feet after the fork. It flushed out of a tree on my side of the declivity and flew onto a dead branch in a pine near the other side. It was clearly a Myiarchus but also clearly not a Great Crested. I had no guide with me but noted smaller size, head with much less of a crest, almost no coloration on the underside, and no prominent rufous in the tail (the tail looked flat brown, a bit darker than the back). Fairly strong wingbars. Its call was suggestive of a G. C., but quieter, and without the ringing, rolling quality of a Great Crested. It called persistently for about five minutes, so I know this wasn't just a flukey call. When I got back to the car and checked what sources I had (Nat. Geo. and Bill Pranty's birdfinding guide), the description in Bill's book sounded exactly right -- "similar to the Wheep! of a Great Crested Flycatcher, but it is higher in pitch, lacks the burry quality, and not as loud." There were a couple of G. C.'s operating in the area, including one crunching dragonflies from a comm. tower., so I was able to calibrate my brain, and I'm 100% sure this bird was a different species. I guess a Gulf Coast sighting would be odd, but it was blowing pretty hard from the SE overnight and today. Heaven knows there weren't any trans-Gulf migrants around today! Doubt anyone will believe this one, and indeed they probably shouldn't -- out-of-state birder, decent but not a great look, no previous experience with the species. Indeed, I would say this wasn't "countable" if I cared about countability. But I feelt certain enough that I would have felt guilty if I didn't mention it to someone. I have to be at the airport at 8:00 tomorrow to fly home, so I don't really have time to go back to try for a better look. Dull around here today in other respects -- I birded Sanibel and a few places around Ft. Myers. Indeed, the whole trip has been kind of slow -- very few migrants around, and it has been so bleeding hot that even the resident birds aren't doing much. Dipped on both Mangrove Cuckoo and Short-tailed Hawk, which were about the only two things I really cared about seeing. Cheers, Matt Matt Pelikan Oak Bluffs, MA 41.45 N 70.55 W" on the map above or found the bird was seen along the left path of the loop at the top left corner of the map (just up & right from the "d" on the word "Legend") if the map is removed by the server, view it at the following link: http://www.leeparks.org/maps/Overview_maps/Lakes_Trail_Map.html Good luck to any who look for this bird, please offer a report with details! This would obviously be a significant Gulf Coast record if confirmed, and more intriguing given that at least 2 overwintered in the Miami area! Best, Jeff Bouton Product Specialist - Birder/Naturalist Markets Leica Sport Optics, USA jbouton2 AT earthlink.net 941-255-3021 office 941-847-0872 fax Leica Bird Blog: http://leicabirding.blogspot.com/ Subject: RE: Extraordinary Mangrove Cuckoo Viewing at Ding Darling From: "Floyd, Chris" <chrisf AT mitre.org> Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2010 07:14:54 -0400 Here is a link to the great photos of Steven Koestenblatt: http://sandcphoto.com/mangrovecuckoo/ Thank, Steve and Carolyn! Chris Floyd Lexington, MA chrisf AT mitre.org From: Floyd, Chris Sent: Monday, April 12, 2010 9:41 PM To: SWFLBirdline AT yahoogroups.com Subject: Extraordinary Mangrove Cuckoo Viewing at Ding Darling This afternoon at about 12:30, I had the good fortune to discover a very cooperative Mangrove Cuckoo on the Wildlife Drive in the vicinity of mileage 3.1-3.2.  I was specifically looking and listening for the species when I heard this bird give its distinctive full "song" on the left side of the road in front of me.  The mangroves were only "one deep" here, and I easily located the bird at eye level in the bush from where it had called.  It stayed right next to the road for the next 45 minutes, giving wonderful close views to me, my wife, and many others who luckily happened along and had the  interest to ask what was up.  The others including some birders and some good photographers, including some who sent me their stunning photographs, including one frame filler of just the bird's head.  I will ask them to make their photos publicly available, perhaps by posting to this list a link to their site. All for now; early rise tomorrow. Chris Floyd Lexington, MA chrisf AT mitre.org Subject: Extraordinary Mangrove Cuckoo Viewing at Ding Darling From: "Floyd, Chris" <chrisf AT mitre.org> Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2010 21:40:50 -0400 This afternoon at about 12:30, I had the good fortune to discover a very cooperative Mangrove Cuckoo on the Wildlife Drive in the vicinity of mileage 3.1-3.2. I was specifically looking and listening for the species when I heard this bird give its distinctive full "song" on the left side of the road in front of me. The mangroves were only "one deep" here, and I easily located the bird at eye level in the bush from where it had called. It stayed right next to the road for the next 45 minutes, giving wonderful close views to me, my wife, and many others who luckily happened along and had the interest to ask what was up. The others including some birders and some good photographers, including some who sent me their stunning photographs, including one frame filler of just the bird's head. I will ask them to make their photos publicly available, perhaps by posting to this list a link to their site. All for now; early rise tomorrow. Chris Floyd Lexington, MA chrisf AT mitre.org Subject: Albino Brown Pelican? From: "Bob" <samakibob AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 11 Apr 2010 20:12:27 -0000 I noticed this bird (sorry, no camera) coming back to Getaway Marina which is located not far before the bridge over to Ft. Myers Beach and actually not far from the eastern end of Bunche Beach. At first I thought it was a stray White Pelican but it was the same size as the nearby Brown Pelicans and had pink bill. Has anyone else seen this bird or something similar? Subject: FW: Birds Rock! Video to Promote Conservation Birding From: Steve Holmer <sholmer AT abcbirds.org> Date: Fri, 9 Apr 2010 13:00:43 -0700 We all know that birds rock, now here's the video to prove it...http://www.youtube.com/abcbirds. Please enjoy this one minute YouTube video and forward the link to your friends.. Can you identify all of these spectacular birds? See the YouTube page for the full species list. The video was made to promote www.conservationbirding.org, American Bird Conservancy's new web site that enables birders to find birding routes and lodges that support habitat protection. Go birding, save species! Steve Holmer American Bird Conservancy sholmer AT abcbirds.org, www.abcbirds.org Subject: May 8 NAMC From: "Margaret England" <mlelighthouse AT embarqmail.com> Date: Sat, 3 Apr 2010 09:42:08 -0400 SW FL BirdlineNAMC in Hendry County Opportunties in Lee, Charlotte and Glades Countiles also available. Birders and photographers: It isn't too late to volunteer to help with the Spring North American Migration Count at STA5 on May 8th. Birders and photographers are welcome to help with this all day count. Teams will cover the 8 square miles of STA5 located 20 miles south of Clewiston. To volunteer for the day, morning or afternoon contact: Margaret England sta5birding AT embarqmail.com LaBelle 863-674-0695 www.hendrygldadesaudubon.org . Subject: list reminder From: "Charlie Ewell" <anhinga42 AT comcast.net> Date: Fri, 2 Apr 2010 15:00:45 -0400 All, The note below was taking out of a reminder sent out by Ron Smith, who is one of the listowners for the Birdbrains statewide listserv. I copy and pasted the parts I thought would be good to send out to our list. As we move into April, prime time for migrants to be moving through our state and more posts will be coming in than at any other time of the year, I felt it important to allow everyone to remember: - When posting about a park or site please make sure you include a city and/or county so that subscribers will know where you are writing about. Not everyone is familiar with every little park or site in our area. - Make sure you've concluded your post with your first/last name and city/state. Have a great spring birding season! You can follow the Birdbrains list, as well as the Floridabirds-L list and many others around the US and world at: http://birdingonthe.net/birdmail.html Currently there is a Brown-crested Flycatcher being reported and updated on Birdbrains (seen at Ft DeSoto Park near St Petersburg). Another excellent site to follow is the Tropical Audubon Society Birdboard (Miami area) as a mega-rarity for Florida, Bar-tailed Godwit, is being seen in Flamingo at Everglades National Park: http://www.tropicalaudubon.org/tasboard/index.html Charlie Charlie Ewell Listowner SWFL Birdline Cape Coral, FL anhinga42 AT comcast.net (new email address) Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife info: http://www.ccfriendsofwildlife.org/ Lee County Bird Patrol info: http://www.birdpatrol.org/ SWFL Birdline info: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SWFLBirdline/ FL Ornithological Society info: http://www.fosbirds.org/ To subscribe, unsubscribe or view archives of the brdbrain listserv list, please visit us on the web at: http://listserv.admin.usf.edu/archives/brdbrain.html To set to no mail: send a message "SET BRDBRAIN NOMAIL" to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU Report any problems to the listserv administrator: listadmin AT admin.usf.edu ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: Sanibel Lighthouse photos From: "johndrty" <jdoughe7 AT twcny.rr.com> Date: Sat, 27 Mar 2010 22:35:45 -0000 I just added several photos to an album under my name. All were taken this week at the lighthouse area. John Dougherty Fort Myers Beach Subject: sanibel lighthouse, Friday eve From: "mayhill10" <mayhill10 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 27 Mar 2010 00:57:25 -0000 There were some new birds tonight at the lighthouse. Vince Mcgrath helped me find indigo buntings, a blue grosbeak, 2 worm eating warblers, kingbirds. We could not id the waterthrushes in the thick foliage. There were still white eyed vireos, cedar waxwings, and hooded warblers there, with a few female hoodeds having arrived tonight.This morning in the rain it had been pretty quiet. Julie Long Subject: Estero Lagoon tour this Saturday From: "Charlie Ewell" <anhinga42 AT comcast.net> Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2010 20:32:55 -0400 Hi All, I'll be leading a Lee County Bird Patrol tour to Little Estero CWA on Saturday morning. See below for details. _____ From: Bird Patrol [mailto:birdpatrol AT mac.com] Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2010 8:30 AM To: BirdPatrol AT birdpatrol.org Subject: Estero Lagoon tour this Saturday March 27, Saturday 8AM Estero Lagoon Preserve Guide: Charlie Ewell. The site is located in Ft Myers Beach. Meet in the NW corner of Santini Plaza parking lot just south of Holiday Inn on Ft Myers beach. Wear beach shoes for possible wading. Expect to walk 2 or 3 hours. Shorebirds, wading birds, gulls, terns, possible Peregrine Falcon (reported recently). Restrooms at the Holiday Inn on the way out. There are no reservations needed, but if you need to contact Charlie: 542-6007 Charlie Ewell Cape Coral, FL anhinga42 AT comcast.net (new email address) Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife info: http://www.ccfriendsofwildlife.org/ Lee County Bird Patrol info: http://www.birdpatrol.org/ SWFL Birdline info: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SWFLBirdline/ FL Ornithological Society info: http://www.fosbirds.org/ Subject: FLorida birding trip in Jan, 2010 From: "Joan Chasan" <jec56 AT rcn.com> Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2010 22:40:06 -0400 In early Jan. we spent almost 3 weeks in your wonderful state (in freezing weather) traveling around and enjoying your birds. I have finally edited and posted my pictures. If you are interested they are at http://www.pbase.com/joanel/florida_2010 Any comments, corrections, would be appreciated thanks Joan Mass. Subject: Owls at Shell Point From: "eastkingbird" <dot929mo2 AT gmail.com> Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2010 02:03:53 -0000 I know they aren't rare, but I've had fun the last couple of nights seeing owls at Shell Point on the island. Two nights ago, there were 2 screech owls in the park just outside my apartment just after dusk. They flew around and hooted back and forth. Then tonight around 10:00, there were two great horned owls at the top of a Norfolk pine just outside my place! Such fun! Dotty Subject: Sanibel Lighthouse birds From: Cheyenne Szydlo <cheyenne.szydlo AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2010 11:54:41 -0700 (PDT) Went to check things out this morning (3/24) to see how migration is coming along:   Lots of male Hooded Warblers, White-eyed Vireos, Northern Parulas and Cedar Waxwings. Saw a beautiful male Orchard Oriole, a Yellow-throated Vireo, and 2 molting male Indigo Buntings.  Things are picking up!   -Cheyenne Subject: Raptors in the hood From: "Jeff Bouton" <jbouton2 AT earthlink.net> Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2010 15:23:14 -0400 On a short trip to drop my son off at school yesterday I spotted our local adult male Red-shouldered Hawk on his typical morning roost along a roadside wire. While I didn't stop and photograph him then, Austin and I did get a beautiful image of him in the same location just days before. The Osprey nest on the lights at the corner store was active with both adults perched up between school and home. Then upon retruning home I found an adult female Merlin perched on a low dead snag diagonally across the street, after getting amazing shots of her I walked another half block to the Cooper's Hawk nest I can ALMOST see from my house and got one of my best Cooper's Hawk pics I've ever taken as well (all of these within 15 minutes of returning home)! Then the same evening I saw both of the red Screech-Owls nesting in the lot behind my house. It was a good day! :) You can see images of all of these individuals BUT the Ospreys on the first page of my flickR site here: http://www.flickr. com/photos/ 16435490 AT N00/ As typical al lof these images were digiscoped with by mounting my point & shoot digital camera behind my spotting scope offering the equivalent of a 1,500 to a 3,000 mm lens!! If i'd had time to watch the sky I would have undoubtedly added Bald Eagle & Swallow-tailed Kite to the neighborhood day list. Still a great way to start off another work day! Best, Jeff Bouton Product Specialist - Birder/Naturalist Markets Leica Sport Optics, USA jbouton2 AT earthlink.net Leica Bird Blog: http://leicabirding.blogspot.com/ Subject: Follow migration on radar From: "Bob" <samakibob AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:09:48 -0000 Migration seems to be on! Check out the radar images posted daily (or whenever there is activity) at http://badbirdz2.wordpress.com/ They really appreciate ground observations to go with the radar data. Subject: sanibel lighthouse From: "mayhill10" <mayhill10 AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2010 02:52:28 -0000 I had a mini fallout of birds during the evening rains, from about 5:30 to 7 pm at the lighthouse park. There were many n. parula warblers, also a la. waterthrush and some black and white, hooded, and yellow throated warblers plus white eyed vireos, gnatcatchers,kingbirds, barn and tree swallows,purple martins and chimney swifts. Maybe they will stay around for a day or so. Julie Long, ST Charles Il and Sanibel Subject: New Photos From: "Blair" <skink AT embarqmail.com> Date: Sun, 21 Mar 2010 07:47:22 -0000 I have added an album of photographs I have taken recently, I hope you enjoy them. The album is titled "Digiscoped" and pretty much sums it up. Have a great day all. Subject: unknown bird? From: "talon AT bellsouth.net" <ginetmat@bellsouth.net> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 02:47:37 -0000 I have reposted better pics of what I believe are Clay Colored Sparrows in albums, under unknown bird by Ginette. Also have posted pics of a male painted bunting with a yellow marking on its breast. The breast should be all red. Any thoughts? Thank you Subject: birding hotspots? From: "paul84727" <paul AT nutbags.co.uk> Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:46:58 -0000 hi all on SWFLbirdline.I've posted here a few times in the past but not for a few years.We have been visiting Florida annually for nearly 20 years from our UK home and love Sanibel and SW Florida in particular. 3 years ago though we decided to try other parts of the state for our vacations but have missed Sanibel so much that we are coming back this year,in early June. My reason for posting today though is because there are a few species that I've never managed to see before and wondered if anyone could let me know some likely places to try and find them,ideally on Sanibel or Fort Myers as i'm usually limited on the time I have available for birding. The birds i'd love to find are three of your most colourful.Painted Buntings,Bluebird and American Goldfinch.I'm also keen to see hummingbirds again so if there is somewhere to find them locally too,i'd love to hear from you. The reason we chose to visit other areas is because we had 3 or 4 consecutive visits where the beaches on sanibel were quite bad with weed and red tide(not great for swimming in and a bit smelly!)How are they now,and have they finished the new causeway bridge? thanks in advance for any help Paul www.nutbags.co.uk Subject: RE: unknown bird? From: "Jeff Bouton" <jbouton2 AT earthlink.net> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:51:21 -0500 Hey Ginette, I believe this is a pair of Clay-colored Sparrows. Immature chipping sparrows can appear similar but again I believe the markings are too bold for this. Unfortunately, given the strong compression of the image I can't see individual details on these birds to say for certain, only general patterns of color and shape. If you want to email the full-sized image to me, I'd happily blow these up to confirm individual markings but absolutely one of these two species. Clay-colored is actually an unusual species here in Florida so two at once would represent a nice find! Chipping by comparison occur in small flocks regularly. None-the-less, my gut impression from what I can see in the image provided has me leaning toward the former, although as I said I can not be 100% certain without a better look to see individual markings on the head, nape, etc. Best, Jeff Bouton Port Charlotte, FL jbouton2 AT earthlink.net From: SWFLBirdline AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:SWFLBirdline AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of talon AT bellsouth.net Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 6:21 PM To: SWFLBirdline AT yahoogroups.com Subject: [SWFLBirdline] unknown bird? The birds I am trying to i.d.came into my feeders Oct. 09 and are a pair. They are seed eaters and about half the size of a house sparrow. I live in Ft. Laud. They only feed and travel with a small flock of painted buntings, eight males and maybe fifteen females. I do have a flock of around fifty house sparrows that feed daily but these birds only feed with the buntings. Have pics in photos under Unknown bird by Ginette. It's the last photo. thanks for any help to I.D.these birds. Subject: unknown bird? From: "talon AT bellsouth.net" <ginetmat@bellsouth.net> Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:21:04 -0000 The birds I am trying to i.d.came into my feeders Oct. 09 and are a pair. They are seed eaters and about half the size of a house sparrow. I live in Ft. Laud. They only feed and travel with a small flock of painted buntings, eight males and maybe fifteen females. I do have a flock of around fifty house sparrows that feed daily but these birds only feed with the buntings. Have pics in photos under Unknown bird by Ginette. It's the last photo. thanks for any help to I.D.these birds. Subject: FW: Six Mile Slough parcels go to commissioners tomorrow From: "Charlie Ewell" <anhinga42 AT comcast.net> Date: Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:35:54 -0500 All, Please see the info below if you are interested in future land acquisitions by the Lee Conservation 20/20 program. Charlie Ewell Cape Coral, FL anhinga42 AT comcast.net (new email address) Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife/Burrowing Owl Festival info: http://www.ccfriendsofwildlife.org/ Lee County Bird Patrol info: http://www.birdpatrol.org/ SWFL Birdline info: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SWFLBirdline/ FL Ornithological Society info: http://www.fosbirds.org/ _____ Subject: Six Mile Slough parcels go to commissioners tomorrow Hi all, I received a note about tomorrows Board of County Commissioners Meeting (see below). Whether it is true or not I felt it was important to pass along. This is agenda item number 5, a 20/20 agenda item on properties north of the slough. The parcels are directly contiguous with the slough through culverts under State Road 82 (MLK Blvd.). It includes 1,213 acres of land that contains cypress domes, wet flatwoods, and pasture lands. The pasture lands were included to provide the possibility for water storage to enhance the slough. The cost of the lands can be used as match for these improvements done by the SFWMD. The public lands that make up the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve with this addition will be increased by over 30%. The addition of uplands to the slough will offer recreational activities such as wildlife viewing, hiking and other passive recreation close to the City of Ft Myers and the population core of Lee County. Because of the size of the parcel the acquisition will be phased over two years. It is important that public support for this project is shown at the meeting. The Board meeting takes place in the County Commissioners meeting room in the old court house tomorrow Tuesday, February 23rd at 9:30am. 1. Note I was sent on parcels. NOTICE: The County's acquisition of 1211 acres next to Buckingham for a 20/20 preserve are in jeopardy with 2 commissioners planning to vote against accepting the contract at Tuesday's meeting. If you are in favor of the County preserving this property, please attend the meeting to show your support. Meeting begins at 9:30 in Commission Chambers and the contract is the first item on the Administrative Agenda. 2. Agenda item: 5. COUNTY LANDS A) ACTION REQUESTED/PURPOSE: Authorize: (1) approval of the Option Agreement for purchase of Parcels 390, 410, and 422, Conservation 20/20 Land Acquisition Program, Project No. 8800, further identified as STRAP Nos. 13-44-25-P1-00001.0000, 24-44-25-P1-00001.1000, 24-44-25-P1-00001.2000, 23-44-25-P1-00001.0000, 26-44-25-P2-00001.1000, 22-44-25-P2-00062.0000, 22-44-25-P2-00009.0020, Part of 22-44-25-P2-00061.0000, 23-44-25-P1-00001.0010, 15-44-25-P3-00032.0000, and 14-44-25-P4-00002.1000, consisting of approximately 1,213 acres, located in East Lee County, in the amount of $36,256,200; (2) the Chairman on behalf of the Board of County Commissioners to execute all documents necessary for closing; (3) payment of necessary costs and fees to close; and (4) the Division of County Lands to handle and accept all documentation necessary to complete this transaction. (#20100134-COUNTY LANDS) FUNDING SOURCE: Fund-Conservation 20/20 Capital Improvement Fund; Program-Capital Project; Project: Conservation 20/20, Land Purchase. WHAT ACTION ACCOMPLISHES: Approves the Option Agreement for acquisition over an extended time period of three properties recommended by the Conservation Land Acquisition and Stewardship Advisory Committee. MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATION: Approve. 3. Parcel map. Subject: Re: White-winged Scoter, Naples Water Treatment Plant, 2/16/10 [2 Attachments] From: "Charlie Ewell" <anhinga42 AT comcast.net> Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 08:03:43 -0500 All, the attached photos were taken with a Canon 20D and a 100-400 IS zoom lens from a fair distance (middle of the southern retention pond), and just about cropped as much as the software would allow. The images are untouched otherwise. I got lucky because it had been overcast, but the sun popped out after the ducks had moved to their closest point. Charlie Ewell Cape Coral, FL anhinga42 AT comcast.net (new email address) Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife/Burrowing Owl Festival info: http://www.ccfriendsofwildlife.org/ Lee County Bird Patrol info: http://www.birdpatrol.org/ SWFL Birdline info: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SWFLBirdline/ FL Ornithological Society info: http://www.fosbirds.org/ _____ All, Today (2/16/10) I was able to relocate the White-winged Scoter that Vince Lucas found at the Naples Water Treatment Plant a few days ago. For excellent directions see Vince's initial post on the Tropical Audubon Bird Board at: http://www.tropicalaudubon.org/tasboard/messages/33333.html Charlie Ewell Cape Coral, FL anhinga42 AT comcast.net (new email address) To subscribe, unsubscribe or view archives of the brdbrain listserv list, please visit us on the web at: http://listserv.admin.usf.edu/archives/brdbrain.html To set to no mail: send a message "SET BRDBRAIN NOMAIL" to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU Report any problems to the listserv administrator: listadmin AT admin.usf.edu ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: White-winged Scoter, Naples Water Treatment Plant, 2/16/10 From: "Charlie Ewell" <anhinga42 AT comcast.net> Date: Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:35:39 -0500 All, Today (2/16/10) I was able to relocate the White-winged Scoter that Vince Lucas found at the Naples Water Treatment Plant a few days ago. For excellent directions see Vince's initial post on the Tropical Audubon Bird Board at: http://www.tropicalaudubon.org/tasboard/messages/33333.html Charlie Ewell Cape Coral, FL anhinga42 AT comcast.net (new email address) Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife/Burrowing Owl Festival info: http://www.ccfriendsofwildlife.org/ Lee County Bird Patrol info: http://www.birdpatrol.org/ SWFL Birdline info: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SWFLBirdline/ FL Ornithological Society info: http://www.fosbirds.org/ Subject: American Avocets and Lesser Black-backed Gull at Bunche Beach From: Cheyenne Szydlo <cheyenne.szydlo AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:29:04 -0800 (PST) Yesterday evening (1/24) at high tide, there were a lot of gulls feasting on all the dead fish washed up on Bunche Beach. There were mostly Ring-billed and Laughing Gulls, but I did see one 1st winter Lesser Black-backed and an adult non-breeding Herring Gull.  I saw one other gull that stumped me for awhile, and I have tentatively ID'd it as another 1st winter Lesser Black-backed. What stumped me was how much white was in the scapulars -- much paler than I am seeing in Lesser Black-backed photos in 'Gulls of the Americas' and Sibley. The bird was smaller than the adult Herring, larger than the Ring-bills, and had a dark eye and pale pink legs. Its bill was solid black with the exception of the tip of the lower mandible which was translucent or pale.  Any suggestions?   Also, there were three American Avocets mixed in with the usual terns, skimmers, and sanderlings -- the first time I've seen them at Bunche!   -Cheyenne Subject: Longboat Key roost From: "ericwalt40" <ericwalt40 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 24 Jan 2010 01:26:35 -0000 At Longboat Key's Bay Isles subdivision, behind `Portofino' restaurant: 230+ Brown Pelicans 85+ White Ibis 30+ Great Egret 5 Double-crested Cormorants I was clued into this overnight roost location from my parents, who stumbled into coming-to-roost show 3-4 years ago. I got there nearly at dusk, so I'm sure I couldn't see all the birds (ie. roosting bird numbers above conservative). All of these birds are only between 10-20 feet off the ground, maybe 40 feet out over the water! An amazing concentration of birds, the Ibis were all clustered together, while the pelicans were spread evenly over the vegetation. Eric Walters Zion, IL Subject: Siesta Key beach birding - Jan. 21st From: "ericwalt40" <ericwalt40 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 24 Jan 2010 01:23:15 -0000 Siesta Key beach: 225+ Laughing Gulls 55+ Ring-billed Gulls 28 Herring Gulls 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (adults, both photographed) 440 Forster's Tern 205 Black Skimmers 58 Royal Terns 2 Sandwich Terns 2 Wood Storks 1 Snowy Egret 25+ Brown Pelicans 8 Double-crested Cormorants 2 Mottled Ducks (pair) 1 Osprey (caught fish only about 60 feet offshore) 85+ Sanderlings 1 Snowy Plover 1 House Wren (in brushy hedge at edge of beach In the mudflat on the northeast corner of the Siesta Key causeway bridge: 17 White Ibis 12 Snowy Egret 6 Great Egret 6 Little Blue Herons 1 Reddish Egret 1 Tricolored Heron 1 Great Blue Heron 6 Semi-palmated Plovers 1 Black-bellied Plover 4 Turkey Vultures eating dead fish Eric Walters Zion, IL Subject: Myakka River State Park on Jan 21st From: "ericwalt40" <ericwalt40 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 24 Jan 2010 01:25:03 -0000 670+ Turkey Vultures 280+ Black Vultures 60+ White Ibis (7 subadults) 2 Limpkin 3 Wood Stork 2 Yellow-crowned Night-Herons also Cattle, Snowy and Great Egrets and Little and Great Blue Herons 2 Sandhill Crane (pair) 11 Double-crested Cormorants 3 Bald Eagles (one chasing an Osprey) 4 Red-shouldered Hawk (territories) 9 Wild Turkey (early morning group along road) 10 Black-necked Stilts (2 flocks) 2 Belted Kingfishers 2 Pileated Woodpeckers 20+ Palm Warblers also Great-crested Flycatcher, Eastern Phoebe, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers Per the park bird checklist, the best birds were: 2 Fish Crows (calling near park entrance, rest of crows were American) 1 Tufted Titmouse (near canopy tower) 18 Cedar Waxwing (flyover over canopy tower) Also, 2 Wild Pigs, White-tailed Deer and many alligators were observed The vast majority of the Turkey Vultures could be seen in the air from the canopy tower in early morning, circling in the air in the directions of Upper Myakka and Lower Myakka Lakes. Interestingly, nearly all Black Vultures were noted on or near the ground, few flying around high in the sky like the Turkey's. Two Osprey nests could also be seen from the tower, both in a northeast direction on the power line tower. Eric Walters Zion, IL Subject: Sarasota Birding From: "ericwalt40" <ericwalt40 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 24 Jan 2010 01:20:20 -0000 Lido Beach on Jan 18th: 30+ Brown Pelicans 4 Double-crested Cormorants 3 Osprey 202 Royal Terns 68 Forster's Terns 4 Black Skimmers 3 Sandwich Terns 370+ Laughing Gulls 10 Ring-billed Gulls 6 Herring Gulls 6 Black-bellied Plovers 2 Snowy Plovers 115+ Sanderlings 4 Ruddy Turnstones 2 Willets I thought I had a single Semi-palmated Sandpiper, but shorebird flock was flushed by people and never could relocate it. At the first canal immediately east of the middle beach small parking lot were: 2 Wood Stork 5 Monk Parakeet 4 Eurasian Collarded-Dove 11 Fish Crow Braden River southwest side in Mote Creek subdivision (esp. Copper Creek): 28 Glossy Ibis 4 Anhinga 1 Tricolored Heron 6 White Ibis 95+ Fulvous Whistling Ducks (5 flocks, daily coming/going to roost at River) 5 Hooded Mergansers 4 Sandhill Cranes (2 pairs) 4 Red-shouldered Hawks (2 pair) 2 Black Vulture 1 Pileated Woodpecker 40+ Fish Crow (flock heading to River roost in evening) Copper Creek Park (new park west side of Hwy 75, south of Fruitville Rd.): 4 Anhinga 10 Pied-billed Grebes 2 Common Moorhen 12 American Coot 140+ Double-crested Comorants 30+ Brown Pelicans 1 Belted Kingfisher Looks like a good potential spot for diving ducks/loons. Ringling property: 5 Osprey (in sky together, suggests a recent successful nesting here) Eric Walters Zion, IL Subject: Siesta Key beach birding - Jan. 21st From: "ericwalt40" <ericwalt40 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 24 Jan 2010 01:22:26 -0000 Siesta Key beach: 225+ Laughing Gulls 55+ Ring-billed Gulls 28 Herring Gulls 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (adults, both photographed) 440 Forster's Tern 205 Black Skimmers 58 Royal Terns 2 Sandwich Terns 2 Wood Storks 1 Snowy Egret 25+ Brown Pelicans 8 Double-crested Cormorants 2 Mottled Ducks (pair) 1 Osprey (caught fish only about 60 feet offshore) 85+ Sanderlings 1 Snowy Plover 1 House Wren (in brushy hedge at edge of beach In the mudflat on the northeast corner of the Siesta Key causeway bridge: 17 White Ibis 12 Snowy Egret 6 Great Egret 6 Little Blue Herons 1 Reddish Egret 1 Tricolored Heron 1 Great Blue Heron 6 Semi-palmated Plovers 1 Black-bellied Plover 4 Turkey Vultures eating dead fish Eric Walters Zion, IL Subject: San Carlos Bay-Bunche Beach shorebirds, Sat 23 Jan 2010 From: "Charlie Ewell" <anhinga42 AT embarqmail.com> Date: Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:14:14 -0500 All, I co-led a walk at Bunche Beach today (Sat 23 January 2010) with Walt Winton for Lee County's volunteer group Bird Patrol, and relocated the Lesser Black-backed Gull mentioned by Eleanor Marr in the report below. Our list was very similar to Eleanor's, except we did not see the American Avocets. We can add to her list with the following: Bald Eagle (2 adult, 2 imm) (Eagles can often be seen perched in the dead Casuarinas (Australian Pine) to the west of the flats toward the Sanibel Causeway. American Oystercatcher (3) Long-billed Curlew (Seen only by scope well to the west of the flats toward the Sanibel Causeway) Caspian Tern Common Tern (extensive black cap and carpal bar present) Charlie Ewell Cape Coral, FL anhinga42 AT embarqmail.com Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife/Burrowing Owl Festival info: http://www.ccfriendsofwildlife.org/ Lee County Bird Patrol info: http://www.birdpatrol.org/ SWFL Birdline info: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SWFLBirdline/ FL Ornithological Society info: http://www.fosbirds.org/ _____ From: Birdbrains - Florida Birds/Natural History [mailto:BRDBRAIN AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU] On Behalf Of Eleanor K. Marr Sent: Saturday, January 23, 2010 11:22 AM To: BRDBRAIN AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU Subject: [BRDBRAIN] San Carlos Bay-Bunche Beach shorebirds All the posts on Lesser Black-backed Gull sightings prompted me to belatedly report one seen at Bunche Beach (Fort Myers) on Saturday Jan. 16. Apparently they're being sighted on the Gulf Coast with some regularity now. Sorry I didn't get around to this sooner. We went back yesterday, Friday Jan. 22, hoping to see it again. We arrived around 11 AM, about 45 minutes after low tide, after too much debate as to whether the predicted rain would spoil the trip. No rain, but it was quite foggy just before we left (tide had covered most sand bars by then). There were hundreds of birds to be seen. The sand bars in the distance across the inlet were not visible, and that's where the LBBG had been spotted. Didn't find the LBBG, but the birding was nontheless quite satisfactory. I'm listing numbers when it might be of particular interest. Brown Pelican Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Snowy Egret Reddish Egret Tricolored Heron Little Blue Heron White Ibis Red-breasted Merganser Osprey Turkey Vulture Black-bellied Plover Piping Plover (~ 6) Semipalmated Plover Wilson's Plover American Avocet (3) Willet Spotted Sandpiper Marbled Godwit (3 in a rather foggy area - might have missed some) Ruddy Turnstone Red Knot (2) Sanderling Dunlin Western Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Short-billed Dowitcher Laughing Gull Ringed-bill Gull Herring Gull Royal Tern Forster's Tern Black Skimmer Red-bellied Woodpecker Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Palm Warbler Eleanor K. Marr Port Charlotte/Punta Gorda To subscribe, unsubscribe or view archives of the brdbrain listserv list, please visit us on the web at: http://listserv.admin.usf.edu/archives/brdbrain.html To set to no mail: send a message "SET BRDBRAIN NOMAIL" to LISTSERV AT LISTSERV.ADMIN.USF.EDU Report any problems to the listserv administrator: listadmin AT admin.usf.edu ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: FW: Upcoming birding opportunities From: "Charlie Ewell" <anhinga42 AT embarqmail.com> Date: Thu, 21 Jan 2010 22:59:14 -0500 All, Below are two birding opportunities that will be offered by Bird Patrol, a Lee County Parks and Rec/Conservation 2020 volunteer group. For other opportunities go to the website http://www.birdpatrol.org/ and click the tab for "site tours" Charlie Ewell Cape Coral, FL anhinga42 AT embarqmail.com Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife/Burrowing Owl Festival info: http://www.ccfriendsofwildlife.org/ Lee County Bird Patrol info: http://www.birdpatrol.org/ SWFL Birdline info: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SWFLBirdline/ FL Ornithological Society info: http://www.fosbirds.org/ _____ Subject: Upcoming birding opportunities January 23, Saturday 8AM Bunche Beach Guides: Charlie Ewell and Walt Winton. Located in So Ft. Myers off Summerlin Rd: Drive south on John Morris Rd until it deadends. Experience one of the best birding sites in Lee Co. Bring binoculars, sun protection, shoes that can get wet, a bottle of drinking water. Meet in the parking lot. 239-707-3015 * February 6, Saturday 8AM Harns Marsh Mickey Miller, Georgia Nef, Gayle Sheets. February and March are months when Bird Patrol shows off some of the Conservation 2020 properties that we monitor, and this is the first of several such tours. We will probably be able to drive around the property, but there are no guarantees (because of the current weir construction). No restrooms. (239) 482-6250 From I-75, take Exit 136 (Lee Blvd) east to Sunshine Blvd in Lehigh Acres. Turn left on Sunshine Blvd and drive north past the Able Canal. Just beyond the canal, the road curves. Turn left onto 31st St. and make an immediate right onto Ruth Ave. Drive north to 38th St. Turn left on 38th and to the parking area at th end of the road. About Harns Marsh: The marsh is a 578 acre preserve that is part of the East County Water Control District, and one of the area's major stormwater retention/detention facilities. The Water District and Lee County have slated Harns Marsh as a regional park. The variety and quantity of birds is amazing. So far, 132 species have been recorded, snail kites and limpkins being a couple of standout species found there year-round. See www.birdpatrol.org "Site Tours" for a complete listing of this year's Birdfest tours. Subject: Painted Buntings growing in numbers. From: F Stevens <mybuntings AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:22:06 -0800 (PST) Four males and three females at my feeders, so this is one more for each gender, last Saturday during the constant rain they never stopped feeding and this weeks cold weather has them feeding all day also, location is Penyslvania Ave and Pelican Ridge in Bonita Springs. Subject: Off Topic: Blue Moon From: "Blair" <skink AT embarqmail.com> Date: Mon, 04 Jan 2010 22:08:09 -0000 I wish I could say that I have been out seeing fantastic birds but I can't. I did get out New Years eve and photographed the Blue Moon. A Blue Moon occurs any time we have a full moon twice in one month. They occur on New Years eve every 19 years I believe. Other then that it looks like any other full moon. LOL. I have posted a few of my photos in the photo section, hope you enjoy and are keeping warm. Blair Subject: Ruddy Duck & Scaup From: "Blair" <skink AT embarqmail.com> Date: Sun, 27 Dec 2009 01:04:59 -0000 Hi All, I have uploaded some rather poor photos of the Ruddy Duck & female Scaup to the Photos section. Included a map. I think it was early afternoon when I got there and had no trouble locating them. Unfortunately a group of R/C boat enthusiast arrived at the same time and were making an incredible amount of noise. The ducks were less bothered by the noise then I was and did not fly. Sorry the photos are not better, I was pushing it taking photos through my spotting scope with my point and shoot. Have a Very Happy New Years! Subject: Fabulous Painted BuntingS Christmas morning! From: F Stevens <mybuntings AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 25 Dec 2009 17:37:41 -0800 (PST) I couldn't have wished it better, I observed 3 males and 2 female Painted Buntings at my feeder all morning while I was enjoying a very lazy Christmas morning, this brought me great joy since I always wonder how many will come back to my feeder for the season as I never know when they leave in April if I will ever have their pleasure again.   The best I could get from this Holiday is TIME to appreciate my good fortune!     Subject: Painted Bunting in Sebring From: Bruce Makuk <brucemakuk AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 25 Dec 2009 05:33:36 -0800 (PST) Merry Christmas Everyone,   I got a beautiful present this morning - a painted bunting appeared at my bird feeder.   I saw a pair last year, but he was the first this year. Sincerely, Bruce Makuk Subject: Ruddy Duck yes! From: Vincent McGrath <McAvian AT aol.com> Date: Sun, 20 Dec 2009 16:42:55 -0500 Thanks Gail for the tip. Stopped at the lake on Six Mile C Pkwy and saw the male ruddy immediately w/ f lesser scaup. Lot of recreating but the birds seemed relaxed. A male Painted Bunting showed up today at my feeder with a female, I'm up to 3 buntings now. Mcavian AT aol.com Vince McGrath Fort Myers, Fl Subject: SRQ Bird Alerts 18 December 2009 - Common Goldeneye From: "Peter Rice SRQ Bird Alerts" <SRQbirdAlerts AT msn.com> Date: Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:07:13 -0500 18 December - I just received a call from Jeanne Dubi who said the Bufflehead and Common Goldeneye are back in the Pond across the street from the Shining Light Church on Fruitville Rd, about two miles east of I-75. It's a first record for a Common Goldeneye in Sarasota county! The birds are very skittish. Park at the church across the street, then cross the street. Use the bushes along the sidewalk for cover. Dan Irizarry, Bradenton, FL 18 December - A group of intrepid birders guided by Valeri Ponzo braved high winds and lots of rain for a walk on Lido Key Beach in search of shorebirds. In the group were two visitors from Seattle, Washington and one from London, England! Great to have visitors from all over for these excursions. We were on the beach for about an hour and had the following: Northern Gannet (1 immature about 100 yards out in the water) Red-breasted Merganser (2 flying out past the shoreline) Brown Pelicans Laughing Gulls Ring-billed Gulls Herring Gulls (including 2 first year birds) Sandwich Terns Royal Terns Snowy Plovers Sanderlings Ruddy Turnstones Black-bellied Plovers Red Knots (2 banded that we saw, Valeri has the tag ID) Palm Warblers (several heard in the grassy area near the parking lot) Not bad for an hour in terrible weather! I tried to take some pictures, we'll see how they turn out. They'll be posted at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/danirizarry Dan Irizarry Bradenton, FL _______________________________________ Peter Rice Subject: Date correction CBC assistance to December 19th From: "Peter Rice SRQ Bird Alerts" <SRQbirdAlerts AT msn.com> Date: Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:42:03 -0500 Request For CBC Assistance - This Saturday, December 19th is the Christmas Bird Count of the Peace River Audubon Society (PRAS) and your NEED your help. To adequately survey our region PRAS needs two experienced birders. Two of our routes have drivers but no one to identify and record the birds sighted. Both routes occur on the water and the boat owners have generously donated their boats and time but can't do the route without assistance. If you are able to help please contact Tony Licata 941 505-9775 alicata AT dcwis.com or Cathy Olson at 941 613-6753 cathyolson AT comcast.net Subject: SRQ Bird Alerts 16 December 2009 & request for CBC assistance [3 Attachments] From: "Peter Rice SRQ Bird Alerts" <SRQbirdAlerts AT msn.com> Date: Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:40:52 -0500 Request For CBC Assistance - This Saturday, December 18th is the Christmas Bird Count of the Peace River Audubon Society (PRAS) and your NEED your help. To adequately survey our region PRAS needs two experienced birders. Two of our routes have drivers but no one to identify and record the birds sighted. Both routes occur on the water and the boat owners have generously donated their boats and time but can't do the route without assistance. If you are able to help please contact Tony Licata 941 505-9775 alicata AT dcwis.com or Cathy Olson at 941 613-6753 cathyolson AT comcast.net 16 December - BirdFriends, my good friend ( and now crack birder) Marina Scarr called and alerted me to the fact that there was(is) a Common Goldeneye in a pond in the Founders Club on Fruitville Rd. To find the pond, go east on Fruitville Rd about two miles east of I-75 until you see the Shining Light Church. Cross the road (carefully!!) the pond is on the SOUTH side of Fruitville directly across from the church. There is plenty of parking at the church, please do not park on the shoulder or go onto the pond edges. This is private property and there is a nice sidewalk that affords great views of the pond. There are also about 50 Hooded Mergansers, Scaup, Teal ,etc. Good Luck and Good Birding, Rick Greenspun birddoggie1 AT gmail.com 15 December - Yesterday (Tuesday) there were a half-dozen pairs of hooded mergansers in the small pond north of Denny's Restaurant on Rt.41 and Beneva Rd intersection (across from Sarasota Square Mall). I've seen the hooded mergansers in this same pond several times in the past week when driving south on Rt.41 Mary Jane Beeman _______________________________________ Peter Rice Subject: Curlew at South lagoon of Holiday Inn/ Fort Myers beach . From: F Stevens <mybuntings AT yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:25:54 -0800 (PST) Finally made it there for the first time after Dale my new birder friend prompt me to go check a Long-billed Curlew he saw this morning, I lucked out at sunset observing the bird still there at a distance alone and busy feeding. As I began my walk south a beautiful Roseate Spoonbill was close enough for me to truly appreciate it's beautiful plumage on my return another had joined this one I notice had a red/orange tag couldn't identify the number. I remember Charlie Ewell saying the green tags were Florida but I don't remember the other colors, didn't have a pen at the presentation...so if anyone knows about red/orange feel free to educate me.   PS. Dale said an Avocet was sighted there this morning, I didn't see it at my walk.   Subject: Bonita beach north end back side. From: F Stevens <mybuntings AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 9 Dec 2009 18:02:05 -0800 (PST) Sometimes it's what you don't see that's amazing, Monday the 7th at sunset walk there wasn't a single shorebird in site, in the past two weeks too many to count and at least 20/30 sanderlings also last Thursday at my last walk before Fridays and Saturdays heavy rains.   Did all the shorebirds relocate because of the rain or were they resting to move on? After Charlie Ewell's migration presentation on the 4th Dec. I now know many have a very long flight and rest before heading for their destination.   Monday I did observe a first spring Black crowned Night Heron, this bird caught my attention because of his plumage, I had plenty of time to scketch him out and was able to check my book that was in the car ! Subject: newbie From: Kenny Patrowicz <orbisonfan AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:26:13 -0800 (PST) Hi y'all, Just moved here from Texas to Bonita Springs. Looking forward to seeing the local bird species. Happy birding, Kenny   Thank you,.......thankyouverymuch!             Subject: SRQ Bird Alerts 24 November 2009 From: "Peter Rice SRQ Bird Alerts" <SRQbirdAlerts AT msn.com> Date: Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:06:31 -0500 24 November -- FLARBA alert: Tropical/Couch's Kingbird (possible), De Soto County, Arcadia, FL. Reporter: Ron Smith, observers: Dave Goodwin & Erik Haney. Directions: From Arcadia go east on SR 70 about five miles to CR 760. Turn south and proceed approx. 2.2 miles to a large field on your left (south). The kingbirds perch on the wires overhead and also on the wires that go across the field. (DeLORME p.g 99 C-1) 5 Western Kingbirds in area as well. 24 November - Driving through the Rotonda community in Englewood this afternoon, just before 3:00 PM, I saw a beautiful adult Scissor-tailed Flycatcher on the power lines on Boundary Circle. I did not see the bird on my return trip home two hours later, however, so it's possible the bird was just migrating through and not hanging around. Should anyone care to go poking about for him, check the lines and the large field on the east side of Boundary, between Indian Creek and Rebel. This is the same area where an Upland Sandpiper was located a few years back. I am curious if anyone else has seen an STFL in Charlotte County before, as this is my first sighting here. Please let me know, if so. Thanks. Suisan Daughtrey Englewood, Charlotte County susansd AT comcast.net 23 November - Among a group of 85 RED KNOTS I spotted at Don Pedro Island State Park (western portion)today I noticed later in my photos that 5 were banded. Yesterday while having lunch with family on our back porch we noticed a beautiful male BLACK-THROATED BLUE warbler bathing in a nearby birdbath & were delighted to see one this late. Bill Dunson, Englewood mkdunson AT comcast.net Perhaps of interest - This morning (11/24/09), the International Baccalaureate (IB) class of Brookside Middle School went into Pinecraft Park for their semi-annual air potato pick up. There were about 70 students with a dozen or so working/supervising adults. They swarmed through the park like ants and filled bucket after bucket with potatoes. I estimated 7,000 to 10,000 in all. They also freed up some trees from those strangling vines. This IB class program is led by Deb Walker who coordinates the effort with Lynda Eppinger of SRQ Parks & Rec. This is the third year of the program. In addition to the potato gathering, a smaller crew of students worked with P&R staffers to erect permanent boundary markers in the park. Believe or not, the County does not own all of Pinecraft Park; the paths snake in and out of County and private property. The markers will not be joined by wire or tape, so birders will still be able to access the private areas. Please exercise discretion though, so that the homeowners don't feel as though they are being spied on. Many thanks to all involved today in helping to keep Pinecraft Park exotic free. Jeanne Dubi, Sarasota Audubon Society dubi AT comcast.net Perhaps of interest - If you have been to Celery Fields (in SRQ) lately you may have seen all the pink blobs on the stems of the aquatic life in the ponds. Lots of people are asking - What are they? I have asked a few people and looked them up online and it looks like they are APPLE SNAIL EGGS, and as you all know this is what the Limpkin and Snail Kite eat. Limpkins eat many different snails, but Snail Kites eat only Apple Snails - so why don't we get more Snail Kites at the CF's? Here is some info about the snail eggs: Apple snails lay eggs above the water line. They can leave the water for a few hours as long as they are kept moist. The eggs are usually pretty colors like yellow or pink. In aquariums, they are laid on the side or lid of glass. In ponds, they are laid on vertical plant stems. After about two to four weeks, they hatch. Eggs that do not hatch are usually not fertilized. Newborns may drown and need to stay out of the water. If anyone has more information on the Apple Snails please come forward. Kathryn Young Sarasota kathwren4 AT gmail.com _______________________________________ Peter Rice Subject: North Bonita beach 22 Nov. sunset. From: F Stevens <mybuntings AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:49:26 -0800 (PST) Again an amazing show one hour into the sunset at North end of Bonita beach in the back pass. The schools of fish were jumping and the birds were feeding.   Too many Dunlins to count and a few Willets, many more shore birds I can't identy as I have trouble distinguishing some shore birds (need a coach!) without my book but it's nice to see the little ones snuggle into the crevaces in the sands, do they sleep there? Numerous Snowy Egrets of course and Great Egrets. A few Tricolored Herons, Red Egrets and Little Blue Herons, the usual King Fisher a dozen Black Skimmers skimming!  Five Frigatebirds. No Night Herons yet but a Roseate Spoonbill earlier this week was a treat as I had not seen any in a very long time at this location.   I'm always the only one there with binoculars enjoying the show !   At my feeder in the yard the Painted Buntings are feeding all day, I know for sure of 2 males and one female.  Subject: Bunche Beach birding tomorrow From: "Charlie Ewell" <anhinga42 AT embarqmail.com> Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:47:51 -0500 All, See below for a Lee County Bird Patrol announcement for a walk at Bunche Beach tomorrow: November 21, Saturday 8AM Bunche Beach Guides: Iver Brook, Walt Winton, Charlie Ewell Located in So Ft. Myers off Summerlin Rd: Drive south on John Morris Rd until it dead ends. Experience one of the best birding sites in Lee Co. Bring binoculars, sun protection, shoes that can get wet, a bottle of drinking water. Meet in the parking lot. 239-707-3015 for more info Charlie Ewell Cape Coral, FL anhinga42 AT embarqmail.com Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife/Burrowing Owl Festival info: http://www.ccfriendsofwildlife.org/ Lee County Bird Patrol info: http://www.birdpatrol.org/ SWFL Birdline info: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SWFLBirdline/ FL Ornithological Society info: http://www.fosbirds.org/ Subject: STA5 Nov. 14 From: "Margaret England" <mlelighthouse AT embarqmail.com> Date: Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:23:18 -0500 STA5 20 miles South of Clewiston: Two species were added to the STA5 checklist yesterday: Wilson's Phalarope and Blue-headed vireo. I've included Caloosa Bird Club, Tropical Audubon, St. Lucie Audubon and individual birder's combined lists for Blumberg and the STA5 cells. There is a cap of 60 participants for the STA5 tours. Reservations are required. No new reservations are being taken for Jan. 16 or Jan. 30th. Birders, photographers and compilers are needed for the Jan. 2nd CBC.(FLSO) You may volunteer for 1/2 or the full day. The post count event will be held on 835 in Clewiston. For information or reservations contact: Margaret England LaBelle sta5birding AT embarqmail.com Hendry-Glades Audubon Website: http://www.orgsites.com/fl/hgaudubon/ Location: Stormwater Treatment Area 5 Observation date: 11/14/09 Number of species: 81 Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Fulvous Whistling-Duck Gadwall 3 American Wigeon 2 Northern Shoveler Ring-necked Duck Lesser Scaup Ruddy Duck Pied-billed Grebe American White Pelican Double-crested Cormorant Anhinga American Bittern Great Blue Heron Great Blue Heron (White form) Great Egret Snowy Egret Little Blue Heron Tricolored Heron Cattle Egret Green Heron Black-crowned Night-Heron White Ibis Glossy Ibis Roseate Spoonbill Wood Stork Black Vulture Turkey Vulture Osprey Snail Kite 13 Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Sharp-shinned Hawk Cooper's Hawk Red-shouldered Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Crested Caracara 2 American Kestrel Peregrine Falcon 2 Sora Purple Swamphen Purple Gallinule Common Moorhen American Coot Limpkin 3 Killdeer Black-necked Stilt Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Least Sandpiper Dunlin Stilt Sandpiper Long-billed Dowitcher Wilson's Snipe Wilson's Phalarope 1 Caspian Tern 1 Eurasian Collared-Dove Mourning Dove Common Ground-Dove Barn Owl 1 Belted Kingfisher Eastern Phoebe Cassin's Kingbird 1 Western Kingbird 1 Loggerhead Shrike White-eyed Vireo Blue-headed Vireo 1 Tree Swallow Northern Rough-winged Swallow Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird European Starling Yellow-rumped Warbler Palm Warbler Common Yellowthroat Northern Cardinal Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Boat-tailed Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird Subject: Great Black-backed Gull at Bunche Beach From: Cheyenne Szydlo <cheyenne.szydlo AT yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:02:21 -0800 (PST) This evening (11/12) there were tons of shorebirds at Bunche Beach at low tide. In addition to the usual birds, I saw a 1st winter ring-billed and at least four 1st winter Herring Gulls. With them I believe was a 1st winter Great Black-backed Gull. The sun had already set when I found this bird and it was overcast, but here are the features I could see: very large bird, significantly larger than herrings, thick black bill with bulging gonydeal expansion, low sloping forehead, whitish head including face and neck, dark eye with faint dark smudging extending behind eye and to back of head, brown streaking on chest, obvious white flecking or checkering in otherwise brownish coverts, and short primary projection. The size of this gull alone made me think it couldn't be any other than a Great Black-backed before I even checked my field guides (Sibley and peterson's Gulls of the Americas).  Nice find for me!   -Cheyenne Subject: Target Sparrows From: "kacressman" <kacressman AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:27:40 -0000 Hi all, I've got a friend coming to town next week, and he's got some target birds that we're not sure where to find. I shouldn't have a problem getting him a burrowing owl. The stumpers are sparrows. Here's his wish list: Nelson's Sparrow Saltmarsh Sparrow Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow Bachman's Sparrow - I've heard of these at Babcock-Webb; any other place we should try? He also mentioned gull-billed tern. The only one I've ever seen was at Bunche Beach (it was with this same friend, and it took us a long time to figure out the ID. Luckily it just kept dive-bombing the wrack line until we got it). Do we just have to hope for luck? One final thing is that he's never seen a gannet - how likely is it that we'll be able to spot one from the beach if we just look long and hard? Thanks! Kim Cressman Cape Coral kacressman AT yahoo.com Subject: American Avocet From: "mybuntings" <mybuntings AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:33:00 -0000 For anyone interested, at Bonita Beach most Northern beach acceess, just before the overpass. I walk that end of the beach regularly and tonight at sunset I observed 8 beautiful American Avocet and many other shore birds, not on the beach you must walk all the way north until you reach the end and then walk to the back. Last week one Roseate Spoonbill... Subject: Target SWFL Species for a December Visit From: "Pete" <phf AT mchsi.com> Date: Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:23:09 -0000 Greetings SW FL Birders, I will be visiting the Sanibel area in late December for a week, and am interested in finding a few target species. Can anyone suggest some likely places for the following birds? I am willing to travel to Naples and further if necessary. Thanks! Snail Kite White-tailed Kite Swainson's Hawk Short-tailed Hawk Mangrove Cuckoo Prairie Warbler Bachman's Sparrow (Babcock Webb, right?) Limpkin Whistling Ducks (Fulvous and Black-bellied) Clapper Rail King Rail Gull-billed Tern On previous visits, I have birded and am mostly familiar with Ding Darling, Bunche Beach, Sanibel Lighthouse, Corkscrew and Babcock Webb. Thank you for any advice. Pete Fenner East Peoria, IL Subject: STA5 Hendry County: 10/19/09 From: "Margaret England" <mlelighthouse AT embarqmail.com> Date: Sun, 18 Oct 2009 21:58:39 -0400 Subject: STA5 Hendry County: 10/19/09 Here's yesterday's STA5 list. The highlight of the day was a banded roseate spoonbill, 9 snail kites and a Cassin's Kingbird. Three large groups have already signed up for the Nov. 14th tour, however only a few birders or photographers have signed up for Nov. 28th, Dec. 12 or Dec. 26th. Reservations are required. Teams and indivduals are invited to participate in the 3rd annual STA5-Clewiston (FLSO) Christmas Bird Count on Jan. 2nd . The CBC circle includes STA5, Blumberg Road, 835 and Farm , Miami Canal/Manley Ditch Road, and L2 Canal Road. For information or reservations contact: Margaret England LaBelle Hendry-Glades Audubon sta5birding AT embarqmail.com Black-bellied Whistling-Duck x72 Fulvous Whistling-Duck >25 Mottled Duck Blue-winged Teal Northern Shoveler Ring-necked Duck Pied-billed Grebe American White Pelican >30 Double-crested Cormorant Anhinga American Bittern x2 (FOTS) Great Blue Heron Great Blue Heron (Great White Heron) x3 Great Egret Snowy Egret Little Blue Heron Tricolored Heron Cattle Egret Green Heron Black-crowned Night-Heron White Ibis Glossy Ibis Roseate Spoonbill >75 (One was banded K over Y on right leg with what appeared to be a faded yellow band or perhaps cream-colored band) Wood Stork >50 Black Vulture Turkey Vulture Osprey Snail Kite x9 Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Crested Caracara American Kestrel Peregrine Falcon x6 Sora Purple Swamphen x5 Purple Gallinule >20 (mostly juveniles) Common Moorhen American Coot Limpkin Killdeer Black-necked Stilt >50 Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Least Sandpiper >200 Stilt Sandpiper >50 Long-billed Dowitcher >15 Wilson's Snipe (FOTS) Eurasian Collared-Dove x1 (Uncommon at STA-5/Blumberg Rd.) Mourning Dove Common Ground-Dove Barn Owl x3 Belted Kingfisher Eastern Phoebe (FOTS) CASSIN'S KINGBIRD Loggerhead Shrike White-eyed Vireo Tree Swallow x2 Northern Rough-winged Swallow >150 Barn Swallow >10 Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird Palm Warbler Northern Waterthrush x2 Common Yellowthroat Eastern Towhee Northern Cardinal Red-winged Blackbird Eastern Meadowlark Boat-tailed Grackle Good birding. Vince Lucas Naples, FL vplucas AT comcast.net Subject: SRQ Bird Alerts 17 October 2009 - Mangrove Cuckoo, Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Golden-winged Warbler From: "Peter Rice SRQ Bird Alerts" <SRQbirdAlerts AT msn.com> Date: Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:02:03 -0400 17 October - This Saturday morning on Edwards Island in Roberts Bay I had a Philadelphia Vireo. Also there, Black and White, Tennessee, and Yellow-throated Warblers, E. Wood Pewee, Indigo Buntings, and a nice pair of Am Redstarts. Tons of gnatcatchers, too. This afternoon in North Lido Park with Rick Greenspun and Valeri Ponzo, we had a MANGROVE CUCKOO. This is a super find for this area. We also had a nice mixed flock of migrants: Bay-breasted, Magnolia, Black-throated Green, Tennessee, Pine, Black and White, and Palm Warblers, N. Parula, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Scarlet and Summer Tanagers, Swainson's Thrush, Indigo Buntings, catbirds, and a number of calling E. Wood Pewees. Jeanne Dubi-Sarasota dubi AT comcast.net 17 October - We had another day this Fall of opening up the front door here in SW Englewood, and finding every tree covered and the air dense with the sound of birds...truly a mass fallout. The majority of warblers moved through extremely quickly within about an hour, feeding frantically, and barely pausing on their move. We had a total of 17 warbler species: Tennessee, No. Parula, Chestnut-sided, Magnolia (lots), Cape May, Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green (several), Yellow-throated, Pine, Prairie (a few), Palm, Bay-breasted (FINALLY! - a lifer for me), Black-and-white (several), Am. Redstart (many), Worm-eating, Common Yellowthroat, and a few gorgeous male Hoodeds. We also saw some birds that were new yard birds for me: Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Swainson's Thrush, and Tufted Titmouse. New first-of-the-season birds included Eastern Phoebe and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Other migrating and notable species were a few Eastern Wood-Pewees, an Empid species, late Chimney Swifts, Swallow species (sad to say, but I didn't really want to look up to focus the bins because of all the warblers conveniently right in front), Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Gray Catbirds, Brown Thrashers, Yellow-throated and Red-eyed Vireos, several Summer and Scarlet Tanagers, and several Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. Raptors included a few Bald Eagles and Ospreys, a Cooper's Hawk, and a Red-shouldered Hawk. We took some visiting weekend company out on the boat to Charlotte Harbor this afternoon, where the winds picked up considerably over the course of a few hours. We had a flyover flock of 5 Roseate Spoonbills and an estimated 250-300 FOTS American White Pelicans on Bird Island out in the harbor. Truly a wonderful birding day! Susan Daughtrey Englewood, Charlotte County susansd AT comcast.net 17 October - In addition to the birds John Wilson saw in Pinecraft Park, we saw: male and female black-throated green warblers, male and female redstarts, multiple ruby-throated hummingbirds, summer tanagers, yellow throated warbler, northern parulas, red eyed vireo, white-eyed vireos, and best of the day for Gregg and I: a beautiful male golden-winged warbler, who let us take long looks in wonderful light! Cathy Olson cathyolson AT comcast.net Perhaps of interest, the last entry is from north-west Highland County, the county east of Hardee County (that is east of Manatee County). 17 October - I finally got motivated to get out and look for some fall migrants (the cooler weather helped a lot). I checked out the Sun 'N Lake Preserve, a county park in northwestern Highlands County this morning and found about 45 species total, including Chestnut-sided and Tennessee Warblers, 2 redstarts, an Ovenbird, a couple phoebes, my first of the season harrier, a bald eagle, and a peregrine falcon. Here's my complete list: 1. Anhinga - 1 female in Gator Pond. 2. Snowy Egret - 1 at the back of Gator Pond. 3. Little Blue Heron - 1 ad. at Gator Pond. 4. Great Blue Heron - 4 or 5 5. Great Egret - 2 or 3 6. White Ibis - about 65, flyovers. 7. Black Vulture - about 20. 8. Turkey Vulture - about 8. 9. Bald Eagle - 1 adult. It didn't seem to be much bigger than the vultures it was flying with, so I'd guess it was a male. 10. Accipiter spp. - 1 11. Northern Harrier - 1 imm. or female flying across cattle pasture at the west side of the property. 12. Red-shouldered Hawk - about 5. 13. Peregrine Falcon (?) - I was scanning through a vulture flock when I saw a large falcon flying very high and fast above them, headed west. I couldn't even see it with my naked eye, but it was almost certainly a peregrine. 14. Common Moorhen - 1 heard near Otter Pond. 15. Mourning Dove - about 8 16. Common Ground-dove - about 5 17. Chimney Swift - 2 18. Red-bellied Woodpecker - about a dozen 19. Downy Woodpecker - about 8 20. Pileated Woodpecker - about 4 heard. 21. Eastern Phoebe - 2 or 3. I had my first of the fall yesterday while I was driving to work. 22. Great Crested Flycatcher - 2 heard. 23. White-eyed Vireo - about 6 heard. 1 seen, a very pretty bird. 24. Blue Jay - about 5 25. American Crow - 2 heard. 26. Tufted Titmouse - about a dozen. 27. Carolina Wren - about 10 heard. 28. House Wren - very common, although I never saw any. Probably heard at least 50 or 60. 29. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - Very common, dozens seen and heard. 30. Catharus spp. - I flushed a thrush that I got a brief look at. I know it wasn't a Veery, but other than that am not really sure. My gut feeling was Gray-cheeked. 31. Northern Mockingbird - Common. Probably saw or heard 30 or 40. 32. Gray Catbird - Abundant, nearly ubiquitous in the park. Probably saw or heard several hundred. 33. Chestnut-sided Warbler - 1 seen briefly in a mixed flock with Pine Warblers, gnatcatchers, titmice, red-bellied woodpeckers, the parula, black-and-white, and a redstart. 34. Yellow-rumped Warbler? - I think I briefly saw a group of 3. They were all backlit, but the shape looked right and the call note sounded right. These would be my first of the fall. 35. Palm Warbler - Probably saw about 10 or 15. 36. Pine Warbler - Probably saw 20 or 30. 37. Black-and-white Warbler - 1 (a male I think). 38. American Redstart - 2 females, great looks. 39. Tennessee Warbler - 2 first fall birds foraging near the trailhead in a tree with a redstart, summer tanager, and a gnatcatcher. 40. Northern Parula - 1 41. Ovenbird - briefly saw 1 that I flushed from the edge of the pond with the cypress dome near the cattle pasture. 42. Common Yellowthroat - Common. Saw several, probably heard 40 or 50. 43. Summer Tanager - 1 44. Northern Cardinal - about a dozen. 45. Common Grackle - about 10. Also, 3 eastern gray squirrels and 1 alligator. Greg Schrott Sebring, FL gschrott AT ARCHBOLD-STATION.ORG _______________________________________ Peter Rice Subject: American Redstart at OK Slough Sic Island Road Boardwalk (Hendry County) From: "Margaret England" <mlelighthouse AT embarqmail.com> Date: Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:24:17 -0400 Subject: American Redstart at OK Slough Sic Island Road Boardwalk (Hendry County) The highlight of today's Forest Awareness Day at Okaloacoochee Slouth State Forest was a male American Redstart in the trees along the path leading to the new Sic Island Road Boardwalk. To get to the boardwalk head east from SR 29 to C.R. 832 in southern Hendry County. Drive on 832 approximately 4 miles from S.R. 29. Turn on to Sic Island Road (south side of 832) and continue 1/4 mile to parking area. More species were reported, but I'm only including my "short" list. Margaret England LaBelle (Hendry County) Location: Okaloacoochee Slough Observation date: 10/10/09 Number of species: 20 Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 6 Great Blue Heron Great Egret Cattle Egret Green Heron White Ibis Black Vulture Turkey Vulture Red-shouldered Hawk Mourning Dove Common Nighthawk Loggerhead Shrike American Crow Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird Palm Warbler American Redstart Red-winged Blackbird Boat-tailed Grackle Subject: RE: Stilt Sandpiper still present at Six Mile Cypress Parkway Publix near Colonial Blvd, Ft Myers (Lee County) From: "Charlie Ewell" <anhinga42 AT embarqmail.com> Date: Fri, 9 Oct 2009 07:49:37 -0400 I should have noted a scope is highly recommended! Charlie Ewell Cape Coral, FL anhinga42 AT embarqmail.com Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife/Burrowing Owl Festival info: http://www.ccfriendsofwildlife.org/ Lee County Bird Patrol info: http://www.birdpatrol.org/ SWFL Birdline info: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SWFLBirdline/ FL Ornithological Society info: http://www.fosbirds.org/ _____ From: SWFLBirdline AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:SWFLBirdline AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Charlie Ewell Sent: Friday, October 09, 2009 7:29 AM To: SWFLBirdline AT yahoogroups.com Subject: [SWFLBirdline] Stilt Sandpiper still present at Six Mile Cypress Parkway Publix near Colonial Blvd, Ft Myers (Lee County) [1 Attachment] [Attachment(s) from Charlie Ewell included below] Subject: Stilt Sandpiper still present All, Here is a nice comparison between a Stilt Sandpiper and a Lesser Yellowlegs. The Stilt Sandpiper is the smaller, paler bird with the slight droop to the bill. You can see the different facial pattern nicely between the Stilt and Lesser Yellowlegs, with the Stilt showing the white supercilium (eyebrow) and chin/neck vs. the Lesser's gray-brown face and neck area that does not contrast as much. You will need to sort through quite a few Lesser Yellowlegs if you look for the Stilt! I stopped by the Publix on the east side of Six Mile Cypress Pkwy (a short distance south of Colonial Blvd) that has a recently cleared field (that is still holding some water) between the store and Six Mile. There is also nice shorebird habitat adjacent to the store on the south and east sides. The birds move between all the wet areas. You can park in the Publix lot, or all the way down at the south-end access road. A Wilson's Snipe was also reported previously by Vince McGrath, but I did not see it on this visit. Shorebirds present today were: Killdeer Pectoral Sandpiper (2) Stilt Sandpiper (1) Lesser Yellowlegs (30+) Greater Yellowlegs (~10) Spotted Sandpiper (1) Least Sandpiper (100+): Beware of the Least Sandpipers with mud-covered legs! They look like Semipalmated Sandpiper at first glance. There may be Semiplamated present, but I couldn't be sure today!) Charlie Ewell Cape Coral, FL anhinga42 AT embarqmai l.com Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife/Burrowing Owl Festival info: http://www.ccfriend sofwildlife.org/ Lee County Bird Patrol info: http://www.birdpatr ol.org/ SWFL Birdline info: http://groups. yahoo.com/group/SWFLBirdline/ FL Ornithological Society info: http://www.fosbirds .org/ Subject: Stilt Sandpiper still present at Six Mile Cypress Parkway Publix near Colonial Blvd, Ft Myers (Lee County) [1 Attachment] From: "Charlie Ewell" <anhinga42 AT embarqmail.com> Date: Fri, 9 Oct 2009 07:29:29 -0400 Subject: Stilt Sandpiper still present All, Here is a nice comparison between a Stilt Sandpiper and a Lesser Yellowlegs. The Stilt Sandpiper is the smaller, paler bird with the slight droop to the bill. You can see the different facial pattern nicely between the Stilt and Lesser Yellowlegs, with the Stilt showing the white supercilium (eyebrow) and chin/neck vs. the Lesser's gray-brown face and neck area that does not contrast as much. You will need to sort through quite a few Lesser Yellowlegs if you look for the Stilt! I stopped by the Publix on the east side of Six Mile Cypress Pkwy (a short distance south of Colonial Blvd) that has a recently cleared field (that is still holding some water) between the store and Six Mile. There is also nice shorebird habitat adjacent to the store on the south and east sides. The birds move between all the wet areas. You can park in the Publix lot, or all the way down at the south-end access road. A Wilson's Snipe was also reported previously by Vince McGrath, but I did not see it on this visit. Shorebirds present today were: Killdeer Pectoral Sandpiper (2) Stilt Sandpiper (1) Lesser Yellowlegs (30+) Greater Yellowlegs (~10) Spotted Sandpiper (1) Least Sandpiper (100+): Beware of the Least Sandpipers with mud-covered legs! They look like Semipalmated Sandpiper at first glance. There may be Semiplamated present, but I couldn't be sure today!) Charlie Ewell Cape Coral, FL anhinga42 AT embarqmail.com Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife/Burrowing Owl Festival info: http://www.ccfriendsofwildlife.org/ Lee County Bird Patrol info: http://www.birdpatrol.org/ SWFL Birdline info: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SWFLBirdline/ FL Ornithological Society info: http://www.fosbirds.org/ Subject: RE: Lee County report: A true fallout- almost From: "Charlie Ewell" <anhinga42 AT embarqmail.com> Date: Thu, 1 Oct 2009 23:18:49 -0400 All, Walt Winton found a Blue-winged and a Golden-winged Warbler at Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve during the Wednesday morning action, and he and I relocated the birds today (Thursday 1 Oct). They were both along the boardwalk in the vicinity of Pop Ash Pond, which is the pond with the blind that is located at the south end of the boardwalk. Many of the birds mentioned below were still present, although in lesser numbers. Charlie Ewell Cape Coral, FL anhinga42 AT embarqmail.com Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife/Burrowing Owl Festival info: http://www.ccfriendsofwildlife.org/ Lee County Bird Patrol info: http://www.birdpatrol.org/ SWFL Birdline info: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SWFLBirdline/ FL Ornithological Society info: http://www.fosbirds.org/ _____ From: SWFLBirdline AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:SWFLBirdline AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Charlie Ewell Sent: Thursday, October 01, 2009 6:13 AM To: SWFLBirdline AT yahoogroups.com Subject: [SWFLBirdline] Lee County report: A true fallout- almost The below was reported by Vince McGrath The strong weather system that passed southwest Florida coast this morning inundated Lee Co with the dream birding we all desire. As I drove to work along Sanibel to the north tip of Captiva it appeared daybreak would be delayed. By 8am about halfway up Sanibel I began seeing migrants crossing the road in every direction. At work flocks of warblers were streaming in from every direction. By 9 am I'd seen 13 species of warblers. Wood, Swainson and Veery. Yellow-throated, Red- eyed, and White-eyed Vireos. Eastern Wood Pewee- fuggeda about it- I don't recall ever seeing so many in one day. Summer and Scarlet Tanagers. Left work early to finish the day at Six Mile Cypress Preserve inland. Added Baltimore Oriole, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and Acadian Flycatcher plus 3 more warblers species. Absent was prairie, black-throated blue, cuckoos, swallows, swifts and goatsuckers. 16 species of warblers N Parula Tennessee- 100s Yellow Chestnut-sided 20 Magnolia 12 Black-throated Green Blackburnian Yellow-throated Palm Prothonotary Hooded 6 Black and White Am Redstart N Waterthrush Ovenbird Yellowthroat 20 Mcavian AT aol. com Vince McGrath Fort Myers, Fl Subject: RE: Lee County report: A true fallout- almost From: "Charlie Ewell and Arlyne Salcedo" <ARandCHAR AT embarqmail.com> Date: Thu, 1 Oct 2009 06:17:32 -0400 I forgot to mention the report is for Wednesday 30 Sep 09 _____ From: SWFLBirdline AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:SWFLBirdline AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Charlie Ewell Sent: Thursday, October 01, 2009 6:13 AM To: SWFLBirdline AT yahoogroups.com Subject: [SWFLBirdline] Lee County report: A true fallout- almost The below was reported by Vince McGrath Charlie Ewell Cape Coral, FL anhinga42 AT embarqmai l.com Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife/Burrowing Owl Festival info: http://www.ccfriend sofwildlife.org/ Lee County Bird Patrol info: http://www.birdpatr ol.org/ SWFL Birdline info: http://groups. yahoo.com/group/SWFLBirdline/ FL Ornithological Society info: http://www.fosbirds .org/ _____ On Behalf Of Vincent McGrath Sent: Wednesday, September 30, 2009 10:19 PM Subject: [FlaBirding] A true fallout- almost The strong weather system that passed southwest Florida coast this morning inundated Lee Co with the dream birding we all desire. As I drove to work along Sanibel to the north tip of Captiva it appeared daybreak would be delayed. By 8am about halfway up Sanibel I began seeing migrants crossing the road in every direction. At work flocks of warblers were streaming in from every direction. By 9 am I'd seen 13 species of warblers. Wood, Swainson and Veery. Yellow-throated, Red- eyed, and White-eyed Vireos. Eastern Wood Pewee- fuggeda about it- I don't recall ever seeing so many in one day. Summer and Scarlet Tanagers. Left work early to finish the day at Six Mile Cypress Preserve inland. Added Baltimore Oriole, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and Acadian Flycatcher plus 3 more warblers species. Absent was prairie, black-throated blue, cuckoos, swallows, swifts and goatsuckers. 16 species of warblers N Parula Tennessee- 100s Yellow Chestnut-sided 20 Magnolia 12 Black-throated Green Blackburnian Yellow-throated Palm Prothonotary Hooded 6 Black and White Am Redstart N Waterthrush Ovenbird Yellowthroat 20 Mcavian AT aol. com Vince McGrath Fort Myers, Fl Subject: Lee County report: A true fallout- almost From: "Charlie Ewell" <anhinga42 AT embarqmail.com> Date: Thu, 1 Oct 2009 06:13:19 -0400 The below was reported by Vince McGrath Charlie Ewell Cape Coral, FL anhinga42 AT embarqmail.com Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife/Burrowing Owl Festival info: http://www.ccfriendsofwildlife.org/ Lee County Bird Patrol info: http://www.birdpatrol.org/ SWFL Birdline info: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SWFLBirdline/ FL Ornithological Society info: http://www.fosbirds.org/ _____ On Behalf Of Vincent McGrath Sent: Wednesday, September 30, 2009 10:19 PM Subject: [FlaBirding] A true fallout- almost The strong weather system that passed southwest Florida coast this morning inundated Lee Co with the dream birding we all desire. As I drove to work along Sanibel to the north tip of Captiva it appeared daybreak would be delayed. By 8am about halfway up Sanibel I began seeing migrants crossing the road in every direction. At work flocks of warblers were streaming in from every direction. By 9 am I'd seen 13 species of warblers. Wood, Swainson and Veery. Yellow-throated, Red- eyed, and White-eyed Vireos. Eastern Wood Pewee- fuggeda about it- I don't recall ever seeing so many in one day. Summer and Scarlet Tanagers. Left work early to finish the day at Six Mile Cypress Preserve inland. Added Baltimore Oriole, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and Acadian Flycatcher plus 3 more warblers species. Absent was prairie, black-throated blue, cuckoos, swallows, swifts and goatsuckers. 16 species of warblers N Parula Tennessee- 100s Yellow Chestnut-sided 20 Magnolia 12 Black-throated Green Blackburnian Yellow-throated Palm Prothonotary Hooded 6 Black and White Am Redstart N Waterthrush Ovenbird Yellowthroat 20 Mcavian AT aol. com Vince McGrath Fort Myers, Fl Subject: RE: Re: [SWFLBirdline] Digest Number 999 From: "Jeff Bouton" <jbouton2 AT earthlink.net> Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:56:31 -0400 Dany, Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of these products and own no fewer than 20 varying bird-finding guides (ABA & other) dating back to the first one I purchased back in 1985. None-the-less, let's use the aforementioned "ABA Birder's Guide to Florida" as an example. Let me preface by saying that Bill Pranty has done a Fantastic job here and this is one of the best guides in its class. This is not meant at a dig at the guides but strictly as a comparison. The ABA guide was last published in 2005 and much of the data included was written 2-3 years earlier so some of the data presented is approaching 8 years old. It's 418 pages and chronicles ~75 birding areas or "loops" complete with directions, etc. for a total of ~320+/- individual sites (from a quick thumb through). Also included is an annotated list, information on other wildlife, a specialty species section, and other stuff. All to the tune of $25.95 retail. Now let's compare this to the "Great Florida Birding Trail": http://www.floridabirdingtrail.com/guide.htm These guides are smaller regional pamphlets but like the ABA guide offer bird-finding tips, maps & directions, contact numbers for parks, etc. These are absolutely free for the asking and if you can't find an agency office, etc. that carries them, you can download PDF versions that you can view on your handheld in the field, cell phone, or if you want the "real deal" you can print out all or just the sections you plan to visit. The four guides are ~32-40 pages long each and are broken into four regions East, West, South, and Panhandle. They include 71 "clusters" (similar to the loops in the ABA guide) which cover 487 individual sites. The eastern guide was the first produced 2002, but online there is a list of individual sites and an additional 46 sites are listed here. As names and directions change, the website adds updates (as recent as August 5th 2009) to handle the changes. So in direct comparison, for $26 I get a 418 page book that covers ~320 birding sites. For free I have the same quality site finding information on 487 (printed) or 533 (electronic) sites. I know personally I have had times where I couldn't find a newer site in ABA and could on the birding trail site. One requires carrying the large 417 page guide (near the size of the full-sized Sibley guides), the other only requires a cell phone signal. In addition, I note that the Great Florida Birding Trail is synched with "Google Maps" so I can get direct turn by turn directions and even images showing landmarks, (e.g. what the intersection looks like). Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the book is obsolete. Only that these new resource that are more inclusive of sites (40% more in this case), are more intuitive, and regularly updated are absolutely FREE. Plus, for anyone with an I-phone or Blackberry eliminates the need to print these or pick these up. This is more eco-friendly (no paper waste). Plus since many of these handheld devices also have GPS capabilities, one can simply access the site they want to go to, click the Google Maps tool, and their phone will guide them turn by turn to the site! It's come a long way from when I bought my first "Lane" Guide (original name of this ABA bird-finding series) 25 years ago and felt like I'd been given the golden ticket, and these changes are ABSOLUTELY affecting the sales of these products which offer (comparatively) old and sometimes out-dated information on notably fewer birding sites. The annotated checklists in these books was always one of my favorite portions of these but in this case this single checklist for the state requires a bit of guesswork depending where you are in the state. For example, Purple Sandpiper is listed from Late October all the way through June. from October to March it is listed as "Uncommon", then "Rare" in April, and "Casual" in May & June. However, the first section of this graph is broken up into 5 geographic areas: Panhandle, North Peninsula, Central Pen., South Pen, & keys. In the Panhandle and Keys the listing is Casual, it is Rare in Central & South, and Uncommon only in North Peninsula. Meaning anywhere but the former you have to assume that abundance & likelihood is downgraded marginally to significantly. Enter E-bird. Using E-bird I can create my own annotated checklists limited to exact sites or geographic areas as I dictate (county, area, township, state whatever). In addition, I can have it list only specific date ranges and the graphs represented include real time data that could include sightings as recent as yesterday from that site in some cases. The annotated checklist in the guide is based on review of 40 years of written checklist data that often includes information on species which are no longer seen reliably. For example, in the ABA guide Smooth-billed Ani is listed as rare year round, throughout the south peninsula region. While this may be correct by definition, the reality of this is that in the past 6+ years no one has reported any birds in the state except for a single family group that is seen near the Ft. Lauderdale airport. A real time species checklist drawn from modern and recent data would not give a visiting birder the impression that they stand a fair chance of running into these as they bird the southern peninsula. Plus, once again, it's completely free and you can customize it to the EXACT variables you are interested in! http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ Best, Jeff Bouton Birder/Naturalist rep Leica Sport Optics, USA Port Charlotte, FL jbouton2 AT earthlink.net From: Dany Sloan [mailto:danymsloan AT gmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2009 1:35 PM To: Jeff Bouton Cc: 'Joan Chasan'; swflbirdline AT yahoogroups.com Subject: [Norton AntiSpam] Re: [SWFLBirdline] Digest Number 999 As much as I use the internet for one of my main sources of info both locally and on the road, having books like this are a must for me -- while real time birding is important, having a handy guide that has a list of all of the bird hotspots (which rarely change), as well as directions on how to get there (which is always useful although I have an iPhone and GPS for my car) is a must for me. It's not my only source, but it's important for the greater arsenal of info. Although I am relatively young (30 years old), I am not ready to give books the heave-ho yet -- these ABA guides have been a huge help for me, and I take my SoCal guide with me every weekend I am in the field. Cheers, Dany Sloan Philadelphia, PA / Los Angeles, CA / Bonita Springs, FL On Sep 15, 2009, at 10:07 AM, Jeff Bouton wrote: This has never been a quick process, I know the section I wrote I submitted in 2002 I believe. So the info was already ~3 years old when the guide was new. That said most of this doesn't change and moreover the need for these guides (and sales of) ha largely been destroyed by the plethora of real time and free info available online. For example, most states have bird trail programs as FL does these pamphlets and subsequent updates are easier and cheaper to produce, plus since these are free publications there isn't that pressure of having to wait until you sell through the old stock either. Also bird listserves like this one are VERY common and can be found for any locale with real time info and data. Same for e-bird! The data you can view here represents REAL-TIME current data, not a list comprised from handwritten checklists decades old. This has done much to all but destroy the market need/desire for these local bird-finding guides it seems. I know whenever I prepare for a trip I turn to the internet for my data. Best, Jeff From: SWFLBirdline AT yahoogroups.com [ mailto:SWFLBirdline AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Joan Chasan Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2009 10:17 AM To: swflbirdline AT yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [SWFLBirdline] Digest Number 999 a birders guide to Florida - revised??? in 2005. is that the latest edition? It is 2009 now. ----- Original Message ----- From: SWFLBirdline AT yahoogroups.com To: SWFLBirdline AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2009 10:01 AM Subject: [SWFLBirdline] Digest Number 999 SW FL Birdline Messages In This Digest (1 Message) 1. Birding Hot Spots of Sarasota and Manatee Counties Book From: Peter Rice SRQ Bird Alerts View All Topics | Create New Topic Message 1. Birding Hot Spots of Sarasota and Manatee Counties Book Posted by: "Peter Rice SRQ Bird Alerts" SRQbirdAlerts AT msn.com Mon Sep 14, 2009 8:03 pm (PDT) Perhaps of interest, two books to assist in searching for rare and unusual birds one in the SRQ area and the other elsewhere in Florida 1. Hot Spots book - The revised and updated Hot Spots of Sarasota and Manatee Counties is available at the monthly meetings of Sarasota, Manatee and Venice Audubon Societies. The cost is $6. You can also purchase it by mail for $7.75. Make your check out to: SAS-Hot Spots and mail to: P.O. Box 15423 Sarasota, FL 34277 The book is also available in many SRQ area bookstores. SRQ is the code for the Sarasota Bradenton Airport and is used by many to indicate Sarasota and Manatee Counties. ---------------------------------------------------------- 2. The revised Florida birder's guide is available for sale from ABA (American Birding Association). I recommend it. The hyperlink for ABA sales is below, but you may have to copy and paste it to your browser. A Birder's Guide to Florida (ABA/Lane Birdfinding Guide Series) Code: 175 Price: $21.95 Bill Pranty American Birding Association, revised 1996; 388 pages; wire-O binding Currently under revision; available spring 2005 (actually, fall 2005) This guide, representing a total rewrite of the original Jim Lane and Harold Holt texts, describes over 250 birding sites throughout the state, virtually every one of which is shown in the 82 maps created for this edition. The bird finding text was rewritten with the assistance of nearly 70 of the state's top birders; it contains detailed instructions with exact mileages to all sites covered. The extensive Introduction and Birds of Particular Interest sections were rewritten using the most recent references to Florida's bird life. The bar-graphs contain 483 species, including the entire accepted Florida bird list and a few "non-countable" exotics that appear to be increasing in range and numbers. Also included is a list of 171 species of exotic birds, lists for the state's dragonflies, butterflies, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals, and complete citations for nearly 100 publications referenced during the book's preparation. You'll want a copy of this guide to help yo! u find Florida's specialties-Snail Kite, Limpkin, Short-tailed Hawk, Mangrove Cuckoo, and more. ABA Sales, 115 Fairview Rd, Asheville, NC 28803 . abasales AT abasales.com abasales AT abasales.com> 828/274-5576 or 800/634-7736 (US/Canada) . fax 828/274-1955 . 9 am-5 pm ET M-F http://americanbirding.org/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=ASBS &Product_Code=175&Category_Code=BRGFL< http://americanbirding.org/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=ASBS &Product_Code=175&Category_Code=BRGFL> _______________________________________ Peter Rice Back to top Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post Messages in this topic (1) RECENT ACTIVITY Visit Your Group Yahoo! Finance It's Now Personal Guides, news, advice & more. Yahoo! Groups Mom Power Community just for Moms Join the discussion Yahoo! Groups Do More For Dogs Group Connect and share with dog owners like you Need to Reply? Click one of the "Reply" links to respond to a specific message in the Daily Digest. Create New Topic | Visit Your Group on the Web Messages | Files | Photos | Database | Members | Calendar MARKETPLACE Mom Power: Discover the community of moms doing more for their families, for the world and for each other Yahoo! Groups Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Individual | Switch format to Traditional Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe Error! Filename not specified. Subject: Re: Digest Number 999 From: Dany Sloan <danymsloan AT gmail.com> Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:35:25 -0700 As much as I use the internet for one of my main sources of info both locally and on the road, having books like this are a must for me -- while real time birding is important, having a handy guide that has a list of all of the bird hotspots (which rarely change), as well as directions on how to get there (which is always useful although I have an iPhone and GPS for my car) is a must for me. It's not my only source, but it's important for the greater arsenal of info. Although I am relatively young (30 years old), I am not ready to give books the heave-ho yet -- these ABA guides have been a huge help for me, and I take my SoCal guide with me every weekend I am in the field. Cheers, Dany Sloan Philadelphia, PA / Los Angeles, CA / Bonita Springs, FL On Sep 15, 2009, at 10:07 AM, Jeff Bouton wrote: > > This has never been a quick process, I know the section I wrote I > submitted in 2002 I believe. So the info was already ~3 years old > when the guide was new. That said most of this doesn’t change and > moreover the need for these guides (and sales of) ha largely been > destroyed by the plethora of real time and free info available > online. For example, most states have bird trail programs as FL does > these pamphlets and subsequent updates are easier and cheaper to > produce, plus since these are free publications there isn’t that > pressure of having to wait until you sell through the old stock > either. > > > > Also bird listserves like this one are VERY common and can be found > for any locale with real time info and data. Same for e-bird! The > data you can view here represents REAL-TIME current data, not a list > comprised from handwritten checklists decades old. This has done > much to all but destroy the market need/desire for these local bird- > finding guides it seems. I know whenever I prepare for a trip I turn > to the internet for my data. > > > > Best, > > > > Jeff > > > > From: SWFLBirdline AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:SWFLBirdline AT yahoogroups.com > ] On Behalf Of Joan Chasan > Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2009 10:17 AM > To: swflbirdline AT yahoogroups.com > Subject: Re: [SWFLBirdline] Digest Number 999 > > > > > > a birders guide to Florida - revised??? in 2005. is that the latest > edition? It is 2009 now. > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: SWFLBirdline AT yahoogroups.com > > To: SWFLBirdline AT yahoogroups.com > > Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2009 10:01 AM > > Subject: [SWFLBirdline] Digest Number 999 > > > > SW FL Birdline > > Messages In This Digest (1 Message) > > 1. > > Birding Hot Spots of Sarasota and Manatee Counties Book From: Peter > Rice SRQ Bird Alerts > > View All Topics | Create New Topic > > Message > > 1. > > Birding Hot Spots of Sarasota and Manatee Counties Book > > Posted by: "Peter Rice SRQ Bird Alerts" SRQbirdAlerts AT msn.com > > Mon Sep 14, 2009 8:03 pm (PDT) > > > > Perhaps of interest, two books to assist in searching for rare and > unusual birds one in the SRQ area and the other elsewhere in Florida > > 1. Hot Spots book - The revised and updated > > Hot Spots of Sarasota and Manatee Counties is available at the > monthly meetings of Sarasota, Manatee and Venice Audubon Societies. > The cost is $6. You can also purchase it by mail for $7.75. Make > your check out to: > > SAS-Hot Spots and mail to: > P.O. Box 15423 > Sarasota, FL 34277 > > The book is also available in many SRQ area bookstores. > > SRQ is the code for the Sarasota Bradenton Airport and is used by > many to indicate Sarasota and Manatee Counties. > > ---------------------------------------------------------- > > 2. The revised Florida birder's guide is available for sale from ABA > (American Birding Association). I recommend it. The hyperlink for > ABA sales is below, but you may have to copy and paste it to your > browser. > > A Birder's Guide to Florida (ABA/Lane Birdfinding Guide Series) > Code: 175 Price: $21.95 Bill Pranty > American Birding Association, revised 1996; 388 pages; wire-O binding > > Currently under revision; available spring 2005 (actually, fall 2005) > > This guide, representing a total rewrite of the original Jim Lane > and Harold Holt texts, describes over 250 birding sites throughout > the state, virtually every one of which is shown in the 82 maps > created for this edition. The bird finding text was rewritten with > the assistance of nearly 70 of the state's top birders; it contains > detailed instructions with exact mileages to all sites covered. The > extensive Introduction and Birds of Particular Interest sections > were rewritten using the most recent references to Florida's bird > life. The bar-graphs contain 483 species, including the entire > accepted Florida bird list and a few "non-countable" exotics that > appear to be increasing in range and numbers. Also included is a > list of 171 species of exotic birds, lists for the state's > dragonflies, butterflies, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals, and > complete citations for nearly 100 publications referenced during the > book's preparation. You'll want a copy of this guide to help yo! u > find Florida's specialties-Snail Kite, Limpkin, Short-tailed Hawk, > Mangrove Cuckoo, and more. > > ABA Sales, 115 Fairview Rd, Asheville, NC 28803 . abasales AT abasales.com > > 828/274-5576 or 800/634-7736 (US/Canada) . fax 828/274-1955 . 9 am-5 > pm ET M-F > > http://americanbirding.org/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=ASBS&Product_Code=175&Category_Code=BRGFL > > > _______________________________________ > > Peter Rice > > Back to top > > Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post > Messages in this topic (1) > > RECENT ACTIVITY > > Visit Your Group > > Yahoo! Finance > > It's Now Personal > > Guides, news, > > advice & more. > > Yahoo! Groups > > Mom Power > > Community just for Moms > > Join the discussion > > Yahoo! Groups > > Do More For Dogs Group > > Connect and share with > > dog owners like you > > Need to Reply? > > Click one of the "Reply" links to respond to a specific message in > the Daily Digest. > > Create New Topic | Visit Your Group on the Web > > Messages | Files | Photos | Database | Members | Calendar > > MARKETPLACE > > Mom Power: Discover the community of moms doing more for their > families, for the world and for each other > > > Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) > Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Individual | Switch > format to Traditional > Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe > > Error! Filename not specified. > > > > Subject: RE: Digest Number 999 From: "Jeff Bouton" <jbouton2 AT earthlink.net> Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:07:45 -0400 This has never been a quick process, I know the section I wrote I submitted in 2002 I believe. So the info was already ~3 years old when the guide was new. That said most of this doesn't change and moreover the need for these guides (and sales of) ha largely been destroyed by the plethora of real time and free info available online. For example, most states have bird trail programs as FL does these pamphlets and subsequent updates are easier and cheaper to produce, plus since these are free publications there isn't that pressure of having to wait until you sell through the old stock either. Also bird listserves like this one are VERY common and can be found for any locale with real time info and data. Same for e-bird! The data you can view here represents REAL-TIME current data, not a list comprised from handwritten checklists decades old. This has done much to all but destroy the market need/desire for these local bird-finding guides it seems. I know whenever I prepare for a trip I turn to the internet for my data. Best, Jeff From: SWFLBirdline AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:SWFLBirdline AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Joan Chasan Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2009 10:17 AM To: swflbirdline AT yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [SWFLBirdline] Digest Number 999 a birders guide to Florida - revised??? in 2005. is that the latest edition? It is 2009 now. ----- Original Message ----- From: SWFLBirdline AT yahoogroups.com To: SWFLBirdline AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2009 10:01 AM Subject: [SWFLBirdline] Digest Number 999 SW FL Birdline Messages In This Digest (1 Message) 1. Birding Hot Spots of Sarasota and Manatee Counties Book From: Peter Rice SRQ Bird Alerts View All Topics | Create New Topic Message 1. Birding Hot Spots of Sarasota and Manatee Counties Book Posted by: "Peter Rice SRQ Bird Alerts" SRQbirdAlerts AT msn.com Mon Sep 14, 2009 8:03 pm (PDT) Perhaps of interest, two books to assist in searching for rare and unusual birds one in the SRQ area and the other elsewhere in Florida 1. Hot Spots book - The revised and updated Hot Spots of Sarasota and Manatee Counties is available at the monthly meetings of Sarasota, Manatee and Venice Audubon Societies. The cost is $6. You can also purchase it by mail for $7.75. Make your check out to: SAS-Hot Spots and mail to: P.O. Box 15423 Sarasota, FL 34277 The book is also available in many SRQ area bookstores. SRQ is the code for the Sarasota Bradenton Airport and is used by many to indicate Sarasota and Manatee Counties. ---------------------------------------------------------- 2. The revised Florida birder's guide is available for sale from ABA (American Birding Association). I recommend it. The hyperlink for ABA sales is below, but you may have to copy and paste it to your browser. A Birder's Guide to Florida (ABA/Lane Birdfinding Guide Series) Code: 175 Price: $21.95 Bill Pranty American Birding Association, revised 1996; 388 pages; wire-O binding Currently under revision; available spring 2005 (actually, fall 2005) This guide, representing a total rewrite of the original Jim Lane and Harold Holt texts, describes over 250 birding sites throughout the state, virtually every one of which is shown in the 82 maps created for this edition. The bird finding text was rewritten with the assistance of nearly 70 of the state's top birders; it contains detailed instructions with exact mileages to all sites covered. The extensive Introduction and Birds of Particular Interest sections were rewritten using the most recent references to Florida's bird life. The bar-graphs contain 483 species, including the entire accepted Florida bird list and a few "non-countable" exotics that appear to be increasing in range and numbers. Also included is a list of 171 species of exotic birds, lists for the state's dragonflies, butterflies, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals, and complete citations for nearly 100 publications referenced during the book's preparation. You'll want a copy of this guide to help yo! u find Florida's specialties-Snail Kite, Limpkin, Short-tailed Hawk, Mangrove Cuckoo, and more. ABA Sales, 115 Fairview Rd, Asheville, NC 28803 . abasales AT abasales.com > 828/274-5576 or 800/634-7736 (US/Canada) . fax 828/274-1955 . 9 am-5 pm ET M-F http://americanbirding.org/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD &Store_Code=ASBS&Product_Code=175&Category_Code=BRGFL &Store_Code=ASBS&Product_Code=175&Category_Code=BRGFL> _______________________________________ Peter Rice Back to top <> Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post Messages in this topic (1) Recent Activity Visit Your Group Yahoo! Finance It's Now Personal Guides, news, advice & more. Yahoo! Groups Mom Power Community just for Moms Join the discussion Yahoo! Groups Do More For Dogs Group Connect and share with dog owners like you Need to Reply? Click one of the "Reply" links to respond to a specific message in the Daily Digest. Create New Topic | Visit Your Group on the Web Messages | Files | Photos | Database | Members | Calendar MARKETPLACE Mom Power: Discover the community of moms doing more for their families, for the world and for each other Yahoo! Groups Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Individual | Switch format to Traditional Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe Error! Filename not specified.