Hello FlaBirders,

They're headed toward Florida - seven shorebird species were seen today
at a sod farm northwest of Atlanta:

Willet 6
Greater Yellowlegs 4
Lesser Yellowlegs 4
Pectoral Sandpiper 5
Least Sandpiper 15
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Killdeer 70

Good birding to you down there!

Thanks, John, for starting this list!

Best Wishes,
Dot Freeman, Orlando Florida Birder, presently in Blairsville, GA

Dear FlaBirders,

May your numbers ever grow! The following is a non-commercial, non-pelegic
post about very ordinary birding in Florida which I am NOT posting here
because it can't be posted elsewhere.

If any of you have been through St Cloud lately you know about the torn up
south shore of E. Lake Toho. It started many months ago as a culvert
replacement project. Streets here have long drained into the lake through a
series culverts and swales.  But just as things were finishing up and sod
was being restored, dump trucks of fill showed up and a total re-grade
started. It seems as if each street drain effluent point is now being
enclosed by berms thus creating a whole series of shallow retention basins
all along Lakeshore Drive. I suspect that upgrading/replacing the old
infrastructure triggered newer runoff standards. One can only speculate
about jurisdictions and bureaucracies.

Anyway, the upshot seems to be more birds. At first it just looked like
more of the usual locals. Then I started noticing the occasional Snowy
(seldom seen here) Last week I got excited about a couple of least
sandpipers that showed up on the "new" mudflats. But yesterday I was
driving by and saw - corner of the eye - white, not pink, heavy  beak, not
wide - it couldn't be a Ros.. no, naw, surely a Wood Stork... still a good
bird here. I couldn't dare mention the possibility to my wife (she LOVES
"girl colored" birds) I just suggested we take a walk after supper west of
the jetty. "There was a bunch of stuff there, maybe a Stork"

But it was true. A young Roseate Spoonbill was still there, swinging away
through the new, shallow muck... I assume it was a young bird, pink just
starting to show. This is the first spoonbill I've seen here in the 2 years
I've lived in St. Cloud. Like most birds along here it was incredibly tame.
Even a bald, rock-throwing, skate boarder did not deter it from diner. It
stayed barely 40 feet from the busy sidewalk for at least an hour and a
half.

So, I am an excited beginner. I can't help but think of those wonderful
shallow ponds at the Celery Fields near my cousin in Sarasota. Will the
word get out to our feathered friends? Will we get here all those great
shorebirds and ducks? I can dream.  I already think of "my" lakefront as
the most accessible place near Orlando  to reliably see Snail Kites, Purple
Gals,  and Limpkins.

I feel bad about the good citizens who have lost their nice grassy
lakefront for kite flying and dog walking. But if it turns us into a
birding hot spot, this citizen will be smiling. Beginners dreams.

Steve Pence
St Cloud
steve_pence@...

I pulled the following off of the MDOsprey list.  Thought some of you might
be interested.  I know nothing more than what is printed here.  For more
info, check out the website listed in the message.

John Puschock
Eustis, Lake Co.


**************************************************************
From: krzy4owls@... [mailto:krzy4owls@...]
Sent: Tuesday, July 09, 2002 2:33 PM
To: krzy4owls@...
Subject: More Rare Bird Books For Sale from Ky.Ornithological
Society

MORE Rare Bird Books For Sale from The Kentucky Ornithological
Society ( KOS )

Hello All!

Just a note to let all of you know that we have just added an
additional 54 books to our listing of books for sale.

The updated listing can be viewed on-line at
http://www.biology.eku.edu/KOS/kosbooks.pdf

Please help us spread of the word of this sale to those people
you feel might be interested.

This listing has detailed information about each book and most of
the books are pictured.

Items will be sold on a first come-first serve basis and we will
try to keep this list updated as often as possible.

The terms of this sale are thoroughly detailed at the website.

This Sale benefits The Ann L. Stamm Avian Education Fund which
was established by KOS in Anne's memory to continue her tireless
efforts to educate young persons about the avifauna of Kentucky.

This listing is also advertised in the July, 2002 ABA "Winging
It" newsletter.

Thank you for your Support!
Kathy Caminiti
Kentucky Ornithological Society




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Chris Newton, Ocoee, FL


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Barbara - your email on the new list is a bastardization of my post and
diminishes what the list is meant to do.  It is not a list just for pelagics
and peripheral topics.  You have purposefully changed not only the title of
my post but the content with the intent to negate its value to the birding
community.  I implore you to fully publish my original post.

Bob Wallace

>From: Barbara Passmore <bkpass@...>
>Reply-To: Barbara Passmore <bkpass@...>
>To: FLORIDABIRDS-L@...
>Subject: [FLORIDABIRDS] New pelagic list
>Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 16:53:05 -0400
>
>FLORIDABIRDERS:
>
>I am glad to tell you that a list called FlaBirding@yahoogroups.com has
>been
>formed where pelagic commercial posting can be more fully explored than on
>a
>Listserv mailing list, such as this one.  I have suggested this several
>times and it will relieve FloridaBirds-L  from an area that is impossible
>to
>handle in the way it can be on an internet list. I have also said that I
>would announce it if one were formed.
>
>All of you who are interested in pelagic trips and in other peripheral
>topics not
>dealing with Florida Birds should think of subscribing to it.  Just send a
>message to FlaBirding-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. You don't have to send a
>message.
>
>Anyone wishing to see the archives of the new list may do so by going to:
>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FlaBirding/messages/1  You don't have to be a
>member to access the messages
>
>I hope you will continue to send your trip reports from your pelagic trips
>to
>FLORIDABIRDS-L@... since they are actually what  will extend the
>knowledge about those birds that most of us will never see and will fill in
>that blank space we all want to know about.  Trips reports have no
>commercial content if well written, and are valuable, certainly, for
>archiving purposes to all of us in an archive we can count on.
>Unfortunately, the internet lists, such as listbot, e-groups (both now
>defunct) and even yahoo will not guarantee what will happen to archives and
>future costs for running lists, so I ask that you send reports of the
>pelagic trips to FLBIRDS so that these important data may be archived in
>the
>university system.
>
>Notices may still be sent to FLORIDABIRDS-L in the form recently described
>and already used today..
>
>I wish the new list well and that it will add to the knowledge of the birds
>of the State of Florida which is what we all hope for.
>
>Barbara Passmore
>Listowner, FLORIDABIRDS-L
>bkpass@...
>
>________________________________________________________________
>FloridaBirds-L website:   http://www.javaswift.com/floridabirds/
>For list policy:  http://www.javaswift.com/floridabirds/policy.html
>For archives:   http://www.lists.ufl.edu/archives/floridabirds-l.html
>To set nomail:  Mailto:listserv@... Set floridabirds-l nomail
>Listowner: Click on:  Mailto:FloridaBirds-L-request@...




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Hello Florida Birders:

We would like to announce the formation of a new email list for birding in
Florida:  FlaBirding@yahoogroups.com

This list has been formed in response to the desires of many of the members
of the FLORIDABIRDS-L list for a more open and less restrictive format for
communication about birding in Florida.  Some of the rules governing posts
in FLORIDABIRDS-L such as those regarding commercialization are due to the
rules of the UF Listserve, other rules have been created by the list owner
as is their right.  However, it has become increasing clear that many of
these rules restrict items that members of the birding community in Florida
would like to post, either out of personal desire or for the benefit of the
birding community as a whole.

This new list will not have these restrictions.  Most importantly, posts
covering future events such as pelagic or organized birding trips are
encouraged, for the benefit of those who would like to participate.  In this
way the list can serve as a clearinghouse for information on what is
available for birders in Florida or who wish to visit here.  Discussions of
optics, etc, are also allowed.

In addition to topics related to birding in Florida, topics covering birding
in the Bahamas and the Carribean are also included and posts on dragonflies
will not be discouraged.

It is the goal of this list to be an open and less restrictive forum for
communication about birding in Florida, and thus encourage the growth of
knowledge of birds in Florida.  And of course, the most important and
original reason for the list is to notify each other of the occurance of a
rare bird that others would want to see, whether it is in a park in Miami or
on a boat off Canaveral.

The initial response to the new FlaBirding list has been fantastic. We hope
it will continue to grow and provide the service to the birding community
that is needed and desired.


To subscribe, send an e-mail to: FlaBirding-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

You will receive a message asking you to confirm your subscription.  You can
confirm by simply replying to the confirmation message, or you can click on
the link to a website listed in the message.

If you confirm via the website, you will need to create a Yahoo ID and a
password if you do not already have one (there will be a link on the left
half of the website to do this).  The Yahoo ID is NOT your e-mail address.

Using a Yahoo ID has some advantages. You can use it to select how you
receive messages (individual e-mails, daily digest, or “no mail”) and what
format they are in (non-HTML or HTML). You can also upload photos and check
a calendar of events on the group website
(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FlaBirding) with an ID. If you confirm your
subscription via e-mail, you still can create an ID at a later date.



Bob Wallace
Alachua

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David La Puma said:

>MARCO ISLAND / TIGERTAIL BEACH
>Tanya visited Tigertail beach on July 6th and 8th. On the 6th she saw
>two ROSEATE TERNS mixed in a flock of Sandwich Terns. On the 8th she
>couldn't relocate the Roseates, but did find a COMMON TERN in a mixed
>Tern flock, but this time the flock were mostly Royals. Anyone in the
>area might want to check this out.
>

Hi David et al:

Yesterday, 10 July 2002, visiting Seattle birder Hilary Bolles and I
birded Tigertail Beach (on Marco island) in the rain as well as a quick
stop afterwards at Eagle Lakes Park just up US 41 from the C.R. 951
junction (to Marco). Our best birds at Tigertail (at absolute low tide in
the rain) were:

Roseate Spoonbill -- (x8)

All the Plovers (except Piping) with Wilson's & Semipalmated being the
most prevalent. Quite a few juvenile Wilson's were present.

Black Tern (juvenile x1) -- in the huge mixed flock of terns to the north
of the park entrance on the beach side spit. This was a huge flock which
was comprised of mostly Royal & Sandwich Terns but also harbored at least
three Common Terns, some hangers-on Least Terns, and many Black Skimmers
(including juveniles.) A few Sandwich Terns still sported "pink" breeding
coloration on their breasts.

Short-billed Dowitcher (x20+) -- a few still in fine breeding plumage.

Dunlin -- same notes as Short-billed Dowitcher

Marbled Godwit -- (x1)

Western Sandpiper -- a few in breeding plumage.

Black-bellied Plover -- few but only one still in breeding plumage.

Magnificent Frigatebird -- (25+)

Bald Eagle -- two adults flew over the tern spit and caused a cloud of
birds to panic. Neat to see.

There were no other shorebirds present (like Least & Semipalmated
Sandpiper etc.)

The Reddish Egrets with their spastic dances added a lot of comic relief.

At Eagle lakes Community Park, the main impoundment which ususally
harbors a good variety of waders etc. was choking with the noxious Water
Lettuce. Honestly, why Collier County doesn't better manage the
mitigation ponds at this park is way beyond me. . . . Birwise, there were
tons of Green Herons standing on the lettuce mats along with many
Tricolored Herons, one lone Little Blue Heron, some Great and Snowy
Egrets and a few fishing Least Terns. We heard a Sora but couldn't locate
it.

Good birding!

Vincent Lucas
Naples, FL

I pulled the following off of the AZ/NM list.  If you don't want to read
anything about political/environmental issues, delete this message now.

I'm forwarding this because it involves a Florida congressman and a
significant birding area in SE Arizona.  There's background information at
the end of this message.  If you live in the 10th Congressional District and
have an opinion on this subject, call Rep. Bill Young:


>The fate of the San Pedro River will be decided within the next 48
>hours.  The conference committee chairs (Obey, Young, Byrd & Stevens) will
>meet first, and if the fate of the Kolbe/San Pedro rider can not be decided
>upon then, the rider will be addressed Thursday, July 11, in a meeting of
>the entire committee.
>
>what to do now?  if  you live (or know anyone who lives) in the following
>representative's districts, or senator's states, please call and ask them
>to stop the rider and save the San Pedro River, the last surviving desert
>river in the southwest.
>
Bill Young, St. Petersburg, Florida (202) 225-5961 Bill.Young@...
>
>If you already called, call again to remind them, and ask what they are
>doing to stop the rider.
>
>The rider is officially the Kolbe Rider or Section 702 of House Interior
>Supplemental Appropriations Bill.
>
>

KOLBE RIDER AGAINST SAN PEDRO RIVER FINDS NO BACKER IN SENATE

In response to a court order forcing the military to take responsibility for
its contribution to the drying up of the San Pedro River, Representative Jim
Kolbe (R-AZ) attached a rider to a government appropriations bill that would
exempt the military from the need to mitigate its off-base environmental
impacts. The military is the single biggest water user in the San Pedro
basin. But in the face of mounting opposition, including angry editorials
from both the Arizona Republic and the Arizona Daily Star, Kolbe was unable
to find a Senator to attach the rider to the Senate version of the bill,
which passed last week. A final version of the bill will be hashed out in a
joint House-Senate committee next week. Kolbe will attempt to resurrect his
rider in that process.

In an editorial entitled "Siphoning the San Pedro," the Arizona Daily Star
asked: "How much water can the military installation and Sierra Vista suck
from the watershed before the San Pedro becomes another tragedy like the dry
ditch that once was the Santa Cruz River?" The Star reminded Kolbe of his
pledge to protect the San Pedro, which is one of the nation's most important
migratory flyways, and asked him to stop his efforts to fuel unsustainable
growth.

In an editorial entitled "A treasure at risk: bill threatens San Pedro
River,"the Arizona Republic called the river "exquisite...renowned for its
biological diversity...the last undammed, free-flowing river in the
Southwest." It called Kolbe's rider "a misguided attempt to circumvent the
judge's findings and absolve the Department of Defense of any responsibility
for off-base groundwater usage."



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So I attempted to do some shorebirding in the flooded oasis of Homestead
and vicinity this morning. Armed with a cup of espresso laced soymilk,
my trusty spotting scope, and a really cool museum curator from UC Santa
Cruz, I headed for the racetrack to see what was floating, swimming,
flying, or otherwise. Nothing out of the ordinary was seen, and that
which was, was less than in weeks past. The water levels look really
good, now we just need the weather to cooperate to funnel the birds
down. After hitting several other fields in the surrounding area (the
ones just west of Talahassee Blvd., heading away from the racetrack,
were great for flocks of Black-bellied Plovers) we finally resigned
ourselves to the bird gods and practiced digiscoping. Tanya, the
curator, is learning how to digiscope, so we practiced on the strutting
Boat-tailed Grackles who were working the corners of the fields like
some proud gigolos. I'm planning to keep an eye out, as more shorebirds
should be showing up at any moment!

EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK
  Large swarms of Common Nighthawks were seen on Main Park Road, just
outside the park, and Swallow-tailed kites remain consistant throughout
the pinelands (in the park) and along 217th street between main park
road and E. canal st. KING RAILS are being seen VERY regularly on the
shoulders of main park road as the water levels are very high (sometimes
covering the road!). A MANGROVE CUCKOO was heard on Snake Bight Trail,
and fourteen GREATER FLAMINGOS were also seen on the same date, July
8th.

MARCO ISLAND / TIGERTAIL BEACH
Tanya visited Tigertail beach on July 6th and 8th. On the 6th she saw
two ROSEATE TERNS mixed in a flock of Sandwich Terns. On the 8th she
couldn't relocate the Roseates, but did find a COMMON TERN in a mixed
Tern flock, but this time the flock were mostly Royals. Anyone in the
area might want to check this out.



  _________________________________________________
David La Puma
Everglades National Park - SFNRC
40001 State Road 9336
Homestead, FL  33034
  <mailto:Woodcreeper@...> Woodcreeper@...

"We've tried to come up with an operational plan that has no significant
impacts on anybody."
                           -District Program Director
                                       Army Corps of Engineers



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

John,

Antillean Nighthawks can call with one to five notes, I have heard them
do all of these.  A long time birder in Key West has seen the same bird
do this as well, doing one call and then up to 5 calls!  I thought that
there could be a difference from male to female but don't really know.
There is always so much to learn, we just don't live long enough to
learn everything!

Larry Manfredi
Homestead, Fl.
E-mail: birderlm@...
http://www.southfloridabirding.com

On July 5 and 6, Tom Rodriguez and I birded Long Key State Park (or more
specifically, a 100-yard section of the Golden Orb Spider Trail at Long Key
State Park) in hopes of seeing the Key West Quail-Dove that's been there for
several months.

Around 2:30 PM on July 5, I saw what I assumed to be the dove flush from the
ground near the "Tropical Hardwood Hammock" interpretive sign about 200
yards from the parking lot.  Unfortunately, Tom was elsewhere at the time,
though it probably didn't matter much as the bird immediately disappeared
into the hammock never to be seen again.  All I saw was a Mourning
Dove-sized brown bird flying away from me.  Otherwise, we had no luck.

We also stopped by the Marathon Airport on the evening of the 5th and heard
(and saw) both Antillean and Common Nighthawks.  Most birds were doing a
two-note call.  I assumed they were Antilleans because they had a similar
quality and rhythm to the full four-note Antillean call.  Correct me if I'm
wrong (I haven't heard a two-note call from a Common in at least 11 months
so I'm rusty), but anyone contradicting the listowner will be put on
probation.  :)  We had good looks from the airport parking lot and also from
the intersection of Aviation Blvd. and Mango on the north side of the
airport.

I talked Tom into birding Big Pine Key for three hours on the morning of the
6th much to our regret.  That side trip yielded White-eyed Vireos and rain.
Good times.

John Puschock
Eustis, Lake Co.


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During recent travels to Williamsburg, VA and the mountains around
Helen, GA, I visited several used book stores and a place called Book
Warehouse.  Places like these are treasures for books you may have
put off buying, and they have some incredibly good prices.  Here are
my bargains for this summer:

Title                      Publisher           Ret. Price     Price

Where the Birds Are        Dorling Kindersley      $30.00    $10.50

Birding Georgia            Falcon Publishing       $22.95    $ 8.00

A Birder's Guide to        UNC Press               $19.95    $ 4.00
Coastal North Carolina

Audubon Guide to NWR       St Martin's Griffin     $19.95    $ 5.00
Southwest Region

Hummingbirds of N.A.       Houghton Mifflin        $30.00    $24.00
Peterson Field Guide

Penguins                   Sterling Pub Co         $22.95    $11.00


Good searching,
Larry Albright
Winter Haven, FL

Hello Flabirders,

David LaPuma's very informative and interesting post about shorebirding
(Thanks, David!) for some reason brought to mind dragonflies. Thought I
would post a little note about those intriguing odonates.

Inspired by knowledgeable friends and by the June FL birding doldrums I
set out with "Dragonflies Through Binoculars" in hand. Here are the
results of my first efforts:

Halloween Penant, Eastern Pondhawk (both male and female) and Regal
Darner - Lake Tohopekaliga, Osceola Co, FL - June 14, 2002

Four-spotted Penant - Lake Underhill, Orange Co, FL- June 16, 2002

Then later in GA (where I am now)
Callico Penant - Lake Trahlyta, Union Co, GA - July 7, 2002

These efforts can be considered small steps in the overall picture, but
large steps for me.

Best Wishes,
Dot Freeman, Orlando Fl and Blairsville GA

Homestead is quickly turning into one huge flooded farm field (formerly
known in its past life as "the Everglades") and will no doubt host a
fair number of migrating shorebirds in the coming weeks. The old
"sparrow fields" on 217th and E. Palm Drive have been plowed (someone
recently bought the property) and are now covered by a mat of lime green
grass that's, in many parts, already flooded. The sight is reminiscent
of the sod farms of South Bay, where Upland Sandpipers are commonly seen
in August. Last year the Underground Holistic Bird Club found some
UPSA's just outside the ENP boundary, in the flooded agricultural
fields, so finding them at the 217th location would seem entirely
possible. The fields surrounding Lucky Hammock, as well as the ones on
the opposite side of the street (SR 9336) look like great habitat for
shorebirds making there way through as well. I would assume, although I
haven't been there lately, that the fields at the Homestead Racetrack
should be amply flooded as well with all of this new rain. If anyone
heads out there, please post what you see. Also, the International
Shorebird Survey (go to
http://www.manomet.org/WHSRN/Shorebird%20Surveys.htm ***I know the
website says it hasn't been updated since 2000, but I spoke to Brian
Harrington, and the surveys are still going strong) out of the Manomet
Observatory has identified agricultural fields as one of the most
important staging and migratory grounds for many key shorebird species.
If you're interested in adopting a particular area to conduct regular
shorebird counts, they will provide you with there guidelines and forms
to do so and submit your observations. There requirements of you are
minimal, just that you visit the site semi-regularly during peak
migration months, and that you follow some basic guidelines to counting
birds so that your data is relatively standardized to the data that is
being collected by others around the country. It's a volunteer based
program, and the number one goal is having fun (the number 1.5 goal is
getting a real handle on the current status of many poorly understood
shorebird species!).

Alternatively, if you're interested in any other aspects of bird
monitoring, you can check here: http://www.im.nbs.gov/birds.html for a
list of other programs.

Well.the rains have subsided for a few minutes, so I guess I'll take a
stroll through the 'stead and see what's peeping.

Good birding!

Cheers

David

_________________________________________________
David La Puma
Everglades National Park - SFNRC
40001 State Road 9336
Homestead, FL  33034
  <mailto:woodcreeper@...> Woodcreeper@...

"I've fainted before. George Bush fainted. I don't have a bump on my
cheek."
                                            -Janet Reno



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Flabirders:

Many thanks to Wes Biggs for taking over the effort to organize a birding
pelagic trip out of Ponce Inlet this fall.  Hopefully it will be one of many
future trips.  We all need to keep in mind that pelagic birding varies
day-to-day just like fishing, the winds and currents change daily.  If we
show a good round of support for this first trip, we will be able to
convince the boat owner to do more of these trips, and that taking birders
is as profitable and easier for him than fishing.  This way maybe he will be
willing to perform this service to the birding community on a regular basis,
with good guides like Wes, et al leading the trips.

If we can get birders offshore regularly, who knows what we will find?  It
won't take but one albatross or a Fea's or Herald Petrel to create some
excitement about future trips.  It would be a great addition to the
knowledge of Florida birding to have regular trips like those off Hatteras
or the Shearwater trips off CA and OR. It remains one of the least known
areas of FL birding, with perhaps the greatest opportunity available to add
a new species to Florida's list.  I hope I can be on the trip that discovers
one of these species!

For those interested in the movements of ocean currents there is a great
site with satellite images of ocean surface temperatures:

www.sstcharts.com

You can determine GPS coordinates for edges and eddies that hold fish and
birds from these charts.  I use them before each trip offshore.

Also another note of thanks to Wes for correcting my "Leach's Petrel"
instead of "Least Petrel" in a previous post.  I had just returned from
Costa Rica birding and fishing where Least Petrel was one of 5 spp of
Petrels, 5 spp of Shearwaters and 6 spp of Terns that we saw around tuna and
porpoise schools off the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. Was it a Freudian slip
of desire or just an example of the difficulty of editing your own writing??

Bob Wallace
Alachua





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Hi Flabirders:

Was able to go offshore to the west edge of the Gulf Stream on Friday;
weather was flat calm and beautiful offshore with the typical summer nasty
thunderstorm awaiting us at the Inlet coming home.

Typical summer fare, though a little slow (like the fishing):
4 Cory's Shearwaters
10+ Wilson's Petrels
1 Sooty Tern
4 Bridled Terns

Caught 1 nice 25# Mahi.

The next day we ran the beach along the Canaveral National Seashore, in
search of King Mackerel and Tarpon.  No great pelagics, but we were treated
to watching a female Loggerhead Turtle pull herself up onto the beach at 1pm
and watched her dig her nest and lay over 100 eggs!  Truly an amazing event
in the daylight!

Finally, there are still two 2nd year Lesser Black-backed Gulls and one 2nd
year Greater Black-backed Gull among the Laughing Gulls and Royal Terns at
the south jetty at Ponce Inlet.  Isnt it amazing how many more Lessers are
being seen these days?

Bob Wallace
Alachua

PS - thanks again to John for setting up this new list.  It is fantastic to
be able to communicate about birds and upcoming events without the
rediculous rules and regulations governing what we may post about!

_________________________________________________________________
Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com

Greetings FlaBirders,

  Here is the information on the Saturday Sept. 7, 2002 pelagic
  trip from Ponce Inlet:

  Boat:        The Sea Spirit, their web site is www.seaspiritfishing.com
               This boat cruses at about 20 knots which is a very good
               speed for a boat of this type.

  Location:    133 Inlet Harbor Road, Ponce Inlet FL.

  Directions:  From I-95 just south of the Daytona area, take the
               Port Orange exit East on highway 421, (Dunlawton)
               cross over U.S. 1 & go over the Halifax River to So.
               Atlantic Av. Turn right, go South on Atlantic
               about 5 miles to Inlet Harbor Road, turn right &
               go a short distance to the boat.

  Departure:   Be at the boat no later than 6:30 AM. The boat will
               leave at 7:00 AM.

  Return:      We will be back about 5:30 PM.

  The Plan:    We will go due East about 50 miles to the Gulf Stream
               & to an area known as The Steeples. We will zig zag north
               for several hours with the Stream, periodically putting
               out a fish oil slick to attract birds. The Steeples are
               underwater formations which cause upwellings that bring
               food closer to the surface, attracting fish & birds.

  The Birds:   Expected species are Greater, Cory's, & Audubon's Shearwaters,
               Wilson's, Band-rumped, & Leach's Storm-Petrels, Brown Noddy,
               Sooty, Bridled, & Black Terns, Phalaropes & who knows what
               else might be out there.

  The Leaders: Wes Biggs
               Murray Gardler
               David Goodwin
               David Simpson

  The Price:   $100.oo  A tip of about $10.00 for the boat crew is customary
on
               these types of trips, & is an important part of their income.

  What you
  need to do:  1. If you are sure that you will be joining us, E-mail or
call,
                  informing me of same, & I'll hold a space for you on your
word.

               2. Within the next day or two mail a check made out to Florida
                  Nature Tours to the below address. You may either send a
$50.00
                  deposit & the remaining $50.00 by Aug. 7th, or send the
full
                  amount of $100.00.


    In the next few weeks I'll have information about overnight
accommodations,
    (I'll be working on getting some special prices), & restaurant locations
&
    hours of operation. Future pelagic trip dates are to follow as well.

    I'll be limiting the group to about 40 people, & about 20 have already
    expressed a desire to participate, so please do not delay in contacting
me.
    I'm usually up until midnight so call late if you wish.

    Bottled water, soft drinks & snacks will be for sale, but you will need
to
    bring any other food that you will need. If you have any questions please
    feel free to call at any time. My leaders are looking forward to being
with
    our old friends & to making new ones. And for a little added fun, any
    participant who finds me a state bird will get a 100% refund, & a lifer
will
    get them double their money back. If one of my leaders finds me a state
or
    life bird, they will win a cookie. The fact is that we will do our best
to find
    you some new birds. Good luck to us all!


    Wes Biggs
    Florida Nature Tours  P.O. Box 618572 Orlando, FL 32861-8572
407/363-1360
    http://www.floridanaturetours.com   fnt@...

Noel and Others:

One of the largest Purple Martin roosts in Florida is the one on Marco
Island. Last year, there had to be well over 100,000 Purple Martins there
(along Collier Blvd.) but this was later in the summer. It was an
incredible site to behold. I don't know if they are there now because I
haven't been down there lately. Generally, the roosts build up toward the
end of July and last until after Labor Day. The Collier County Purple
Martin Society website can be found at:

http://www.geocities.com/p_m_s_c_c/index.html

Those birders who use radar scans to monitor masses of birds might want
to check the Marco island location from time to time. . . .

Good birding!

Vince Lucas
Naples

I am still looking in vain for a radar signature of the Kendall roost, but
have yet to find one.  I certainly do not doubt the estimate of thousands
of birds.  However, this is apparently not enough to be detected.  As a
contrast, check out this roost in central South Carolina...
http://www.badbirdz.com/clx063002.htm

This roost is estimated to be c. 800,000 birds!  The only large roost in
Florida that can currently be seen on radar is near Pensacola.  Last year
at this time a roost in Broward County was visible, but I have not seen it
this year.  A small roost is still being detected in NW Tampa.  Someone
suggested to me that this roost might be waders, but I still think it is
probably martins.

Later...

Noel Wamer
Jacksonville, FL, US
Mosaics by Noel & Terry - http://home.attbi.com/~terrywest/

Greetings fellow deviants!

Upland Sandpipers are now being seen in Orangeburg, SC. They should make it
to preferred spots in Florida soon.

This is neat being able to talk about birds in other states......

Robin Diaz
Key Biscayne, FL
Boone, NC
rd4birds@...


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Here's some news items about FlaBirding:

1) Ninety percent of those responding supported expanding the scope of the
list to include the Bahamas.  So now the "official" name of the list has
been changed to "Florida and Bahama Birding".  However, the mailing address
has NOT changed.  You still use "FlaBirding@yahoogroups.com" to post a
message, and the website address is still
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FlaBirding/

I couldn't come up with a short descriptive name that would convey the idea
of the what the list is about.  The best I could think of was "Fla-Bbirding
or Fl-Bbirding", neither of which really works.  But I did receive a
suggestion for "FlaBaBirding" which does have some potential...Anyway,
that's why I'm sticking with FlaBirding as the "functional" name.

So what effect does this have on the list?  Absolutely none, at least for
the time being.  If problems ever develop, we can drop off the whole Bahamas
idea or spin it off into a new list, but I'm guessing that posts about the
Bahamas will be few and far between.

With that said, I don't want anyone to get hung up with the idea of
"approved" topics.  You can post about whatever you want as long as you
don't forward messages about how someone is going to shoot me if I flash my
headlights at them.  :)

2) I've enabled the Calendar and Photos/Files features on the list webpage
(the URL is in item #1 in case you missed it).  List members can put events
(pelagic trips, festivals, etc.) on the calendar and upload photos to the
webpage.  I have posted one photo as a test.

I think you may have problems accessing and using these features if you
joined the list via e-mail.  You will probably have to create a user profile
on the Yahoo Groups webpage before you can use them.  Otherwise, there are
no restrictions on who can use these features.  You don't need to contact me
for approval.  However, I may have to change that if the list ever gets too
big or if one of you turns out to be a troublemaker.  :)

I'm just as new as the rest of you to all of this, so I don't think there's
much more I can add to clarify the situation.  Contact me if you have
problems, and I'll try to help.

3) Speaking of user profiles, you may want to create one even if you don't
plan on checking the photos and calendar pages.  With a profile, you can
select options on how you receive messages.  You can get individual e-mails
(the current option for almost all of you), a daily digest (all messages in
one e-mail), or no e-mails.  Unlike listserver-based lists, I don't think
you can send a message to the server to set yourself to "nomail".  You can
also select to receive messages in HTML or non-HTML format.  (I'm guessing
that you'll probably get advertisements with graphics attached to messages
if you select the HTML option.)

4) I've changed the welcome message that you all should have received when
you joined the list.  Contact me if you want to see the new version.  It
discusses list policies and a couple of rules.  However, there currently
isn't anyone on the list who's going to cause any problems, so you don't
actually _need_ this message.

5) Some people have had problems confirming their subscriptions.  Let me
know what happened if you are one them.  Also, let me know if you didn't get
this message.

That's all for now,
John


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The Purple Martin roost at the Dadeland Shopping mall here in Kendall
seems to be growing each day.  It is hard to estimate the numbers, it
has to be well into the many thousands!  My wife, son and I watched them
swirling around in every direction.  We left the area to go home and
still saw Martins going to the roost from as far as a mile away.  The
best time to view these birds is starting around 8 p.m. until dark,
there are also Starlings, House Sparrows, Boat-tailed and Common
Grackles in the same trees.

Directions,

From Florida's Turnpike exit Kendall Dr. east, go east about 2 to 3
miles, look for the Dadeland Shopping Mall on your left.  The birds go
in the trees if front of Burdines, there are two sections of Burdines,
go to the middle section of the mall.  Look east of the Cheesecake
Factory for the Burdines.

Also of note, the Male Dickcissel is still singing his heart out just
south of Lucky Hammock.  He was singing yesterday on the phone wires.
This blows my mine that we have one here in JULY!  Amazing!  I still
have not been able to tell if it has a mate.

Larry Manfredi
Homestead, Fl.
E-mail: birderlm@...
http://www.southfloridabirding.com

Hi again FlaBirders,

   I forgot to mention that we really do not expect to see Least Storm-
   Petrel despite what Bob Wrote. He of course meant to write Leach's
   Storm-Petrel, not a bad bird either! More tomorrow.


   Wes Biggs
   Florida Nature Tours, PO Box 618572 Orlando, FL 32861-8572  407/363-1360

Greetings FlaBirders,

  I would like to thank john for taking on this task, wish
  him luck & that the headaches will be few & far between.

  The pelagic trip that Bob Wallace wrote to the list about
  this past Wed. will not be on the labor Day Weekend, but
  will be on the following Sat. Sept. 7th. The cost will be
  $100.oo. We need a $50.oo deposit in the next 10 days to
  hold a reservation. The remaining $50.oo will be due by
  Aug. 7th. I hope to have all the details on this trip as well
  as other upcoming Central East Coast Pelagics for you tomorrow.

  For years people have been wanting pelagic trips off of Florida,
  well now you have them. Please support Larry's & my efforts &
  be part of the process of discovery. I have a feeling that within
  the next two years will will add one or two species to the Florida
  State list.


  Wes Biggs
  Florida Nature Tours, PO Box 618572 Orlando, FL 32861-8572  407/363-1360

Here are the dates for the Islamorada Pelagic trips, I know that most of

you already know about these.  I will post it anyway.  It is great that
Bob Wallace and Wes have put together a trip off the central part of the

state, we should now be able to get a good understanding of the birds
off our coast.  I hope that everyone joins one of these trips to help
make them go.  Anyway, here are the dates that I currently have:

               Dates:  Saturday August  17th., Saturday August 24th. and
Sunday October 6th.
               Cost:  $100
               Departs:  8 a.m. please be at the boat at 7:30 a.m. for
boarding.
               Returns:  4p.m.
               Lunch and drinks you will have to bring.  Also seasick
pills, hat and sunscreen.
              40 people maximum.

              Here is a list of birds to expect or hope for.

               Northern Gannet, should see.
               Masked Booby, might see some.
               Brown Booby, should see.
               both Tropicbirds, with luck will see.
               Sooty Tern, should be lots of them.
               Bridled Tern, should be lots of them..
               Brown Noddy, same as Sooty Tern.
               Pomarine Jaeger, should see a few.
               Parasitic, might see.
               Long-tailed, might see.
               Sooty Shearwater, might see.
               Cory's Shearwater, should see several.
               Audubon's Shearwater, should see many.
               Black-capped Petrel, might see, I know a few people that
have seen them here.
               Wilson's Storm-Petrel, should see several.
               Leach's Storm-Petrel, might see.
               Band-rumped Storm-Petrel, might see.

               There may be other unexpected birds as well, who knows? We
will
               be going to the Islamorada hump, the 409 hump and the
Marathon
               hump as well as driving around and looking for birds.  The
Marathon
               hump is the farthest, 32 miles from the dock.  Lots of
upwelling here and lots of birds.

If you would like to join one of these please sign up NOW!  I have very
few spaces left on the August 24th. trip (only 6), August 17th. still
has several, the October trip is filling fast, this one WILL sell out by
October.  Send an e-mail to the address below if you would like to go.

Larry Manfredi
birderlm@...

P.S.  Thanks John for getting this list together, it sure will be nice
to be able to post other sightings while out birding.  I always see some

interesting animals of some sort, as an example, I had a Coyote in Palm
Beach next to Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge.  I have seen dead ones in
Florida but this was the first live one that I have seen here.  I sure
have seen plenty out west, I never thought that they would show up in
Florida again!  On the same day I saw a Male and Female Bobcat, I also
heard young calling next to where I saw them.  Cool!

Hello everyone,

First, thanks to all of you for joining this list.

I'm writing because I'm thinking of changing the name and scope of the list,
and I'd like to know everyone's opinion on the idea.

After I created FlaBirding, I realized that there is no list (that I'm aware
of) covering the Bahamas.  Because of their proximity to Florida and the
fact that many our "most wanted" birds are vagrants from the Bahamas, I
think it might be a good idea to include them in FlaBirding.  It would help
differentiate the new list from the 4+ lists already covering Florida and
perhaps attract more subscribers (assuming that is a good thing).  I've
already changed the FlaBirding welcome message to say that posts about the
Bahamas are encouraged.

How do you feel about 1) "officially" including the Bahamas as a list topic,
and 2) changing the name of FlaBirding to Fla-BahamaBirding or something
similar?  I'd especially appreciate any ideas for a shorter name. (I'd still
like to keep "birding" in the name.)  Anyone see any problems with this
plan?

Also, feel free to propose any other ideas for the list.  It's still new,
and nothing is written in stone.

Thanks,
John



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Many thanks to John Puschock for formation of this new list!!!  The real
reason to have a list is to allow the members to communicate freely with
each other so we can learn more about birds in FL.  I think we are all tired
of all of the rediculous "rules" governing our behavior and what we are
allowed to post.  I heartily support everyone who agrees to change to this
new list and post here!  Thanks again John - we needed this!

Bob Wallace
Alachua


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Hello FLA birders -

We are arranging a pelagic trip out of Ponce Inlet during Labor Day weekend
- either Sat or Sunday 8/31 or 9/1.  The date is not fixed yet.  We will go
aboard the 65' Head Boat "Sea Spirit" out of Inlet Harbor Marina, in South
Daytona.  We need a minimum of 30 people at $100 each to make the trip.  If
we cannot reach a minimum of 30 people we will go Sat 9/7.  The boat will
hold 60 people.

We will go offshore approximately 40 miles to the west edge of the Gulf
Stream.  Expected species are Greater, Corys and Audubons Shearwaters,
Wilsons, Band-rumped and Least Storm Petrels, Sooty, Bridled, Noddy and
Black Terns, Phalaropes, and who knows what else??

If you are interested, please contact either Wes Biggs, fnt@..., 0r
407-363-1360, or Bob Wallace, chnuts2@... 352-219-5825.  We will
need a 50% deposit to hold your place on the boat.

Thanks and lets support this new list!

Bob Wallace
Alachua


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Greetings:

Hmmm. . . . Guess I'll be the first to post something here without the
fear of being chastised or booted off the listserv for "inappropriate"
posts! Anyway, interesting reading in today's Naples Daily News. Go to:

http://www.naplesnews.com/02/07/bonita/d789772a.htm

Check it out. "Just another day in paradise" as they say. . . .

Good birding!

Vince Lucas
Naples
vplucas@...

test


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