On November 10th Elizabeth Platt and I visited a park at the intersection of
northwest Tallahassee's Trimble and Pecan Roads, which is being groomed by the
county and should prove to be a handy retreat for nature lovers.  Two retention
ponds there are surrounded by a variety of bird-friendly shade trees, and the
park extends into a sheltered area, which currently is home to two black-legged
foxes. There naturalist Matt Morris and his students from nearby Cornerstone
Learning Community have planted two dozen or more long-leaf pine saplings, which
at last report are thriving.



Since mid-March I have listed five wading birds in the ponds, and on April 16 I
also listed four solitary sandpipers.  A good number of songbirds have
frequented the park since November.   Elizabeth and I agree that it is a good
place to get away "from the madding crowd."



Enjoy, Fellow Birders!

Gail E. Menk


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

November was a busy month work wise and I spent 11 days of it in England so the
park did not receive as much coverage from my optics as I would like
but....despite this there were some notables during the month and winter birding
has commenced. A single Golden-crowned Kinglet has been seen almost daily
throughout the month in the pines around the Ranger Station. Yours truly had 39
species in one day while attending to my Ranger Station duties last week. In
additon to the birds 2 Bobcats and a Red Fox made it a day to remember.
White-throated Sparrows are back in force and singing and calling from around
the park. The highest count of Ring-necked Ducks on Lake Overstreet so far has
been 500 and 4 Buffleheads were a welcome addition to the park year list.
Several Least Sandpipers have been enjoying the mud and can be viewed from the
new overlook and much to the ducks and wading birds dismay the Lake Jackson Bald
Eagles are hungry and hunting with much
  vigor! By the turn of the year the spectacle of 2,000 ducks and a diving eagle
is surely one of Lake Overstreet's highlights. American Robins and goldfinches
are frequenting the gardens. There is already a multitude of American Holly
berries awaiting the robins appetite but hopefully they will save some for the
soon to be arriving Cedar Waxwings.
No sign of any Winter Wrens around the ravine as yet but they are expected
anytime and hopefully a creeper or two will return to the Rec Area. Recent
habitat management has opened up the vista around the shore of Lake Hall and it
looks very attractive for wrens and sparrows. Both Sedge Wren and Swamp Sparrow
are already enjoying the more suitable habitat.

On Saturday December 19th at 8am I will be leading a bird walk at the park. We
will meet in the Rec Area by the restrooms. The walk is free with paid park
admission.

Even though it is a couple of months away we are starting to plan for the Great
Backyard Bird Count at the park. On Saturday February 13th we are inviting
birders to come and volunteer to count birds at various locations around the
park. There will be 3-4 big sit locations and we will hopefully have 1-2 roving
groups targeting specific species. Both Dave Garcia and I are hoping that we get
between 10 and 20 birders volunteering for the count. If you are interested stop
by the Ranger Station and pick up a volunteer application form, fill it out and
hand it in to the ranger on duty. We are hoping to provide refreshments after
the count. Last year we had a great time and despite the weather (which was
nasty) we got over 50 species including Pine Siskin, Dark-eyed Junco,
Golden-crowned Kinglet......hope you can attend this year.

For more information on park events and programs please visit our website link
below or contact the Ranger Station at (850) 487-4556

thanks

Andy Wraithmell
Park Ranger
A.B Maclay Gardens State Park
Tallahassee
http://www.floridastateparks.org/maclaygardens/default.cfm





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

Dropped by Southeast Farm on Thursday afternoon and had the following:

11 Hooded Merganser
7 Bufflehead
Forster's Tern
Kingfisher
American Pipit
2 Palm Warbler (Western)
Swamp Sparrow

Also looked for the Greater White-fronted Goose at Southwood, but didn't find
it.


Good birding,
Robert Bowman

I've committed to properly maintaining a hummingbird feeder this winter, and
it finally paid off today. Right now there is a female Archilochus species
sitting on the feeder. I highly suspect that it is a Black-chinned
Hummingbird bird due to a rather long, slightly dropping beak, grayish head
feathers, and (most of all) primaries that extend pretty much to the end of
the tail that are also fairly broad and rounded all the way down. I'll post
in a few days if it continues to stick around.

Rob Lengacher
Indianhead Acres
Tallahassee, FL


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

Posted for Gail Menk:

RE  SOME LIMITED ACCESS TO LEON COUNTY'S SRSTF

On November 23 I birded along the dirt road just south of the Springhill
Road Sewage Treatment Facility (SRSTF) and listed some water
birds in a holding pond visible less than a half mile from Springhill
Road.  Best birds were a female Canvasback (rare locally) and
3 female Buffleheads.

During past winters hundreds of ducks have congregated in
said holding pond.


---- (Mr.) Gail E. Menk




-----

Fran Rutkovsky
franrutkovsky@...
Tallahassee, FL

I thought I saw a male black-chinned in indian head acres today... but it
was so dark today it may be a male ruby.  I had a female black chinned
banded last year in my yard so look for a band on the right leg.

Jojm Armstrong 1923 E Indian Head Dr
   -----Original Message-----
   From: nflbirds@yahoogroups.com [mailto:nflbirds@yahoogroups.com]On Behalf
Of Robert Lengacher
   Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 4:40 PM
   To: nflbirds@yahoogroups.com; BRDBRAIN@...;
floridabirds-l@...
   Subject: [nflbirds] Possible Black-chinned Hummer in Tallahassee



   I've committed to properly maintaining a hummingbird feeder this winter,
and
   it finally paid off today. Right now there is a female Archilochus species
   sitting on the feeder. I highly suspect that it is a Black-chinned
   Hummingbird bird due to a rather long, slightly dropping beak, grayish
head
   feathers, and (most of all) primaries that extend pretty much to the end
of
   the tail that are also fairly broad and rounded all the way down. I'll
post
   in a few days if it continues to stick around.

   Rob Lengacher
   Indianhead Acres
   Tallahassee, FL

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






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

2 FOS American Goldfinches this morning.  Time to get the Niger seed out.

Shelley
Crawfordville

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

Lots of ducks at the refuge.

Picnic Pond
Lesser Scaup
Shoveler
Redhead
Bufflehead
Long-tailed Duck (South end of pond associated with lesser Scaup)

Lighthouse Pond
Lesser Scaup
American Wigeon
Gadwall

offshore
Bufflehead
Common Loon
Lesser Scaup (over a thousand)

Mounds Pool III ( South end, accessed from Mounds Pool Trail)
Green-winged Teal
Blue-winged Teal
American Wigeon
Gadwall
Mallard
Pintail

A large flock of mixed waders including about twenty dark Ibis are still on
Mounds Pool III. It is likely that some of these dark Ibis are White-faced, but
they were too distant for me to scope.

It was low tide and all of the cormorants were on offshore bars. So, I couldn't
find the Neotropic Cormorant, which is best observed at high tide.

The St Marks wildlife log had Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Ron and Cynthia
Christen last Saturday on SBII).





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

Species of interest today at Bald Pt State Park...

Sandhill crane - 6
W kingbird
Cave swallow
Vesper sparrow
White-crowned sparrow

John Murphy
Alligator Pt, FL


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

John's Western Kingbird follows a spate of late WEKI records this fall alon g
the Gulf coast. The absence of serious frontal systems this fall has delayed the
movement of these and some other fall migrators.

Jim
Galveston

   ----- Original Message -----
   From: John Murphy
   To: NFLBirds
   Sent: Saturday, December 05, 2009 6:07 PM
   Subject: [nflbirds] Bald Pt/Saturday



   Species of interest today at Bald Pt State Park...

   Sandhill crane - 6
   W kingbird
   Cave swallow
   Vesper sparrow
   White-crowned sparrow

   John Murphy
   Alligator Pt, FL

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






------------------------------------------------------------------------------



   No virus found in this incoming message.
   Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
   Version: 8.5.426 / Virus Database: 270.14.95/2546 - Release Date: 12/05/09
08:13:00


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

Evening nflbirders and Florida birders,
 
As Lynn and I headed out to take our moms to dinner, Lynn spotted a duck in the
small pond on the west side of the Woodville Highway just north of Wakulla
Off-Road in Woodville.  Turning around to scan the pond, we discovered that
the bird was a male Ring-necked Duck. 
 
Our good luck continued as we visited Southwood to locate again the two Greater
White-fronted Geese.  These geese were with about 15 to 20 Canada Geese on the
cross dike between the two large ponds off Grove Park Drive.  And one additional
goose stood out amongst all these dark birds.  After approaching to within 30
feet of this flock, we discovered that the white goose assumed initially to be
of the barnyard variety was actually the white morph adult Snow Goose.  The
pinkish bill with the dark "grinning" patch and the dark primaries were very
distinctive.  We took multiple close-up photos of all the geese and in
particular of the snow goose and verified our ID.
 
Hopefully local birders will be able to enjoy these beautiful birds for a little
while longer before they head for greener pastures.
 
Harry Hooper
Tallahassee, Florida
 
 




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

Went up to Southwood on a wild goose chase this evening. Finally found
the two GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE and the SNOW GOOSE with a flock of
Canadas in the northern pond of the two along Biltmore Drive. Cool to
see these critters again.

Location:     Southwood: Biltmore Ave fields
Observation date:     12/6/09
Number of species:     7

Greater White-fronted Goose     2
Snow Goose     1     White morph
Canada Goose     25     Exact count
Northern Mockingbird     1
Yellow-rumped Warbler     X
Song Sparrow     1
House Finch     2

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

-Sean P. McCool
Wakulla County, Florida, USA

Good Evening,

I have been driving myself nuts, trying to corrctly ID a sparrow that was in my
yard this morning.  This will go on my tally for Project FeederWatch, so I want
a positive ID.

It was mixed in with 20-30 Chipping sparrows, eating white millet on a ground
feeder.  I have a fairly large open yard, but shrubs very close to the feeder,
which this bird would occas. dash under. It was a little larger with a chunky
build, compared to the Chippers.  It had a complete white eye ring, which
narrowed it down, looking through my field guides, to a Vesper, Grasshopper or
Filed Sparrow. Reading about these three different birds, there would be things
that did, and did not match up with each description, as I looked at my
pictures.  I would think the Field Sparrow would be the most likely, but it sure
looked alot like a juvenile Grasshopper.

Fortunately, I did get good photos, so this ID will likely be a breeze for many
of you.  I posted three pictures of different angles, and have others, so please
take a look and help me end my frustration.

I had my first flock of Cedar Waxwings, visit my yard, this afternoon. Thirty
plus, would be a conservative figure. I had one Gold Finch two weeks, ago, but
none spotted since.  Happy to see a male and female Pine Warbler. The
Buff-bellied Hummingbird that was banded in my yard, last Halloween...I guess
did not like the trick, as he has been a no show, this fall.

Thanks for any help, you can give me on the sparrow.

Glenda Simmons
Eastside Tallahassee
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nflbirds/photos/album/300953923/pic/list

Thanks,

So far I have had three replies, that all got the "Vesper" vote.  You guys are
too good!  I just added one more picture.  It is not great quality, but I
believe it shows the rufous lesser coverts that my sibley guide has pictured and
states is rarely visable.  I looked through my pictures, again, and really don't
see one that shows the white on the outer tail feathers.  Very cool to have a
new yard bird, but going back to work tormoorw, I will not be here to see it, if
it is around.

Thanks for your help, and welcome any more comments on it.

Glenda Simmons
Eastside
Tallahasseehttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/nflbirds/photos/album/300953923/pic/lis\
t

Nice job, Glenda.

I know a surprisingly large number of people who practically look the other way
with sparrows. They find them both unattractive and tough to identify. I can't
help bad taste (I find them absolutely beautiful creatures), but the ID isn't as
tough as many think.

First step is to check for streaks underneath. This bird was streaked, which
immediately eliminated Field and Grasshopper, giving you Vesper on account of
the eye-ring. Streaking (or not) basically eliminates half the sparrows, much
like the old dichotomus keys.

Looking for prominent head markings may be helpful, such as in white-throats,
lark and chippies, but many birders fail to look at tails of sparrows - as well
as a lot of other groups! Check out the Vesper's white outer retrices, the
Song's long, reddish tail (and more so on the rare Fox Sparrow), the white
corners on the Lark Sparrow's tail, the short tails on various Ammodrammus
sparrows, and so-forth.

It's probably a no-no to ID a bird solely on habitat, but it's a darn good way
to check yourself. One of the big reasons we have a diversity of species is that
they are ecologically separated. The rare Henslow's is actually relatively
common in winter underneath powerlines in Wakulla County, in broom sedge. The
similar salt marsh sparrow is, well, you know (and you know who else). Flocks of
sparrows flying off roadsides are usually chippies, but individual ones there,
along grassy fields, are usually Savannahs. White-throats are essentially our
only forest sparrows, and you can always get a hunch about Swamp Sparrows coz
they live in, well, marshes.  ;)   [Marshes are wetlands with no trees, but
grasses. Swamps have trees.]

And becoming a good birder means learning their calls. Sparrows chip, but don't
sing much, as they are almost all winter residents. But these chips are
diagnostic, like the Swamp's is heavy and liquid, very similar to a phoebe's
chip. The thin, flight call of the Savannah saves a LOT of effort locating and
identifying them after they land. And call to them, too, with squeaks and
especially pishing. Many, like Lincoln's, will pop right up.

Give sparrows a chance. They will sharpen your skills and give you great
pleasure.

Jim
Galveston





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

Yesterday on the Polk parkway, a tole road in Florida.  Right at the Winter
Haven exit, number 14, I believe,  in the tree's and along the swampy highway,
an amazing sight of at least 200 sand hill cranes. I knew they wintered around
there but never saw so many along a highway.  At our relatives retirement home
in Winter haven the place is flooded with them because they have a small lake.

Candy Pfau
Palatka Fl 32148

On Sunday afternoon I captured a female rufous that was banded in my yard 4
years ago on March 23, 2006.  She was also recaptured in my yard on January 14,
2008.  She was not caught in the winter of 2006-7 or 2008-9 so I don't know
where she spent the winter, but she may have been here and just avoided the
trap.  This is the second female rufous that has spent 5 winters in my yard.  15
minutes after I released her she was back at the feeder.

I've had several other reports of hummers in the area that I will try and get to
this week.  If you have a hummer that is coming to your feeder and you would
like for me to catch, identify and band, please contact me at
fdietrich@... or 850 591-7430 and I'll make arrangements to come to your
house.

Fred Dietrich
Tallahassee

Hello Everyone.
I am new to Birding I live on Killarney Lake. I've seen alot of different birds
and now i need a good field guide so I can tell the them apart

I had my first cedar waxwings flock of the fall in the yard this
afternoon.  There were 6 cedar waxwings with 3 Baltimore orioles.  I'm  off
Shamrock
North in Tallahasse.

Ed Woodruff
Tallahassee


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

Apalachee Audubon field trip
Saturday, December 12, 2009

   ----------



EASY BIRDING BY CAR AT ST. MARKS REFUGE
8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.


Easy Birding by Car at St. Marks Refuge:
Join Lynn Reynolds for a leisurely drive out Lighthouse Road,
no walking required. We will stop at key places and set up
scopes alongside the cars. Spaces are limited.
Call Lynn Reynolds at (850)421-1074 for details
and to reserve a spot.

$5 entry to the refuge (unless you have a pass)
Meet at Wachovia Bank on S. Monroe at 8  a.m.

http:www.apalachee.org


CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTS  in the area:

         St. Marks December 19
                 Jim Cox 942-2489
         Port St. Joe December 27
                 Bob Henderson  576-6610
         Apalachicola December 28
                 Alan Knothe  653-8063
         Tallahassee January 2
                 Marvin Collins  224-9549
         Jackson County January 3
                 Andy Bankert (321) 258-2353

-----

Fran Rutkovsky
franrutkovsky@...
Tallahassee, FL



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

The two White-fronted Geese and the single Snow Goose were still present today
(12/08) along Biltmore Ave in Southwood. They were with the flock of Canada
Geese near a pond located off Biltmore between Acacia and Tremont, which is
north of previous sightings.

Fritz Davis
Tallahassee, FL

I am from FL but now live in TN and will be visiting Tallahassee this weekend. 
I plan to bird St Marks over towards Port St Joe.  I was wondering if anyone
could suggest locations to look for Seaside and Saltmarsh Sparrows.  Tips on
other good birds in the area are also welcome.  I have seen the posts about the
Neotropic cormorant at SMNWR. Thanks.

David Kirschke
Nashville, TN

Hi All,
Just returned home after 1 1/2hours @ the park, quit cool.
Her is a list of what I saw;

37 Canada Goose
3 Great Egret
3 White Ibis
2 Red-Shouldered Hawk
2 Ring-Billed Gull
2 Killdeer
2 Blue Jays
2 American Crows
1 Little Blue Heron
1 Mocking Bird
1 Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker
1 Belted Kingfisher
1 Turkey Vulture

All in all not to bad.
Wayne
Lake Killarney (North)
Tallahassee Fl

I scouted St Marks NWR, this morning, in advance of leading trips there,
tomorrow. I got fifteen species of ducks, including Wood Ducks that were calling
in the swamps near the double bridges. Duck populations are continuing to
increase.

East River Pool
Ruddy Duck
Bufflehead

Mounds Pool III (accessed from the west dike, bring a scope, note that the east
dike is now closed to the public, you can see most of the ducks from the T dike)
Hooded Merganser
Green-winged Teal
Blue-winged Teal
Shoveler
American Wigeon
Lesser Scaup
Mallard
Gadwall

Picnic Pond
Lesser Scaup
Shoveler
Long-tailed Duck (associating with the scaup)

Lighthouse Pond
American Wigeon
Redhead
Shoveler
Lesser Scaup

Offshore
Red-breasted Merganser
Bufflehead
Lesser Scaup
Redhead
Common Loon
Horned Grebe

Stony Bayou II (note that the south dike is now closed to the public, you can
use the north dike to get to the open water at the east end of SBII, the
adjacent eastern dike is still open)
Green-winged Teal
Blue-winged Teal
Lesser Scaup
Ring-necked Duck

Snow Geese were reported on SBII by Joe Reinman, the refuge biologist.


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

Saw adult Bald Eagle flying around near the Park on Killarney Park
about 5:15pm.
Very beautiful bird.

Wayne
Lake Killarney (North)
Tallahassee Fl

The morning wildlife tour at the refuge took place with the temperature in the
mid-40s, wind around 15 mph and constant, sometimes heavy rain. Thirteen birders
braved the elements to ride the dikes in a truck-pulled open-sided trailer,
rather than stay inside where it was dry and warm. When we were moving, the
effective windspeed approached gale force.

Stony Bayou I
American Bittern
Marbled Godwit
Dunlin
Willet
Greater Yellowlegs
Western Sandpiper
Bufflehead
Red-breasted Merganser
White Pelican
Great Egret
Great Blue Heron

Mounds Pool III (by this point most lenses were fogged up or wet and all drying
cloths were soaked)
American Wigeon
Shoveler
Blue-winged Teal

There were many birds and probably several other duck species, but it was
getting hard to view anything at any kind of distance. As we got back to the
paved road, two people bailed on the field trip to jog back to the visitors
center. This was a field trip for hardcore birders.

Picnic Pond
Lesser Scaup
Hooded Merganser
Long-tailed Duck

Lighthouse Pond
American Wigeon
Canvasback (possibly)
Redhead

Offshore
Common Loon
Bufflehead
Royal Tern
Red-breasted Merganser

With the weather forecast showing that a slight break in the weather would be
followed by more rain, I canceled the afternoon tour and went home to get warm
and dry.


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

It was a pleasure birding with all of you.  What great spirit.

I posted some photos of the Long-tailed Duck in a new nflbirds album.  I didn't
take the camera out until after the tour and I snapped these from inside the
truck.  Good for the record anyway.
Thanks Don! I bought my duck stamp today.

Thanks to the Ar-Kansas guy for getting on the Neotropic Cormorant.  Album
posted for this bird also.  Good for the record.  Thanks to David Kirschke for
the first good looks.

Thanks to the St. Pete guys for the Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrows, Clapper Rail
and Sora at Bottoms Road.  Posted the Clapper in an album.

Thanks to Melissa for her expertise and amazing humor all day.  If I ever fly
trans-atlantic I must sit next to you.

Wayne Schaffner
Tifton, Georgia

This afternoon  I found an adult female Dickcissel at the undeveloped South
Shoal development (site of the old KOA).



John Murphy

Alligator Pt, FL



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

This afternoon at Tram Road Wastewater Pools (Tallahassee), I found 2
female Common Goldeneyes. The head shapes were not identical but bills
were mostly dark and fairly similar in shape.

Other ducks included Ring-necked, Blue-winged Teal, Hooded Mergansers,
Buffleheads, Shovelers and Lesser Scaup. An American Pipit was also
found.

\

At the sparrow field in Southwood  (Tallahassee) that Robert Lengacher
reported Nov 21 beyond the junction of Orange Ave and Mossy Creek Lane,
I found a Grasshopper Sparrow that

eventually perched in one of the very small trees. Park where Orange
ends and walk straight ahead (east) in the rutted road (found at about
30 yards). Noon.



Jim Cavanagh

Tallahassee



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

Hi everyone,
  I have a problem I hope I can get a answer to..
  I recently acquired a BULLY Mocking Bird.
HE will not let other birds near any of my feeders. H e chases them away.
What can be done???

Wayne
Lake Killarney (North)
Tallahassee Fl