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Posted by tim on 15:01:52 11/07/07
First let me start off by saying I am nowhere near the level of birder as most people on this board are. I have been birding in my spare time for 3 years and have a life list of about 130. I have probably left about 50 species in the woods because I was not confidant enough in my ID skills. I want to be 100% before adding a bird to my list, and most of the time I wait until I see it at least twice or more. That being said, Today I was at Fern Forest in Pompano from 10-12. Walking through the woods, I saw several warblers flitting around in a tree. When I lifted my binoculars up to one, I realized this one was something different. It had a thicker bill like a vireo. It had a white chin and belly and yellow flanks. It also had large eye rings that extended around the front like spectacles. I was sure that I was looking at a vireo of some type. As I was leaving, I picked up a bird list in the nature center, last updates in 2001. When I got home, I found the bird right away in my book, a Blue Headed Vireo. I consulted no less than 6 other sources and came to the same conclusion. I saw nothing else that it could really be or what I could have confused it with. I am 99% sure of my ID, a lifer at that. I then checked the Fern Forest checklist I picked up. It listed 4 vireos, but NO BLUE HEADED VIREO. What does that mean? Does that mean nobody has ever seen or reported one there? Now I am questioning my ID skills even though I really feel 99% sure. Has anyone else seen this bird lately. Does it sound unusual or unrealistic to anyone that I saw this bird there Today? Does anyone think I could have confused this with something else, even though its field marks seemed pretty diagnostic to me. I would appreciate any help.
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