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Posted by Robin Diaz on 11:29:34 02/13/09
There were 7 Northern Parulas today in Bill Baggs Cape Florida SP. According to my (very loose and flexible) standards, spring migration begins in Cape Florida when A) 8+ parulas are on my survey route, OR B) 4 parulas are in the same tree. The latter criterion was satisfied, so here we go!
The 3 parulas singing used Type B song, consisting of ~11 syllables of buzzy, sharp and trilled notes. Since 1997, my observation in Cape Florida has been that parulas arriving from the end of January through February sing Type B song, without exception. I have asked several ornithologists about this phenomenon and no one has an explanation. In Cape Florida, parulas later in migration mostly sing Type A song, the one more familiar to birders.
Catbirds, Blue-headed Vireos, House Wrens, gnatcatchers and Prairie Warblers are now singing their whisper songs.
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