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Posted by Robin Diaz on 13:15:08 01/14/10
This morning I found a male Western Tanager in Bill Baggs Cape Florida SP. At first I thought Angel and Mariel had lost their tanager! It's hard to tell from the photos but it seems like the Cape Florida bird has a bit more tomato-face. It called constantly with a very soft, sweet, slightly ascending "whee" (contact call?) but never gave the classic "pit-ick" call.
After passing the pay booth, turn west and park in the No Name Harbor parking area. Walk back east to the Youth Camping area. The bird worked the area at the end of the gravel drive and ~10-20 yards south of the gate. It perched several times on the wires. He hangs with 2 Great Crested Flycatchers, Blue-headed Vireo, Yellow-rumped Warblers and a pack of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers.
Walking back toward the office, Liz Golden (Park Biologist) and I found a La Sagra's Flycatcher. It called 4 times with a whistle-like "wheet" and after a while, Liz spotted it deep in the green buttonwoods. We watched it several minutes but it never came to the edge. The underparts are the extreme limit of pale, even for this species, with only the slightest yellow wash in the vent area. Good news: the bird is in the park. Bad news: right now it's in a restricted area with no public access. However, if special accomodations can be made for birders, Liz will post the information here. We'll keep an eye on it and hope that it works its way toward the Nature Trail.
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