Posted by Marisa Wohl on March 06, 2004 at 18:10:52:
In Reply to: Re: blackburnian warbler posted by Brian Rapoza on March 04, 2004 at 14:31:15:
: According to Roberson and Woolfenden (Florida Bird Species, an Annotated List, 1992), Blackburnian Warbler is a "sporadic to irregular, very rare to rare winter visitor, with about 25 reports, probably none verifiable." I've never seen one here in the winter. Please make Bill Pranty's day and tell us you took a photograph of the bird.
: : I am a birder from New York City who birded Big Cypress and the Everglades over the past 5 days. On February 28th I saw a blackburnian warbler (& parula & black & white) at Big Cypress Bend. I thought blackburnians came towards the end of the spring migration schedule. Since spring migration is just starting in south Florida, I'm wondering if this was an unusual sighting.
: : I also wanted to thank the Tropical Aubudon Society for its website info on birding sites and locations to find specific birds. It was most helpful to me, and I recommended it to several birders I met.
I'm sorry to say I didn't take a picture of the blackburnian warbler; I was happy to get my binos on it long enough to get a positive ID, of which I'm 99% sure. The bird was facing away from me and didn't have a redstart's red-orange wing or tail patches. I saw the true orange throat and black head.
Besides the parula and black & white on 2/28 I saw a yellowthroat on 2/29. At Mahogany Hammock on 3/2 I added black throated green and yellow-rumped. For the whole trip I had 13 life birds, mostly species I would only see in Florida or other southern states.