Saddle Creek Park (Lakeland), 22 August 2004

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]

Posted by Bill Pranty on 19:00:24 08/22/04

Good evening,

James Tucker, Jillian Johnston, and I spent three rewarding hours (0730-1030) at Saddle CReek Park this morning. Using a screech-owl tape, we saw 12 warblers, three vireos, and a few other nice birds. Notable species follow:

Limpkin: 3 or 4 -
Acadian Flycatcher: 2 (both calling) -
Yellow-throated Vireo: 3 (one still in song) -
Northern Parula: dozens all over -
Magnolia Warbler: 1 (see note below) -
Yellow-throated Warbler: 3 -
Prairie Warbler: 1 HY -
Black-and-white Warbler: 2 -
American Redstart: 1 female -
Prothonotary Warbler: 3 (2 males, 1 female) -
Worm-eating Warbler: 2 or 3 -
Ovenbird: 3 or 4 -
Waterthrush (sp): 2 or 3 -
Kentucky Warbler: 1 (heard only) -
Hooded Warbler: 1 (heard only) -

We missed the Black-throated Blue Warbler and the Louisiana Waterthrush (at least a specific ID) that Bob Snow et al. reported yesterday to the BRDBRAIN list.

We had a bird that we instantly called a Magnolia, but late August seemed early to me, so we studied it for 20-30 seconds at a range of 12-15 feet with good lighting. It had two white wingbars, a gray face, yellow underparts to the white vent, the slightest of streaking on the lowest flanks, and a white-based, black-tipped tail. It foraged actively in an oak at the very end of the trail, right over a metal bench about 100 feet from the main park road (which is inaccessible from the trail).

Using Dunn and Garrett (1997), our bird had a bit more streaking than the HY female shown, but far less than the HY male. Sibley's (2000) illustration is a pretty good match for our bird. After getting home, I checked Stevenson and Anderson (1994) and the past 10 years of Field Observations in _Florida Field Naturalist_. Excepting a "summer vagrant" found at Pensacola on 3 August 1947, our bird seems to be the earliest fall report for Florida. The next-recent date is 28 August 1969 at Lignum Vitae Key.

Based on the wingbars and tail pattern, I can't think of anything with which we could have confused the bird, but since I couldn't get any video of it, I'll consider alternative IDs.

Best regards,

Bill Pranty
Avon Park, Florida

Follow Ups:

Post a Followup

Name:
E-Mail:
Subject:
Comments:	: Good evening, : : James Tucker, Jillian Johnston, and I spent three rewarding hours (0730-1030) at Saddle CReek Park this morning. Using a screech-owl tape, we saw 12 warblers, three vireos, and a few other nice birds. Notable species follow: : : Limpkin: 3 or 4 - : Acadian Flycatcher: 2 (both calling) - : Yellow-throated Vireo: 3 (one still in song) - : Northern Parula: dozens all over - : Magnolia Warbler: 1 (see note below) - : Yellow-throated Warbler: 3 - : Prairie Warbler: 1 HY - : Black-and-white Warbler: 2 - : American Redstart: 1 female - : Prothonotary Warbler: 3 (2 males, 1 female) - : Worm-eating Warbler: 2 or 3 - : Ovenbird: 3 or 4 - : Waterthrush (sp): 2 or 3 - : Kentucky Warbler: 1 (heard only) - : Hooded Warbler: 1 (heard only) - : : We missed the Black-throated Blue Warbler and the Louisiana Waterthrush (at least a specific ID) that Bob Snow et al. reported yesterday to the BRDBRAIN list. : : We had a bird that we instantly called a Magnolia, but late August seemed early to me, so we studied it for 20-30 seconds at a range of 12-15 feet with good lighting. It had two white wingbars, a gray face, yellow underparts to the white vent, the slightest of streaking on the lowest flanks, and a white-based, black-tipped tail. It foraged actively in an oak at the very end of the trail, right over a metal bench about 100 feet from the main park road (which is inaccessible from the trail). : : Using Dunn and Garrett (1997), our bird had a bit more streaking than the HY female shown, but far less than the HY male. Sibley's (2000) illustration is a pretty good match for our bird. After getting home, I checked Stevenson and Anderson (1994) and the past 10 years of Field Observations in _Florida Field Naturalist_. Excepting a "summer vagrant" found at Pensacola on 3 August 1947, our bird seems to be the earliest fall report for Florida. The next-recent date is 28 August 1969 at Lignum Vitae Key. : : Based on the wingbars and tail pattern, I can't think of anything with which we could have confused the bird, but since I couldn't get any video of it, I'll consider alternative IDs. : : : Best regards, : : Bill Pranty : Avon Park, Florida
Optional Link URL:
Link Title:
Optional Image URL:

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]