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Posted by Rafael Galvez on 20:04:33 08/23/13
I arrived to find several birders there. The WILLOW FL. was soon heard calling nearby, giving brief views. Soon after that, 2 ALDER FLs. were heard calling, one was singing, also brief views. Great stuff.
Another notable sighting was a YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD perched alone atop a tree. The bird's calling first caught my attention, a series of single raspy dry notes unlike RWBL. The bird was a first year male, dark brown overall with plenty of yellow around the facial region, throat and breast; the lower breast scaled brown, some light markings on wing.
I was curious - as suggested by others - that this seemed rather early for YHBL; I've only seen the species in our area in October. I did a quick check - Robertson and Woolfenden state: "... almost year-round (all months except Jul)..." Also checked FFN for early fall records: 1 Sep, 2007, Escambia; 4 Sep, 2006 St. Marks; 3 Sep, 2005 Ft. Walton Bch; 1 Aug, 2001, Fort Pickens, and so on.
An easy bird to overlook. Lots of other birds around...
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