From: Rex Rowan <rexrowan@gmail.com>
To: Alachua County birding report
Thoreau called it “the royal month of August.”
On the 6th Dean and Samuel Ewing checked out the shorebird situation at the Hague Dairy. Samuel wrote, “Walked around the lagoon, but found very poor shorebird habitat. Found much better habitat along NW 59th Drive, just to the east of the dairy, but almost zero shorebirds except for a nice group in the northernmost flooded field, where we had several species.” These included 15 Pectoral Sandpipers, 15 Killdeer, 4 Spotted Sandpipers, 2 Solitary Sandpipers, and 1 Least Sandpiper.
On the 5th Mike Manetz and I went looking for a Kentucky Warbler on the Bolen Bluff Trail. We didn’t find it – it’s still a little early – but we had an excellent morning nonetheless: four Black-and-white Warblers, an American Redstart, three Louisiana Waterthrushes, a Yellow Warbler, a Prairie Warbler, and two Hooded Warblers. The trail was flooded in places, thanks to the recent rains, but we’d expected that so we wore rubber boots. Another result of the rain: plenty of mosquitoes, especially along the first part of the trail, and that’s probably going to get worse as the season progresses.
On the 6th Mike found his Kentucky at San Felasco’s Millhopper Road entrance, as well as three Louisiana Waterthrushes, two Black-and-white Warblers, and several (probably resident) Hooded Warblers. Most of his birds were along the Moonshine Creek and Creek Sink Trails: “The Kentucky was up the narrow trail beyond the ‘Take only Pictures’ sign.”
The FWC’s Fox Squirrel program is up and running again. If you see one, report it: https://public.myfwc.com/hsc/foxsquirrel/GetLatLong.aspx Which makes me think of Courtney Tye, who worked on this before her untimely death. I was reminded of her not long ago, when I found a memorial plaque beside a longleaf pine that had been planted in her honor at Watermelon Pond Wildlife and Environmental Area (established partly to provide habitat for Fox Squirrels). And I found a moving remembrance of Courtney online: http://www.chicagonow.com/swirleytime/2014/02/courtney-tye/
I’ve posted a blog entry describing a May bird count at the islands off Cedar Key in May. It’s remarkable mainly for the excellent bird photos by Coleman Sheehy, Jr.: http://fieldguide.blogs.gainesville.com/485/bird-count-at-cedar-key/