In case you missed it: On Saturday morning – tomorrow – we’ll do another June Challenge field trip for those who had to work on the 1st. Meet at Longleaf Flatwoods Reserve at 6 a.m. in hopes of seeing Chuck-will’s-widow and Common Nighthawk. Then we’ll follow pretty much the same itinerary as on the 1st, but we’ll try to get through it more rapidly. Directions to Longleaf Flatwoods Reserve: From Gainesville, take State Road 20 (Hawthorne Road) east. Measuring from Waldo Road, at 4.4 miles you’ll pass Powers Park, and shortly thereafter you’ll cross the bridge over Prairie Creek. Three and a half miles after that, turn right onto County Road 325 and proceed 2.3 miles to the Longleaf parking lot on the right.
Last year Mike Manetz wrote, “Whoever said ‘no news is good news’ has never done The June Challenge.”
So, as Paul Harvey used to say, Stand by for news!
This morning I spent an hour and a half at Cellon Creek Boulevard (pronounced SEE-lun, by the way). I go there every year during The June Challenge, because it’s fairly easy to find several uncommon breeding birds along this half-mile of paved road: Eastern Kingbird, Eastern Meadowlark, American Kestrel, Purple Martin, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Eurasian Collared-Dove, and European Starling. In the past it’s been reliable for Northern Bobwhite, Common Ground-Dove, and Loggerhead Shrike as well, but none of those were present this morning. I’d seen Loggerhead Shrikes there as recently as March 25th, but they seem to be vanishing from all their old haunts. Other birds today included Red-tailed Hawk, Eastern Bluebird, Common Grackle, and Brown Thrasher. To get there, take US-441 from Gainesville toward Alachua. Four and a half miles beyond the intersection of 441 and NW 43rd Street, turn left onto Cellon Creek Boulevard and park at the end of the road, near the power station. Here’s a map.
La Chua’s semi-resident Whooping Crane, last eBirded on April 14th, reappeared off the observation tower on May 31st and was photographed by Tyler Carney. His photograph, taken about 8 p.m., also showed a drake Mallard in the background. Mike Manetz walked out La Chua on the morning of the 2nd, but the crane wasn’t there. Mike thinks it may be likelier in the evening.
Mike also checked out Paynes Prairie’s US-441 observation boardwalk this morning in hope of seeing a King Rail, but he had no luck. I stopped by this afternoon and was likewise disappointed. My consolation prize was an excellent view of a Round-tailed Muskrat that has a dome-shaped nest on the south side of the boardwalk less than twenty feet from the wall. It was halfway out of the nest entrance, gorging itself on pennywort and primrosewillow.
On the 1st Linda Hensley saw two White-winged Doves on the wires in front of the Econo Lodge on Tower Road near Newberry Road. That’s a good area for Eurasian Collared-Dove and Barn Swallow as well.
The American White Pelican and Roseate Spoonbills at Newnans Lake were last eBirded on the 27th. Mike Manetz and I went looking for them on the 1st and I went back on the 2nd, but they seem to be gone. Some birds are just like that, contrary and uncooperative. Last year a Snail Kite visited Sweetwater Wetlands Park for a few days at the end of May. It was still there on the 31st, but when hopeful June Challengers showed up on the next day it was gone. Bad attitude, is what that was.