Vagrants in the Neighbourhood

Monday, February 11th

We had a few interesting birds visit here lately with a pair of Mega Rarities in South Florida. Both made very short stops before moving on. Locally, the Great White Pelican, probably having arrived somehow from Western Africa, made its third brief visit to Ding Darling NWR on Sanibel Island. Her last stop here was so very brief.  Maybe just a few hours, before flying off, to who knows where.  

Great White Pelican seen February 29, 2016 at Ding Darling NWR

Great White Pelican seen February 29, 2016 
at Ding Darling NWR

Compare her to the American White Pelicans
 that she is associating with. 

  Note that the American White Pelican 
is the largest bird in North America

We first saw this mystery bird back in February of 2016. Lots of us got to see her then,  She returned briefly the following year, again in February. She wasn't reported last year.  No one really knows her provenience.  Is she an escapee or a true vagrant?  As no one as ever reported the loss of such a bird, and as it lacks any leg bandings, it is more probably a vagrant that somehow traversed the Atlantic Ocean. One possibility it became a stowaway after following a fishing trawler traveling from the Eastern Atlantic toward our coast. And we have yet to find out where spends her time other than her appearances here. I read that researchers would find it helpful to report any banded ( need the band info) American White Pelican that it has associated with.

Another Mega Rarity to North America is a brief appearance In Palm Beach County of a Dark-billed Cuckoo.  A South American bird species with only a single reported visit to Texas in. This current encounter was first reported on the 6th and last seen on the 10th. An huge crows of Birding enthusiast had gather by the 9th and 10th. No doubt some flying in for this usual find.

Checklist with phots of the Dark-billed Cuckoo provided by Hugh Whelan     .https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S52548955

These birds can be considered  Vagrants  due to the being so outside of their home range.

Variegated Flycatcher'

Another Mega Rarity seen for a couple weeks in Evergreen Cemetery, Ft Lauderdale

in October 2015

Back in December 2008

Back in December 2008 I was one of several people stacking out the bird feeders at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary's Bunting House, waiting on s White-throated Sparrow to pop out. Not a great rarity, but diffidently out-side of its expected range and a potential lifer for me.  Well I was in a conversation with a British birder who asked me if I Twitched. Twitched? What's that? Its a British  birding terminology meaning to chase after rare vagrant birds.

 

A Pair of a Brants were visiting vagrants at 

Bunche Beach

December 2016 through January 2017

The following month, the chase was on. I had the bug.  Chased after the Ruff at Myakka River State Park, a Masked Duck near lake City, a Harris's Sparrow on the LA Chua Trail and the nesting Least Grebes in Boca Raton. 

Today, I've slowed down a bit. But there is a quartet of vagrants from the Caribbean drawing a lot of birders twitching after a La Sagra's  Flycatcher, Thick-billed Vireo, Western Spinalis, and a Bananaquit in Miami.