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. 

Great White Pelican

Thursday February 2nd

Great White Pelican seen at Ding Darling in 2016

So cool to see that last years mysterious appearance of a Great White Pelican at Ding Darling NWR made a brief return this week. Those folks who arrived yesterday morning had an opportunity to experience her. But she did fly off around 11 am and did not return to the disappointment of the large crowd of motivated birders staking out the site today. 

But where has she been for the past year? No one reported any sightings, other than her appearances at Ding Darling.   The swelling of the skin around the the eyes is only seasonal, which means that the lack of this tell allows for the bird to more easily blend in with the American Great Pelicans.

And how did this specimen come to be here? Past investigations did not find any reports of an escapee.  Did it fly here? I doubt it.  Its a long way from its home range in Africa and Eurasia.  My theory is that it, like so many other exotic flora and fauna, arrived as a stow-away aboard some freighter or oil tanker.   

Compare the Great White Pelican to the American White Pelicans

A Pair of Brants Visit Ft Myers

Sunday, December 18th

Last February we had birders and photographers from far and wide descending on Bunche Beach Preserve to a get a look at a Star Attraction. An American Flamingo had become a regular visitor to Bunche Beach for about a couple of weeks. It was a lot of fun

So now we have a new Star Attraction at Bunche this weekend. A pair of Brants have shown up. It is very unusual to see this species this far south and is extremely uncommon in Florida. So scores of folks are returning to Bunche Beach to see and photograph these geese.

Yesterday, I received messages from Dave McQuaid encouraging me to get over to Bunche and I eventually was able to do so.  But the geese had moved off. After scoping the flats, without success, I started heading back to my car, when I ran into Stan Damen. So headed back with Stan to re-scan the flats.  Again no geese.

Brant at Bunche Beach

Now it was time for plan B, which was to relocate the search to the nearby Causeway Islands Park. So as we headed back to the cars, we stopped to chat with a nice German lady who was scanning the beach. But what do you know, she has the Brant sighted in her scope. Seems the goose had flown into the spot we had just vacated. So for a third time, it was back to the far end of the beach to get some photographs. The Brant was cooperative, but the angle of the sun made good photography difficult.  It wasn't a Lifer for me. I had seen them up in Virginia Beach last year, but was new addition to my Florida Bird List.

Besides the surprise arrival of the Flamingo and the Brants this year we had that three day visit, the end of February, of a Great White Pelican at nearby Ding Darling NWR. A couple of unusual vagrants that we saw this year a Broad-billed Hummingbird in Naples and a first ever recorded visit of a Pacific Golden Plover to a sod farm out in Palm Beach County back in April. Never know what unusual avian visitor might turn up.

Ding Darling NWR Hosting a Rare Visitor

Tuesday February 29th

Great White Pelican seen at Ding Darling NWR on Sanibel Island

Yesterday morning the first alerts of the sighting of, perhaps a first for North American, of a female Great White Pelican at nearby Ding Darling NWR. Big crowds quickly gathered to spot this large bird as it rested on a sandbar along the Wildlife Drive in the company of American White Pelicans.

 The contrast between the two species is quite apparent. The Great White Pelican is larger, with big bulging eyes.  It is normally found in parts of southeastern Europe, Africa and Asia.

So this morning I joined the crowd and got a tremendous look at the pelican, who was nice enough to hang around. Best time of the day to try for this bird is during low tide.

Common Loon also on hand

Spotted Sandpiper