Date:         Sun, 24 Apr 2005 17:28:18 -0400
Reply-To:     Bradley J Bergstrom <bergstrm@VALDOSTA.EDU>
Sender:       Georgia Birders Online <GABO-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         Bradley J Bergstrom <bergstrm@VALDOSTA.EDU>
Subject:      both kites, Y-C Night-Heron, last of season...
Content-type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

This rare, crisp spring day, while searching for non-resident Neotrops
at Langdale Park along the Withlacoochee River (which were few--see
below), I did find two surprises.  First, I watched a Swallow-tailed
Kite circling a bend in the river for about 15 min.  Jaret Johnson
reported a Swallow-tailed Kite 13 days ago circling a developed area of
Valdosta 2 miles east of the river.  There seems to be an increasing
number of sightings in the area in the past few years.  This one may be
a nester.

BTW, Margaret found our FOTS Mississippi Kite soaring over the backyard
on Friday, Apr. 22, nice Earth Day present.

The other Langdale Park surprise and also a first for the park list was
a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron deep into the floodplain forest in an area
nearly inaccessible due to flooding.

As for non-breeding Neotrops, only a flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers,
though a sizeable one, all softly singing and about half  sporting
bright alternate plumage.  Since these have been scarce the last two
weeks, I presume this was a vagrant flock from farther south.  In the
same category, 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets calling and singing, sounds also
not heard locally in the past couple of weeks.

Other notes:  since the Orchard Orioles arrived about a week or so ago,
Baltimore Orioles have not been apparent.  A virtually daily feeder
bird since mid-September, Baltimores officially made it a 7-month
continuous stay with a last sighting April 14.  One of the longest
backyard wintering birds, rivalling Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Cedar
Waxwings (flocks of the latter still here).

The plague numbers of American Robins in the coastal plain this winter
seemed to have rapidly dwindled to near zero by late March.

Brad Bergstrom
Valdosta, GA

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