Greetings, birders:

With the passing of Ophelia, John Hintermister and I
went out to search for rarities that were blown in
from the storm at traditional shorebird spots in north
central Florida.

With 16 species found in the last week in a small
retention pond in Alachua (center of the state) and
reports of Buff-breasted Sandpipers and Golden Plovers
from several other areas in the state this weekend, we
went to the following spots:
Hastings sod fields off SR 207 and CR 13
Vilano Beach
Crescent Beach mudflats
Matanzas Inlet beach and flats
Flager County sod fields off SR 100 and CR 305
(We looked at at least 2000 acres of sod fields)

At Hastings, we found a wet area in one field off
Hastings Blvd S of CR 13, south of town, and found
many Pectorals, at least 10 White rumps, LESAs, SESAs,
SEPLs, KILLs and a WISN.  But that was it.  All day.
At the beaches, the tide was very high, with strong
east winds, covering all mudflats with water.  We
could not find any roosting birds, only a few
scattered Sanderlings and RUTU's.  At the Flagler
fields, where I found 2 BBSA last weekend, there was
nada.  Zip, nil, nyet, nothing. Not even a Killdeer.
There was some standing water, but with the blue
skies, cool temps, and strong breezes, and a waxing
crescent bright moon, there were no birds to be found
anywhere.  So why were there so many birds at the pond
in Alachua, and none on the east coast in places that
traditionally hold shorebirds?  Were we too late, and
should have been there yesterday (like fishing)?
Others saw good birds at Fernandina, and at Viera
Wetlands, but the areas we searched had nothing.

We had thought this would be a perfect time to find a
lot of trans-Atlantic migrants blown in off the ocean
from the storm.

What happened?

Bob Wallace
Alachua FL