What Do I Look Like Now?

Bolen Bluff Trail is a beautiful spot just south of Gainesville along US 441.  It's a nice walk in the woods at any time of the year, and it can provide a warbler bonanza during migration.  There have been some terrific birds reported there recently -- while I was elsewhere, of course - so three of us went there yesterday morning hoping for a few good birds.  

Summer Tanager

One of the birding lessons I learned early on was to take nothing for granted and look at every bird.  That paid off for us yesterday when we checked out a Cardinal.  Hey wait, that's not a Cardinal!  It was a gorgeous male Summer Tanager (left).   I love Summer Tanagers!  They are such a vibrant red, and they will come in to investigate a spishing birder.  Eventually we saw three males and one female.  

American Redstart

A bit later we found the first of numerous American Redstarts.  All of them were either female or young male "yellowstarts" (right).  Slowly we added more warblers to our day list.  Among them were Chestnut-sided, Tennessee, Yellow-throated, Black-and-White, Yellow, Hooded, and Palm Warblers and some Northern Parulas.  There were no Yellow-rumps, but that Palm Warbler felt like a harbinger of fall.  I have always associated Palm Warblers with winter in Gainesville, so seeing my first Palm of the season made me feel like migration season is nearing an end.  I hope not; I'm just getting started!

On the way to the park we had asked each other who among us was going to be responsible for identifying all of the female warblers in drab fall plumage that we were planning to see.  But the real ID problem of the day had nothing to do with warblers.  Lighting tricks, shadows, and wishful thinking all conspired to keep us guessing about the flycatcher pictured below.  

Acadian Flycathcer

Acadian Flycatcher

One look seemed to indicate pale underparts, but another view suggested a yellow wash.  One view showed obvious wingbars, but our first look didn't show any.  Eventually we decided that what was in front of us was exactly what should have been in front of us, an Acadian Flycatcher and not one of the locally less frequently seen members of the Empidonax family.

Red-bellied Woodpecker feeding her young.

On our way back toward the parking lot we were treated to a wonderful sight.  We watched a momma Red-bellied Woodpecker feed her baby.  She drilled away at the tree seeking yummy bugs, then fed them directly into the open mouth of the baby (left).  That's one of the sights that makes birding such a rewarding pursuit.  Every now and then you get to watch something so great that you feel like you've been granted a special privilege to just be there.

Can you tell that I love this stuff?

Finally, several of you have had nice things to say about the photos of the various parks that I've written about.  As you can tell from the pictures below, Bolen Bluff really is a gorgeous walk in the woods.

Bolen Bluff Trail

But Mr. Ranger, I know the birds are back there!