Sunday, October 23, 2022

Honeycreeper Madness

I will just write a brief note.  I am drinking my lifer beer for bird number 820, wow, 820 birds....who'd have ever thunk?  Even with a bit of a rash of exotics, some of which I still have to tally, but it is still something good.  Today's addition was the red-legged honeycreeper

After Ian blew through, luckily sparing our camping site in Land O Lakes Florida, honeycreepers began to show up in the Keys, Miami, the Everglades, Sabine Woods in Texas, Grand Isle LA, and most recently in Jupiter and Delray Beach Florida. A friend of mine called it Honeycreeper madness.

I saw these reports and as we cruised into Tampa last weekend, I figured I'd head south right away, but the Key West honeycreepers moved north, then north again and finally I just decided to go this morning after Brunch at the local Buddhist temple.  I had no more excuses, I had to go over and see one.  One may never have an opportunity like this again.

It was an uneventful four hour trek to the Atlantic side of Florida.  Orchard Park was full of families and then as I was putting on my camera, the only birder there put me on a glimpse of the target.  It took me another hour and a half to get photos.

One could hope for gorgeous blue males in breeding plumage but I never figured on seeing honeycreepers in the USA, so I'll take green ones, immature males and females all day long.

I settled for a male black-throated blue warbler to give me that blue color for the afternoon in Delray Beach 
                               

So I got my bird, I'm drinking my lifer Grain Belt I had in the refrigerator and getting ready for a big birding trek to Asia next weekend

Cheers!

Olaf


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