I felt bad that David Simpson traveled all the way up here for my
Black-headed Grosbeak that stayed 3 days, but not 5.  He made a conscious
decision while sitting here to go for the Sanabel Surfbird rather than
sticking with his panhandle agenda.  I read that this AM he scored the
Surfbird for his 350th Fl bird for the year.  Congratulations David!

I felt a void here as the cold front pushed away the grosbeak, but it gave
back a few tokens.  Keith and Dottie MacVicar visited and brought me a new
yardbird:  a M & F Anhinga kettling high above my house (26 Oct 01).

Today along with John Murphy we had our FOTS (1st of the season)
WHITE-THROATED SPARROW at my feeder, also a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT checked
out my feeder, and a BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER came to the
sprinkler.  Nearby we got a FOTS HERMIT THRUSH.  A flock of 150 AM. WHITE
PELICANS sailed over the yard.  Bald Pt. Park-tip end- provided us with
Bald Eagle (at nest), RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, RED-TAILED HAWK, COOPER'S HAWK,
and N. HARRIER.  Only one AM. KESTREL, while there were half a dozen in
sight at once yesterday.  WHITE-WINGED DOVES remained at both John's and my
feeders.  FYI, Sheila Klink had 14 at her feeder in Eastpoint (Franklin
Co.) the other day!

I kept a alert eye to the sky for swallows as Noel Wamer called yesterday
to report (6) CAVE SWALLOWS on the East coast.  I saw TREE SWALLOWS
aplenty, and a few (~15) BARN SWALLOWS only.

We ventured over to St. Mark's NWR after seeing Wood Storks in Ochlockonee
Bay.  At the visitors' center I HEARD a GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET!!!  Then we
saw it.  Of course after it moved ten yards off, these old ears could no
longer pick up any sound.  (This is the 2nd report of this species I've
noticed, Gail Menk saw one 15 OCT 01 at St. George Is.).  We checked the
register there, and saw where Jim Cavanagh had seen SNOW GEESE a couple of
days ago; the MacVicars did too.  We did not today.  They said they flew W.

It was a social day, maybe as many birders as good birds!  We met up with
Bob Henderson and Donna Wells, David Hinson watching his eagles, Jim
Haines, and Sally and Dean Jue, with whom we walked the Tower Trail
with.  We saw the 5 AMERICAN AVOCETS, and a flock of ~120 AM. WHITE
PELICANS, and a HERMIT THRUSH.  (Note:  as stated earlier we had a FOTS
HERMIT THRUSH in Franklin Co, one was also reported on the AL Bird listserv
as their FOTS by Howard Horne, one of our former members).  Today must have
been a ceremonial event for these thrushes.  In my recorded keeping I've
seen this species arrive as early as OCT 22, but twice on this date, and on
31 OCT, so it's about right on target.

PS:  At Bald Pt. I saw my FOTS Yellow Palm Warbler 26 OCT 01, and today
John Murphy and I saw another.





Jack Dozier
Alligator Pt., FL
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