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Today my Audubon Chapter birded a new site on the Great Birding Trail. Bluffton Ridge Recreation Park is part of the Lake George Forest area off Highway 40 just east of Astor. We were amazed at the beauty of the area and just as amazed at the wonderful birding. We had 51 species between the gate and the fishing pier, 2.5 miles down the road. The road was in excellent condition and is such that a person not able to walk very much could fully enjoy the birding from the car. There is a variety of habitat from forest, to open fields, to the St. John's River. We had 3 surprise birds: A Golden- winged Warbler, a Magnolia Warbler and an Orchard Oriole. Our total trip list was 56 species: Eastern Titmice Eastern Phoebees Bald Eagles Turkey Vulture Black Vulture Loggerhead Shrike Palm Warblers Pine Warblers Great Crested Flycatcher Great Egret Little Blue Heron Gray Gnatcatchers Red-tailed Hawk Red-shouldered Hawk (and nest just south of 40 in forest) Common Yellowthroats Eastern Towhees Great Catbirds (many, many!) Ovenbirds (many) Ruby-crowned Kinglet White-eyed Vireos Northern Parula Black and White Warbler Downy Woodpeckers (many) Red-bellied Woodpeckers Northern Flickers Piliated Woodpeckers Double-crested Cormorants Sandhill Cranes Great Egret Great Blue Heron Carolina Wrens House Wren American Kestrels Wild Turkeys Mourning Doves Northern Mockingbirds Red-headed Woodpecker Carolina Chickadee Common Grackles American Crows Red-winged Blackbirds Blue Jays Eastern Meadowlark (heard, not seen) American Redstarts Northern Cardinals Anhinga Belted Kingfisher Osprey Species seen before and after Bluffton Ridge area: Green Heron Starling Boat-tailed Grackles Snowy Egret House SparrowsEastern Bluebird The marathon birding crew were: Ray Scory, Rachel Ramsey, Lois Robinson, Lois Pouchet, Kevin Doxstater, and Meret Wilson. We think a return trip in early November would be a great idea to see what else will turn up. Meret Wilson Ormond Beach, FL [log in to unmask] ______________________________________________________________ FLORIDABIRDS-L : www.javaswift.com/floridabirds/ - FloridaBirds-L website For list policy, read: www.javaswift.com/floridabirds/policy.html For archives: www.lists.ufl.edu/archives/floridabirds-l.html To set nomail: Mailto:[log in to unmask] Set floridabirds-l nomail Listowner: (1) Mailto:[log in to unmask] or (2) Mailto:[log in to unmask]