Variegated Flycatcher in FL ~ October 28-30, 2015

On Wednesday, Jason Horn and I left his house around 10:30 AM and headed for Fort Lauderdale, Florida. After driving through rain for two-thirds of the way, we arrived at Evergreen Cemetery a couple hours before sunrise on Thursday morning. We got a quick snooze in before walking into the cemetery where several birders had already found the Variegated Flycatcher. We spent several hours checking out and photographing this rarity from South America.

We birded the rest of the cemetery, which was full of migrants. A Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, an Anhinga, and this immature White Ibis were along tiny Cliff Lake, which borders the cemetery.

An Ovenbird walked along its edge.

The trees along the border of the cemetery produced warblers that included Magnolia, Black-and-white, Yellow-throated, Bay-breasted, Northern Parula, and American Redstart. A White-eyed Vireo was also present.

At least a hundred Palm Warblers worked the grassy areas among the tombstones. Other birds seen there were Cooper's Hawk, American Kestrel, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Eastern Phoebe, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Summer Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Northern Cardinal, and a flock of parakeets, which were probably Mitreds.

Jason suggested that we head for nearby Royal Palm Park where I had the opportunity to get another "countable" bird. There, we found one Egyptian Goose on the strip between the two pools.

Common Gallinules were walking along the shore.

An adult White Ibis was also there. Was its missing foot the result of an encounter with an Alligator?

Other birds seen at the park included Mallard, Tricolored Heron, Limpkin, and Boat-tailed Grackle.

We left there around noon and began the long, 19-hour drive back home. Birds seen along the way included Cattle Egret, Wood Stork, Osprey, Bald Eagle, and Red-shouldered Hawk. I backed into the garage at around 1:30 on Friday afternoon with the trip odometer reading 2,528 miles.

---