Birds and Other Nature Sightings

     On Tuesday, my first night back at home after several days down in much warmer Florida, I started getting reports that a Red-flanked bluetail had been seen in Whiting, Ocean County, NJ.  My first impression was, no way .  Red-flanked bluetails are an Asian species, with rare occurrences in the United States.  The only one that I remembered was in Los Angeles in 2019.  I just happened to be in that area with my family then and actually made an unsuccessful attempt to see the bird.  It had been frequenting the grounds at the Clark Library of UCLA.  Since then, though, there have been a few more vagrants to the U. S., but none east of Wyoming. So, my next thought was that someone misidentified the bird.  This happens with some new or casual (or careless) birders, especially when there are no photos to backup such an unusual sighting.  Then photos soon followed, and unbelievably, it was a red-flanked bluetail!  This would be the first one recorded in the eastern half of the country,

     My wife and I took advantage of an opportunity to get away for a few days and flew down to Orlando, FL.  With a pool, gym and shopping outlet within walking distance of our hotel room, she had no problem with me heading out yesterday for a birding jaunt.  So I headed over to Lake Apopka Wildlife Dive.  This is a nice, self-guided auto drive through Central Florida wetlands.  There is no fee to visit the refuge, but it is only open to vehicles from Fridays through Sundays.  The drive is a one-way route, but has pullouts along the rod to allow other vehicles to pass, or allow you to walk around for unrushed views or photographs, just beware of alligators lounging along the road. This is probably the best, most-bang-for-your-buck birding stop in the area.  While I only tallied 46 bird species yesterday, many others eBirded over 70.  The birds move around the refuge, so different times of day offer different sightings. American alligator.  ⓒ S. Weiss One of many large  alligators alo