Western Spindalis At Markham Park

Almost like clockwork, another vagrant bird entered the airspace of southern Florida and landed in late 2015 on the heals of Variegated Flycatcher, Northern Wheatear, and a Mountain Bluebird.

The Zebra Longwing Butterfly above (image 1) was photographed at Markham Park in December 2015.

Though not as rare in Florida as the aforementioned species, a much sought after Western Spindalis zena zena (Bahamas Black-backed) was reported by David Hall at Markham Park on 26 November.

The Blue-gray Gnatcatcher above (image 2) was photographed at Markham Park in December 2015.

The Cape May Warbler above (image 3) was photographed at Markham Park in December 2015.

As the Spindalis had been reported through the end of the month of November, Bird Patrol volunteer and wildlife blogger, Tom Obrock, and I made a trip on 1 December to chase the rarity. Arrival at Markham Park in Sunrise, Florida, was after my fear that we might be rained out as there was an ominous looking sky approaching the east coast.

The Blue Dasher Dragonfly above (image 4) was photographed at Markham Park in December 2015.

The Western Spindalis above (image 5) was photographed at Markham Park in December 2015.

With the car parked where instructed from previous eBird Florida Rare Bird Alert reports, Tom and I made our way toward the Nature Trail. I immediately had the thought that if I lived nearby, I would visit Markham Park often.

The Magnolia Warbler above (image 6) was photographed at Markham Park in December 2015.

The Spot-breasted Oriole above (image 7) was photographed at Markham Park in December 2015.

Markham Park is multi-use venue with events on the weekend that one might expect to be disruptive of the wildlife, but has been proven not to be the case. At the time of my visit there were many other wildlife subjects on hand that I enjoyed observing and photographing even with a relatively small footprint of the park explored.

The Spot-breasted Oriole above (image 8) was photographed at Markham Park in December 2015.

The Spot-breasted Oriole feeding on Coco Plum above (image 9) was photographed at Markham Park in December 2015.

The spindalis had been reported to be favoring the company of a group of Spot-breasted Orioles, and such was the case this day. While the orioles were highly visible, the spindalis was a relative skulker.

The Spot-breasted Oriole above (image 10) was photographed at Markham Park in December 2015.

The Spot-breasted Oriole above (image 11) was photographed at Markham Park in December 2015.

I met Angel Abreu, among the many birding enthusiasts on hand this day, who pointed out David Hall also present who was the first to report the Western Spindalis at Markham Park. It ultimately became a crowded field of observers which made it a challenge for me to photograph the spindalis when it made an appearance.

The Western Spindalis above (image 12) was photographed at Markham Park in December 2015.

The Spot-breasted Oriole above (image 13) was photographed at Markham Park in December 2015.

The Western Spindalis zena zena at Markham Park is the most common sub-species that visits Florida. Although not considered migratory, a Bahamas Black-backed Western Spindalis was remarkably observed at Leffis Key near the turn of the millennium by Bill Pranty and Brian Ahern.

The Spot-breasted Oriole above (image 14) was photographed at Markham Park in December 2015.

The Spot-breasted Oriole above (image 15) was photographed at Markham Park in December 2015.

Brian has an eBird checklist from that time while Greg Lavaty has a gallery of older images of spindalis that he had observed in Puerto Rico when this species was generally called Stripe-headed Tanager. Greg's tanager is now Puerto Rican Spindalis (Spindalis portoricensis) according to the American Ornithologists' Union.

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird above (image 16) was photographed at Markham Park in December 2015.

The Prairie Warbler above (image 17) was photographed at Markham Park in December 2015.

There are currently five sub-species of Western Spindalis which include Spindalis zena zena (Bahamas Black-backed), Spindalis zena townsendi (Bahamas Green-backed), Spindalis zena pretrei (Cuban), Spindalis zena salvini (Grand Cayman Island), and Spindalis zena benedicti (Cozumel Island). Bill Pantry notes that only pretrie, townsendi and zena have been documented in Florida.

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird above (image 18) was photographed at Markham Park in December 2015.

The Spot-breasted Oriole above (image 19) was photographed at Markham Park in December 2015.

The genus Spindalis currently consists of four species including Spindalis zena (highlighted in this article), Spindalis dominicensis, Spindalis portoricensis, and Spindalis nigricephala. Wildlife blogger Hemant Kishan photographed the Puerto Rican Spindalis (portoricensis) well. Larry Manfredi's web page offers interesting comparisons of a few Spindalis zena subspecies.

The Spot-breasted Oriole above (image 20) was photographed at Markham Park in December 2015.

The Common Basilisk above (image 21) was photographed at Markham Park in December 2015.

While a Western Spindalis should not be expected to be seen at any time in Florida, the 2009 Long Pine Key nesting event will hopefully be a harbinger of things to come. It would certainly be prudent to look extremely closely at any bird thought Spindalis to ensure it is not another rare visitor to Florida, or possibly a first known record.

The Gulf Fritillary above (image 22) was photographed at Markham Park in December 2015.

The Long-tailed Skipper above (image 23) was photographed at Markham Park in December 2015.

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The Julia Butterfly above (image 24) was photographed at Markham Park in December 2015.

The Band-winged Dragonlet above (image 25) was photographed at Markham Park in December 2015.