Bird of the week 2023 | Week 32

Vermilion flycatcher [MichaelWarren.com]

Vermilion flycatcher

When Hurricane Nicole blew through our area last November, it deposited this lonely female vermilion flycatcher at the Ocala Wetlands Recharge Park. Hurricane season and the fall bird migration overlap, but most birds do a good job of getting out of the way. Nevertheless, hurricanes can shuffle birds around. This flycatcher was the first of its kind reported on eBird in Marion County. It was spotted by LuAnne Warren and became a minor celebrity among local birders before it was last seen in February of this year.