Hello everyone,
What started as a pleasant but cloudy morning ended with heavy rain and cooler temperatures. But we still managed to find 54 species, which isn’t bad considering we rushed through the second half of the walk.
We spotted a very high flying Great Blue Heron at the start of the walk. We later had a flyover Osprey, flying fairly low and giving good looks. We also saw a Mourning Dove, which is pretty unusual for the Island. We also heard, but couldn’t find, a Mouring Warbler in the center of the Island. It sounded like it was right in front of us but it wouldn’t show itself.
A beautiful Great Egret was flying about. The Double-crested Cormorants didn’t seem to mind the rain a bit. The flycatchers were well represented again today with the highlight being two Great-crested Flycatchers.
Our raccoon family was home, looking adorable as usual. We could tell that there were two kits in the hole because we saw lots of movement but only one looked out of the hole. And that one kept crawling around and over mom – she was starting to look exasperated with her naughty child. The kids are getting big and will be out on their own soon.
BIRDERS: Cheryl, Leslie, Mike, Jennie, Caterina, Luther, Ken, Jane, Daniela, Eric, Paul and welcome to Mark M. and Ingrid.
TIME: 8:00am to 10:30am
WEATHER: Cloudy, 65 degrees, with heavy rain starting at about 10:00am.
Compiler: Cheryl
Photographers: Leslie, Paul and Eric
Canada Goose Number observed: 66
Wood Duck Number observed: 3
Mallard Number observed: 7
Mourning Dove Number observed: 1
Chimney Swift Number observed: 8
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 3
Herring Gull Number observed: 1
Caspian Tern Number observed: 1
Double-crested Cormorant Number observed: 4
Black-crowned Night Heron Number observed: 1
Green Heron Number observed: 3
Great Egret Number observed: 1
Great Blue Heron Number observed: 3
Osprey Number observed: 1
Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee Number observed: 2
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Number observed: 1
Alder Flycatcher Number observed: 1
Willow Flycatcher Number observed: 1
Least Flycatcher Number observed: 1
Great Crested Flycatcher Number observed: 2
Eastern Kingbird Number observed: 3
Warbling Vireo Number observed: 5
Red-eyed Vireo Number observed: 2
Blue Jay Number observed: 3
American Crow Number observed: 1
Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 2
Purple Martin Number observed: 10
Northern Rough-winged Swallow Number observed: 2
Barn Swallow Number observed: 12
Cliff Swallow Number observed: 5
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Number observed: 2
House Wren Number observed: 2
European Starling Number observed: 4
Gray Catbird Number observed: 2
American Robin Number observed: 12
Cedar Waxwing Number observed: 5
House Sparrow Number observed: 2
House Finch Number observed: 1
American Goldfinch Number observed: 3
White-crowned Sparrow Number observed: 1
Song Sparrow Number observed: 1
Orchard Oriole Number observed: 2
Baltimore Oriole Number observed: 5
Red-winged Blackbird Number observed: 7
Brown-headed Cowbird Number observed: 4
Common Grackle Number observed: 3
Mourning Warbler Number observed: 1
American Redstart Number observed: 2
Yellow Warbler Number observed: 10
Wilson's Warbler Number observed: 1
Northern Cardinal Number observed: 3
Rose-breasted Grosbeak Number observed: 1
Indigo Bunting Number observed: 2
If you’d like more information about a bird, check out the All About Birds ID guide:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/
Corrections, additions and comments are welcome.
Good birding everyone,
Jennie
Photo: Indigo bunting by Jessica Nelson