Hello everyone,

We had a great group of birders on hand to help out with the annual Spring Bird Count. The more eyes the better for this exercise since we have to seek out and count every bird we can find. We ended up with a species count of 67, which is a terrific number. Many thanks to everyone for their help.

It was a nice warm day to be in the park. The azaleas and the pink dogwood tree in the Japanese garden were in full spectacular bloom and just lovely.

We started off strong with a gorgeous male Orchard Oriole, followed quickly by the sighting of a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher on a nest. It’s nest building season and we found a pair of Baltimore Orioles hanging around their completed nest, and a female Baltimore Oriole working on her nest. They are amazing architects and builders.

The Black-crowned Night Herons were present, and one was in the Japanese Garden, hopefully our returning friend Osaka.

From the south bridge area, many of us were lucky to see the morning’s drama unfold. A Crow was in hot pursuit of a huge Bald Eagle. You would think that the eagle wouldn’t be afraid of the crow but it was trying its best to get away from the pesky bird.

Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Warbling Vireos and Yellow Warblers were singing all along our route, making them easy to count. Gray Catbirds, White-crowned Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows, and American Goldfinches plentiful too.

BIRDERS: Gary, Luther, Jeff, Cheryl, Mark C., Marian, Traci, Katie, Renate, Val, Howard, Leslie, Jennie, Lucy, Tyler, Paul, Parag, Rob, Lin, Marisa, Jan, Larry, Bil, Liz and welcome to Natalia, Elaine, Maggie, Natalie, Kevin, Tory, and Tom.

TIME: 8:00am to 1:00pm

WEATHER: sunny and pleasantly warm

Compiler: Cheryl

Photographers: Paul, Leslie, Gary, Marisa

1. Canada Goose   Number observed: 27

2. Wood Duck   Number observed: 2

3. Mallard   Number observed: 14

4. Chimney Swift   Number observed: 16

5. Ruby-throated Hummingbird   Number observed: 3

6. Spotted Sandpiper   Number observed: 3

7. Solitary Sandpiper   Number observed: 1

8. Ring-billed Gull   Number observed: 27

9. American Herring Gull   Number observed: 4

10. Caspian Tern   Number observed: 2

11. Double-crested Cormorant   Number observed: 5

12. Black-crowned Night Heron   Number observed: 5

13. Green Heron   Number observed: 4

14. Great Blue Heron   Number observed: 2

15. American White Pelican   Number observed: 6

16. Cooper's Hawk   Number observed: 1

17. Bald Eagle   Number observed: 1

18. Red-bellied Woodpecker   Number observed: 1

19. Downy Woodpecker   Number observed: 1

20. Hairy Woodpecker   Number observed: 1

21. Northern Flicker   Number observed: 1

22. Least Flycatcher   Number observed: 1

23. Eastern Phoebe   Number observed: 3

24. Eastern Kingbird   Number observed: 3

25. Warbling Vireo   Number observed: 21

26. Blue Jay   Number observed: 7

27. American Crow   Number observed: 6

28. Black-capped Chickadee   Number observed: 7

29. Tree Swallow   Number observed: 10

30. Purple Martin   Number observed: 12

31. Northern Rough-winged Swallow   Number observed: 12

32. Barn Swallow   Number observed: 20

33. Cliff Swallow   Number observed: 16

34. Ruby-crowned Kinglet   Number observed: 3

35. Golden-crowned Kinglet   Number observed: 1

36. White-breasted Nuthatch   Number observed: 1

37. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   Number observed: 22

38. Northern House Wren   Number observed: 5

39. European Starling   Number observed: 37

40. Gray Catbird   Number observed: 22

41. Swainson's Thrush   Number observed: 1

42. Wood Thrush   Number observed: 2

43. American Robin   Number observed: 44

44. House Sparrow   Number observed: 8

45. House Finch   Number observed: 1

46. American Goldfinch   Number observed: 26

47. White-crowned Sparrow   Number observed: 23

48. White-throated Sparrow   Number observed: 14

49. Savannah Sparrow   Number observed: 2

50. Song Sparrow   Number observed: 3

51. Orchard Oriole   Number observed: 4

52. Baltimore Oriole   Number observed: 16

53. Red-winged Blackbird   Number observed: 30

54. Brown-headed Cowbird   Number observed: 21

55. Common Grackle   Number observed: 5

56. Northern Waterthrush   Number observed: 3

57. Black-and-white Warbler   Number observed: 3

58. Common Yellowthroat   Number observed: 5

59. American Redstart   Number observed: 12

60. Cape May Warbler   Number observed: 3

61. Magnolia Warbler   Number observed: 1

62. Yellow Warbler   Number observed: 32

63. Palm Warbler   Number observed: 11

64. Yellow-rumped Warbler   Number observed: 7

65. Scarlet Tanager   Number observed: 3

66. Northern Cardinal   Number observed: 6

67. Rose-breasted Grosbeak   Number observed: 4

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: Black-throated green warbler by Luke Franke