Photo credit: Lance Leonhardt
Hello everyone,
The weather was much better than last week and we had a nice, long walk to make up for lost time. It was a great day for both birds and insects, including some very cool looking dragonflies and many different species of butterflies. Butterfly highlights were Tiger Swallowtail, the Red-spotted Purple and of course the lovely Monarchs.
There was bird drama this morning. An American Kestrel was mobbed by Barn Swallows and Purple Martins. I didn’t realize that swallows did that, but obviously they do. A Red-shouldered Hawk was chased by 2 Eastern Kingbirds. This is not unusual as the kingbirds are feisty birds that will not stand for hawks in their territory.
A juvenile Green Heron who still had a fuzzy head watched us from a tree while we watched it. It was adorable! Northern Yellow Warblers and Common Yellowthroats were singing like crazy in the former rose garden. The mulberry tree in the rose garden was once again a hub of bird activity with Cedar Waxwings, Robins and House Finches feasting on the berries.
BIRDERS:
Mike, Marian, Jennie, Eric, Mark W., Clare, Laurie, Luther, Howard, Gary, Mark C., Suzanne, Cheryl, Madhu, Chelsea, Andrew, Daniela, Sandra, Mark N., Val, Simone, Robert, Roger, Adhithi, Rahal, Katie, Jo, Traci, Sarah, Amir, Lucy, Marisa, Jan, Renate and welcome to Shailen, Tabitha, Billie, Anjali, and Reyah.
TIME: 8:00am to 11:45am
WEATHER: 76 degrees, sunny
Compiler: Cheryl
Canada Goose Number observed: 19
Wood Duck Number observed: 10
Mallard Number observed: 17
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) Number observed: 2
Mourning Dove Number observed: 1
Chimney Swift Number observed: 7
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Number observed: 3
Killdeer Number observed: 4
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 8
Caspian Tern Number observed: 1
Double-crested Cormorant Number observed: 5
Black-crowned Night Heron Number observed: 1
Green Heron Number observed: 4
Great Egret Number observed: 2
Great Blue Heron Number observed: 7
Cooper's Hawk Number observed: 1
Red-shouldered Hawk Number observed: 1
Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 2
Northern Flicker Number observed: 3
American Kestrel Number observed: 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee Number observed: 1
Eastern Phoebe Number observed: 3
Eastern Kingbird Number observed: 12
Eastern Warbling Vireo Number observed: 1
Red-eyed Vireo Number observed: 1
Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 7
Purple Martin Number observed: 28
Barn Swallow Number observed: 15
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Number observed: 3
Northern House Wren Number observed: 3
European Starling Number observed: 11
Gray Catbird Number observed: 8
American Robin Number observed: 31
Cedar Waxwing Number observed: 12
House Sparrow Number observed: 9
House Finch Number observed: 6
American Goldfinch Number observed: 12
Chipping Sparrow Number observed: 1
Song Sparrow Number observed: 3
Baltimore Oriole Number observed: 2
Red-winged Blackbird Number observed: 5
Common Grackle Number observed: 1
Common Yellowthroat Number observed: 2
Northern Yellow Warbler Number observed: 5
Northern Cardinal Number observed: 7
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