Hello everyone,
What a great day of migrating fall birds! We had 60 identified species of birds and two species that we couldn’t positively identify. There are some who might disagree with me but I think it’s perfectly OK if we can’t precisely ID every single bird we see.
We had a lot of birders who came out to see all the wonderful migrants and they were not disappointed. There were large flocks of Chimney Swifts again this week and Northern Flickers were flying about everywhere too. Hummingbirds are still here as are all of our herons plus a couple Great Egrets.
A nice Merlin flew over our heads and a Turkey Vulture was soaring above. Our first White-throated Sparrows of the fall stopped by and the sighting of two Brown Thrashers elicited many ooos and ahhhs from the crowd.
The warblers were plentiful and some of them were easily identifiable, even in their fall plumage. There are others, however, who earned the moniker “confusing fall warblers” and can be tough to ID. We enjoy the challenge though. The comical sighting of the day was a cormorant perched on the side of a Jet Ski in the harbor. It looked like it was about to hop on and take a ride!
BIRDERS: (41) Mike, Cheryl, Jennie, Gary, Marian, Jeff S., Lori A., Luther, Caterina, Val, Howard, Jeff K., David, Daniela, Kristin, Madhu, Amir, Sarah, Katie, Traci, Simone, Robert, Jane, Eric, Mark W., Nolan, Domonique, Pam, Jan, Marisa, Tracy, Mark C., Leslie, Roger, and welcome to Marc W., Tom, Kevin, Ivan, Jonathan, Lori C., Tamara, and Jorge.
TIME: 8:00am to 1:15pm
WEATHER: High 60s, cloudy at first then turning sunny
Compiler: Cheryl
Canada Goose Number observed: 45
goose sp. Number observed: 14
Wood Duck Number observed: 8
Mallard Number observed: 29
Mourning Dove Number observed: 1
Chimney Swift Number observed: 140
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Number observed: 5
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 4
Double-crested Cormorant Number observed: 4
Black-crowned Night Heron Number observed: 2
Green Heron Number observed: 4
Great Egret Number observed: 2
Great Blue Heron Number observed: 5
Turkey Vulture Number observed: 1
Cooper's Hawk Number observed: 2
Buteo sp. Number observed: 1
Belted Kingfisher Number observed: 1
Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 4
Hairy Woodpecker Number observed: 1
Northern Flicker Number observed: 11
Merlin Number observed: 1
Eastern Phoebe Number observed: 1
White-eyed Vireo Number observed: 1
Philadelphia Vireo Number observed: 2
Warbling Vireo Number observed: 3
Red-eyed Vireo Number observed: 3
Blue Jay Number observed: 4
American Crow Number observed: 5
Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 9
White-breasted Nuthatch Number observed: 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch Number observed: 1
Northern House Wren Number observed: 2
Marsh Wren Number observed: 1
European Starling Number observed: 6
Gray Catbird Number observed: 4
Brown Thrasher Number observed: 2
Gray-cheeked Thrush Number observed: 1
Swainson's Thrush Number observed: 4
American Robin Number observed: 16
Cedar Waxwing Number observed: 10
House Finch Number observed: 3
American Goldfinch Number observed: 9
White-throated Sparrow Number observed: 2
Song Sparrow Number observed: 1
Common Grackle Number observed: 14
Black-and-white Warbler Number observed: 2
Tennessee Warbler Number observed: 2
Orange-crowned Warbler Number observed: 1
Nashville Warbler Number observed: 3
Mourning Warbler Number observed: 1
Common Yellowthroat Number observed: 1
American Redstart Number observed: 4
Cape May Warbler Number observed: 3
Magnolia Warbler Number observed: 4
Bay-breasted Warbler Number observed: 6
Chestnut-sided Warbler Number observed: 1
Blackpoll Warbler Number observed: 4
Palm Warbler Number observed: 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler Number observed: 1
Black-throated Green Warbler Number observed: 2
Wilson's Warbler Number observed: 2
Northern Cardinal Number observed: 3
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: American goldfinch by Will Stuart