Photo: Greater yellowlegs by Lindsay Vacek
Greetings fellow bird lovers,
Neither rain nor hail nor grapple nor snow can keep a birder from birding on a very unpredictable spring morning. The weather forecast had assured us that we had until 11:00am before the rain moved in but it started to lightly rain once we started down the center path of the Island. By the time we reached the transverse path in the middle, we had full blown hail hitting us for about 5 minutes. A few birders bailed at that point and I can't say I blame them. The rain, grapple and snow continued periodically, but amazingly by the end of the walk we had a brief moment of sunshine.
Despite the conditions, the birds were plentiful and we had the most species since last fall and we had our first of year Warblers! We welcomed back the Palm Warblers and were treated to a 1st year female Pine Warbler. Thanks to Randy S. for both pointing it out and identifying the bird. Thankfully, Marisa was able to get a good picture.
At the start of the walk, a motionless large black object was spotted on the Southeast side of the basin on the grass at the rocky point after the Darrow Bridge. It was only after several people saw it moving that we realized that it was a bird. Once we walked closer to the shore, we realized that it was probably a Double-crested Cormorant. Mostly it stayed still with its head tucked under even when people were near it but once it moved again, we were able to get a good visual on it. It was one of the first times many of us were clearly able to see the double crests. Fortunately, Marisa captured a picture and you can see for yourself. We spotted it later at the end of the walk in the NE corner but we have some concerns about the bird. It just didn't seem well. Hope it will be okay and continue on its journey.
BIRDERS: Cheryl, Marian, Mark C., Mark W., Kristin, Pam, Peter, Tracy, Marisa, Rob, Nathan, Robert, Lucy, Stacy, Chris, Satya, Wendy, Dick, Jan, Rosemary, Bruce
TIME: 8:00am to 11:11am
WEATHER: Mostly Cloudy, 41°F at start, 39°F at finish, rain, hail, grapple and snow, light winds from the WSW
Compiler: Cheryl
Photographer: Marisa
Canada Goose Number observed: 11
Wood Duck Number observed: 6
Blue-winged Teal Number observed: 4
Mallard Number observed: 7
Pied-billed Grebe Number observed: 2
American Coot Number observed: 2
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 9
Caspian Tern Number observed: 1
Double-crested Cormorant Number observed: 1
Great Blue Heron Number observed: 3
Black-crowned Night-Heron Number observed: 3
Cooper's Hawk Number observed: 1
Belted Kingfisher Number observed: 1
Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 2
Hairy Woodpecker Number observed: 1
Northern Flicker Number observed: 2
American Kestrel Number observed: 1
Merlin Number observed: 1
Eastern Phoebe Number observed: 2
American Crow Number observed: 2
Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 2
Northern Rough-winged Swallow Number observed: 9
Purple Martin Number observed: 5
Tree Swallow Number observed: 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet Number observed: 15
Brown Creeper Number observed: 4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Number observed: 4
Winter Wren Number observed: 1
European Starling Number observed: 2
Brown Thrasher Number observed: 2
Hermit Thrush Number observed: 3
American Robin Number observed: 23
House Sparrow Number observed: 4
House Finch Number observed: 1
American Goldfinch Number observed: 5
White-throated Sparrow Number observed: 16
Song Sparrow Number observed: 2
Swamp Sparrow Number observed: 2
Eastern Towhee Number observed: 1
Red-winged Blackbird Number observed: 17
Brown-headed Cowbird Number observed: 3
Common Grackle Number observed: 7
Palm Warbler Number observed: 5
Pine Warbler Number observed: 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler Number observed: 6
Northern Cardinal Number observed: 13
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.
Best of birding to all,
Cheryl