Hello everyone,
It was a wonderful day of birding. The air was filled with bird song, especially the song of Warbling Vireos. A large flock of mixed species of swallows was swirling overhead. A Black-crowned Night Heron was in the Japanese garden watching the Koi and seemed to be wondering if it could handle that big a fish. You could see the wheels turning in its mind.
It was fun to see several nests – we had a Yellow Warbler and a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher on nests, and a mama Robin was feeding adorable babies on her nest. There was a flock of Cedar Waxwings, some of which had orange/coral tail tips, rather than yellow, a known variant but something we had never seen before. Jane and Mark W. spotted an elusive Yellow-breasted Chat, an unusual visitor for us.
The highlight of the day was the presence of not one, but two Ospreys! We are lucky when we have one Osprey fly over but to have two was extra special. They were flying around, fishing successfully, and perching on the big dead tree on the island to have their lunch. It was pretty exciting and I hope they stay around.
BIRDERS: Marian, Jennie, Cheryl, Luther, Kristin, Parag, Roger, Leslie, Katie, Traci, Mark W., Renate, Andy, JC, Larry, Marisa, Jo, Mark C., Paul, Lucy, Daniela, Val, Jane, Eric, Margalit, Fred, Emmy, Zaki, Pat, and welcome to Melissa, Hannah, Tamara, Felicia, Gabe, and Em.
TIME: 8:00am to Noon
WEATHER: 57 degrees and sunny
Compiler: Cheryl
Canada Goose Number observed: 55
Wood Duck Number observed: 2
Mallard Number observed: 11
Mourning Dove Number observed: 3
Chimney Swift Number observed: 39
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Number observed: 1
Killdeer Number observed: 1
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 25
Caspian Tern Number observed: 1
Double-crested Cormorant Number observed: 2
Black-crowned Night Heron Number observed: 5
Green Heron Number observed: 2
Great Blue Heron Number observed: 4
Osprey Number observed: 2
Cooper's Hawk Number observed: 1
Red-tailed Hawk Number observed: 1
Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 1
Northern Flicker Number observed: 1
American Kestrel Number observed: 1
Olive-sided Flycatcher Number observed: 1
Least Flycatcher Number observed: 3
Eastern Phoebe Number observed: 2
Eastern Kingbird Number observed: 3
Warbling Vireo Number observed: 16
Red-eyed Vireo Number observed: 1
American Crow Number observed: 9
Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 1
Tree Swallow Number observed: 4
Purple Martin Number observed: 8
Northern Rough-winged Swallow Number observed: 7
Barn Swallow Number observed: 7
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Number observed: 4
Northern House Wren Number observed: 2
European Starling Number observed: 6
Gray Catbird Number observed: 6
American Robin Number observed: 8
Cedar Waxwing Number observed: 11
House Sparrow Number observed: 6
American Goldfinch Number observed: 7
Song Sparrow Number observed: 5
Yellow-breasted Chat Number observed: 1
Orchard Oriole Number observed: 3
Baltimore Oriole Number observed: 7
Red-winged Blackbird Number observed: 15
Brown-headed Cowbird Number observed: 8
Common Grackle Number observed: 11
Common Yellowthroat Number observed: 3
Northern Parula Number observed: 1
Magnolia Warbler Number observed: 1
Bay-breasted Warbler Number observed: 1
Yellow Warbler Number observed: 17
Wilson's Warbler Number observed: 1
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: Indigo bunting by Jessica Nelson