Sunday, May 19, 2013

Field Report: Welkinweir, May 18, 2013

On Saturday, May 18, walk leader Rick Keyser spotted 51 species and one unidentified flycatcher. Despite the gray weather, some notable birds were spotted, including Alder Flycatcher and Blue-winged Warbler. The complete list, as submitted to eBird follows:

Canada Goose   2    Vocal swimming pair on Rodebaugh pond
Great Blue Heron   2    Perched and flying about large pond
Black Vulture   1    At carrion in a field across the road, with TUVUs
Turkey Vulture   3    Soaring
Red-tailed Hawk   1    Soaring adult
Spotted Sandpiper   1    Seen flying over the large pond
Mourning Dove   2    Singing
Yellow-billed Cuckoo   1    Heard well
Ruby-throated Hummingbird   3
Belted Kingfisher   1
Red-bellied Woodpecker   3
Downy Woodpecker   1    Heard whinny
Northern Flicker   2
Pileated Woodpecker   1    Heard drumming; saw a vocal male shortly after group left
Alder Flycatcher   1    Heard well singing repeatedly
Empidonax sp.   1    Heard calling.  Believe it was a Least Flycatcher.
Eastern Phoebe   1
Great Crested Flycatcher   2    Vocal, saw one briefly
Eastern Kingbird   1    Seen perched, vocal
White-eyed Vireo   1    Heard singing repeatedly
Red-eyed Vireo   5    Counter-singing, saw one singing on perch (backlit)
Blue Jay   20    Conservative estimate - moving in flocks of up to 10
American Crow   6    A vocal group probably mobbing a distant raptor
Tree Swallow   6    In nestboxes, vocal
Barn Swallow   2    Vocal
Carolina Chickadee   5    Calling; singing
Tufted Titmouse   3    Singing
House Wren   8    Singing
Carolina Wren   3    Singing
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   5    Heard calling
Eastern Bluebird   3    M/f pair seen
Veery   2    Seen calling; singing
Wood Thrush   4    Heard counter-singing
Gray Catbird   20    Conservative estimate - calling; singing
Cedar Waxwing   5
Ovenbird   6    Saw pair in woods; counter-singing
Louisiana Waterthrush   2    Singing;  along the small stream seen well an agitated pair calling and carrying food in bill
Blue-winged Warbler   3    Saw pair very well; singing
Common Yellowthroat   2    Saw one male well, singing; calling
Magnolia Warbler   1    Singing; saw after group left
Yellow Warbler   1    Heard singing
Eastern Towhee   4    Singing
Chipping Sparrow   2    Singing
Song Sparrow   5    Singing
Scarlet Tanager   2    M/f pair seen briefly
Northern Cardinal   5    Saw m/f pair; singing; calling
Indigo Bunting   1    Saw male perched, not singing
Red-winged Blackbird   6    Calling; counter-singing
Common Grackle   1    Short tail (female COGR, or possibly a RUBL ?)
Brown-headed Cowbird   3    Singing; calling
Baltimore Oriole   3    Heard singing
American Goldfinch   5    Singing; calling

In addition to the birds, the group also observed bullfrogs and a gray tree-frog.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Field Report: International Migratory Bird Day at the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove, May 11, 2013

On May 11 we celebrated International Migratory Bird Day with a walk and bird-a-thon at the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove. A late night storm on Friday night probably benefitted us by forcing a lot of migrants down. Overall we counted 65 species including 11 warbler species and a gray-cheeked thrush. We also had good numbers for scarlet tanager and Baltimore oriole. Rose-breasted grosbeak and indigo bunting were also on hand to provide brilliant displays of color. Our complete list as submitted to eBird follows:


Canada Goose  3
Wood Duck  3
Double-crested Cormorant  1
Great Blue Heron  2
Green Heron  1
Turkey Vulture  3
Cooper's Hawk  2
Spotted Sandpiper  2
Rock Pigeon  1
Mourning Dove  6
Chimney Swift  8
Ruby-throated Hummingbird  1
Belted Kingfisher  2
Red-bellied Woodpecker  5
Downy Woodpecker  3
Northern Flicker  4
Eastern Wood-Pewee  3
Eastern Phoebe  3
Great Crested Flycatcher  4
Eastern Kingbird  1
Warbling Vireo  1
Red-eyed Vireo  6
Blue Jay  5
American Crow  4
Northern Rough-winged Swallow  1
Tree Swallow  17
Barn Swallow  4
Carolina Chickadee  6
Tufted Titmouse  3
White-breasted Nuthatch  4
House Wren  5
Carolina Wren  4
Eastern Bluebird  6
Veery  1
Gray-cheeked Thrush  1
Wood Thrush  8
American Robin  12
Gray Catbird  15
European Starling  3
Cedar Waxwing  1
Ovenbird  4
Black-and-white Warbler  3
Common Yellowthroat  12
American Redstart  1
Northern Parula  7
Magnolia Warbler  1
Yellow Warbler  1
Chestnut-sided Warbler  2
Black-throated Blue Warbler  4
Yellow-rumped Warbler  12
Black-throated Green Warbler  6
Eastern Towhee  5
Chipping Sparrow  6
Song Sparrow  2
White-throated Sparrow  3
Scarlet Tanager  6
Northern Cardinal  6
Rose-breasted Grosbeak  3
Indigo Bunting  3
Red-winged Blackbird  6
Common Grackle  5
Brown-headed Cowbird  7
Baltimore Oriole  12
House Finch  7
American Goldfinch  7

The International Migratory Bird Day Bird-a-thon is becoming an annual event for us and it's a great way to raise money for the chapter and introduce new people to birding. The 65 species we counted this year beat last year's 62. But we missed some typical birds such as black vulture, red-tailed hawk, mallard duck(!), and orchard oriole. Here's hoping that next year we can reach 70 species!