Sunday, September 15, 2013

Field Report: Welkinweir, Sept. 14, 2013

On Saturday, September 14, Rick Keyser lead a group of five people around Lake Rodenbaugh at Welkinweir that saw 40 species of birds. Plenty of fall migrants, including Yellow-throated Vireo, White-eyed Vireo, Magnolia Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler, and Black-throated Green Warbler made an appearance. The complete list, as submitted to eBird follows:

Great Blue Heron  1    Seen briefly in flight
Green Heron  1    Seen flying
Black Vulture  1    Soaring
Turkey Vulture  8    Soaring
Cooper's Hawk  1    Soaring (probably immature)
Red-tailed Hawk  2    Adults - one kiting very high; another in low flight mobbed by AMCRs.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird  1    Not an adult male
Belted Kingfisher  1    Male fly-by, vocal
Red-bellied Woodpecker  3    Vocal
Downy Woodpecker  4    Heard whinny
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)  2    Vocal
Eastern Wood-Pewee  3    Singing; seen fly-catching
Alder/Willow Flycatcher (Traill's Flycatcher)  1
Eastern Phoebe  7    Calling
White-eyed Vireo  2    Singing!
Yellow-throated Vireo  1    Singing!
Red-eyed Vireo  5    Calling
Blue Jay  15    Conservative estimate - vocal
American Crow  3    Vocal, mobbing an adult RTHA in flight
Northern Rough-winged Swallow  8    Conservative estimate
Tree Swallow  2    Pair
Carolina Chickadee  8    Conservative estimate - calling
Tufted Titmouse  6    Calling; singing
White-breasted Nuthatch  4    Heard calling
House Wren  3    Calling
Carolina Wren  4    Calling; singing
American Robin  3    Calling
Gray Catbird  20    Conservative estimate - calling
Brown Thrasher  2    Calling
Cedar Waxwing  12    Foraging flock
Common Yellowthroat  4    Calling; singing
American Redstart  1
Northern Parula  2    Weak singing!
Magnolia Warbler  2
Bay-breasted Warbler  2    Both with bay wash on sides - one brighter than the other
Black-throated Green Warbler  2    One without any black underneath; another with extensive black throat
Eastern Towhee  2    Heard calling
Northern Cardinal  4    Heard calling
Rose-breasted Grosbeak  4    Conservative estimate - immature male (saw red in axillars), adult female, etc.
Indigo Bunting  1    Saw calling
American Goldfinch  5    M/f pair

Field Report: Black Rock Sanctuary, Sept. 14, 2013

On Saturday September 14, Vincent Smith lead a bird walk at Black Rock Sanctuary in Phoenixville that saw 43 species. Fall migration was in full effect, with eight different kinds of warblers making a showing, including an adult Cape May Warbler feeding a juvenile. Other migrants included Yellow-throated Vireo, Scarlet Tanager, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. The complete list, as submitted to eBird follows:
Wood Duck  7
Mallard  4
Double-crested Cormorant  2
Black Vulture  3
Turkey Vulture  10
Broad-winged Hawk  1
Red-tailed Hawk  2
Rock Pigeon  3
Mourning Dove  3
Chimney Swift  3
Red-bellied Woodpecker  2
Downy Woodpecker  2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)  3
Eastern Wood-Pewee  3
Yellow-throated Vireo  1
Red-eyed Vireo  2
Blue Jay  12
American Crow  15
Tree Swallow  2
Carolina Chickadee  10
Tufted Titmouse  3
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
Carolina Wren  3
American Robin  17
Gray Catbird  14
Northern Mockingbird  1
European Starling  4
Cedar Waxwing  8
Black-and-white Warbler  1
Common Yellowthroat  3
Cape May Warbler  2     Adult feeding juvenile
Northern Parula  1
Magnolia Warbler  4
Blackburnian Warbler  2
Black-throated Green Warbler  4
Wilson's Warbler  1
Song Sparrow  1
Scarlet Tanager  1
Northern Cardinal  7
Rose-breasted Grosbeak  1
Red-winged Blackbird  100
House Finch  1
American Goldfinch  5

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Joint Friends of Heinz Refuge-VFAS Bird Walk at Heinz Refuge

Friends of Heinz Refuge teamed with Valley Forge Audubon Society to host a guided bird walk September 7, 2013 at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, Philadelphia. More than 30 people came out to explore this urban oasis, one of the best birding hotspots in the area, with 300+ resident and migratory bird species recorded on the Refuge.

Encompassing nearly 1,000 acres of varied habitats, Heinz Refuge protects the largest freshwater tidal marsh in the state, and was designated an Audubon Important Bird Area (IBA) in 1996. The main water impoundment served as focal point for our bird walk, showcasing several Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons and crouching Green Herons. Several dozen Double-crested Cormorants swam together in the deeper end, diving repeatedly after fish they were stirring. Numerous Wood Ducks huddled in shadows under trees along the waters’ edge. Belted Kingfisher and Northern Rough-winged Swallows were added to our list.

We walked slowly down the Dike Road, checking trees and shrubs for warblers, vireos and flycatchers that are migrating through Heinz Refuge. Besides the ubiquitous catbirds and robins, we found pockets of activity highlighting Warbling and Red-eyed Vireos, Common Yellowthroat, Black-throated Green and Yellow-rumped Warblers, and Great-crested Flycatcher. A Red-tailed Hawk circled fairly low overhead, banking for us to see his/her red tail in the sun!

We enjoyed a good show of terns at the Refuge Observation Tower. Forster’s Terns ranged back and forth hunting for fish, one of them plunge-diving in front of us to come up quickly with a fish. A single Caspian Tern passed by several times, providing good comparison to the much-smaller Forster’s Terns.



Thanks to Debbie Beer and Lynn Roman for leading the group, and everyone who participated in this joint Friends of Heinz Refuge and Valley Forge Audubon Society bird walk. We had a great morning together, finding 39 bird species. Click on link for eBirdchecklist. Bird list below:

Canada Goose 38
Wood Duck 25
Mallard 3
Double-crested Cormorant 35
Great Blue Heron 3
Great Egret 5
Green Heron 3
Turkey Vulture 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Ring-billed Gull 8
Caspian Tern 1
Forster's Tern 5
Mourning Dove 2
Chimney Swift 3
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 3
Northern Flicker 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Warbling Vireo 2
Red-eyed Vireo 2
crow sp. 1 (likely American, but it didn’t call to confirm)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 25
Barn Swallow 3
Carolina Chickadee 2
Carolina Wren 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
American Robin 6
Gray Catbird 8
European Starling 5
Common Yellowthroat 1
American Redstart 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 1
Black-throated Green Warbler 1
Song Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal 1
Red-winged Blackbird 10
Common Grackle 2
American Goldfinch 3

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Field Report: John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove, August 24, 2013

On August 24, Vince Smith led a bird walk at the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove that saw 35 species, including 3 soaring Bald Eagles. The complete list, as submitted to eBird, follows:
Canada Goose  36
Wood Duck  1
Mallard  6
Double-crested Cormorant  3
Great Blue Heron  1
Green Heron  1
Black Vulture  3
Turkey Vulture  5
Bald Eagle  3
Broad-winged Hawk  1
Mourning Dove  4
Chimney Swift  3
Belted Kingfisher  1
Downy Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)  1
Eastern Wood-Pewee  1
Blue Jay  4
American Crow  3
Fish Crow  1
Barn Swallow  4
Carolina Chickadee  5
Tufted Titmouse  2
White-breasted Nuthatch  3
Carolina Wren  3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  3
American Robin  1
Gray Catbird  4
Cedar Waxwing  8
Black-and-white Warbler  1
American Redstart  2
Scarlet Tanager  1
Northern Cardinal  3
Baltimore Oriole  4
House Finch  1
American Goldfinch  10

Field Report: Bombay Hook NWR, July 27, 2013

66 birds were observed on a field trip to Bombay Hook, NWR in Kent, DE in July. The complete list, as submitted to eBird follows:
Canada Goose  21
Wood Duck  2
American Black Duck  15
Mallard  4
Double-crested Cormorant  10
Great Blue Heron  6
Great Egret  5
Snowy Egret  8
Green Heron  2
Black-crowned Night-Heron  4
Turkey Vulture  8
Osprey  1
Bald Eagle  3
Red-tailed Hawk (Eastern)  1
Clapper Rail  3
Black-bellied Plover  1
Semipalmated Plover  5
Black-necked Stilt  4
American Avocet  5
Spotted Sandpiper  2
Greater Yellowlegs  25
Lesser Yellowlegs  11
Semipalmated Sandpiper  35
Stilt Sandpiper  2
Short-billed Dowitcher  5
Laughing Gull  6
Ring-billed Gull  3
Herring Gull (American)  2
Great Black-backed Gull  5
Forster's Tern  6
Mourning Dove  2
Chimney Swift  2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)  4
Eastern Wood-Pewee  1
Acadian Flycatcher  1
Eastern Phoebe  1
Eastern Kingbird  4
White-eyed Vireo  1
Red-eyed Vireo  1
Blue Jay  3
Fish Crow  3
Purple Martin  38
Tree Swallow  8
Bank Swallow  2
Barn Swallow  10
Marsh Wren (Eastern)  5
Carolina Wren  2
Eastern Bluebird  2
American Robin  6
Gray Catbird  6
Northern Mockingbird  4
Cedar Waxwing  2
Common Yellowthroat  8
Yellow Warbler  2
Eastern Towhee  5
Field Sparrow  1
Seaside Sparrow  3
Northern Cardinal  6
Blue Grosbeak  8
Indigo Bunting  6
Red-winged Blackbird  15
Common Grackle  10
Brown-headed Cowbird  9
House Finch  7
American Goldfinch  7
House Sparrow  4