Monday, May 18, 2015

Fallout Birding?

Yesterday, I went to the park very early in the morning (6:45) to try to take advantage of what I thought could be a fallout day. On those days, rain and winds bring birds down in great numbers, resulting in lots of birds in the morning. That morning, a lot of rain fell the night before, and it was very damp and misty. I could hear several species of warbler before I even got into the ramble. When I got there, birdsong filled the air. As I started birding around the point, it became apparent that there was fallout, but it was more of quantity than quality. Common Yellowthroats could be seen around every patch of shrubs. Ovenbirds and Black-Throated Blue Warblers were heard singing everywhere. It was that kind of day. I did find a Canada Warbler at The Point. After many warblers (10 species) and after hearing a few Eastern Wood-Pewees, I found an empidonax species of flycatcher in the upper lobe. It looked a bit like Yellow-Bellied, but I'm not sure. Anyway, then I went to meet up for the walk I was going on at the Turtle Pond dock. After about 10-15 minutes and one Northern Waterthrush, I spotted a grackle chasing a much larger bird over the pond. A Green Heron! Anyway, by the time walk finally started, the clouds and mist had mostly cleared up. We did searches for a Mourning and Kentucky Warbler, but failed. We did see a Bay-Breasted Warbler at Azalea Pond, possibly a bird from the day before. When we went to The Point, we refound the Canada Warbler, and found a Yellow and Wilson's Warbler. At Captain's Bench, a location near The Point which we went to before and after we went there, there were many Scarlet Tanagers. When we went to the gill, we ran into other birders looking at a very visible Blackburnian Warbler in the exact same spot in which I saw the Bay-Breasted Warbler the day before. I missed the Mourning Warbler and a Summer Tanager by just a few minutes today, a bit of a dissapointment. But with 16 warbler species and 2(+1) new year birds, it was a good day to be out.

Bird List:

Warblers:
Yellow
Black-and-White
Blackburnian
Blackpoll
Canada
Ovenbird
Parula
Bay-Breasted
Wilson's
Yellowthroat
Redstart
N. Waterthrush
Black-Throated Blue
Black-Throated Green (heard)
Magnolia
Chestnut-Sided

Gadwall
Green Heron (addition)
Empidonax sp. (4-5. addition)
Eastern Wood-Pewee (addition. Heard, with some birds seen later)
Eastern Kingbird
Veery
Wood Thrush (heard)
Swainson's Thrush
Cedar Waxwing
Scarlet Tanager
Rose-Breasted Grosbeak
Baltimore Oriole
Northern Flicker
Warbling Vireo (heard)
Red-Eyed Vireo
Eastern Towhee
Song Sparrow

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