Registrar: Janet Wooten
Participants: 16
Weather: Mostly sunny, 70-73F, winds wnw, 6-8 mph
Birds: 41 species (+1 other taxa)
Sixteen enthusiastic birders met at the Boathouse and proceeded into the Ramble to look for migrating warblers and other fall migrants. As we walked by Azalea Pond and the Gill, Black-and-white Warblers, American Redstarts, and Black-throated Blue Warblers gave good views. Tupelo Meadow was busy: a Rose-breasted Grosbeak nibbled on seeds in a jewelweed patch; Scarlet Tanagers, Swainson’s Thrushes, American Robins, and a lingering Veery picked berries from trees; and several Northern Parulas and a Magnolia Warbler gleaned insects from leaves at eye level.
Later in the morning we visited Strawberry Fields and were surprised by a small flock of vireos, including a rare Yellow-throated Vireo actively feeding in a larch tree with a Blue-headed Vireo. Several Cape May Warblers and a Palm Warbler joined the flock. Perhaps the most interesting find was a cooperative Olive-sided Flycatcher that perched on open branches next to two Eastern Wood-Pewees, offering us the opportunity to compare the field marks and habits of these two flycatcher species, which are often confused in the field. We cheered as the Olive-sided Flycatcher caught and ate two invasive Spotted Lanternflies!
We ended the walk with a tally of ten warbler species and four Monarch butterflies migrating high overhead. You can view the detailed checklist here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S119088057 .
Species Lists
Birds
Canada Goose
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Empidonax sp.
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
European Starling
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Veery
Swainson’s Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
House Sparrow
American Goldfinch
Baltimore Oriole
Common Grackle
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Cape May Warbler
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Palm Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Butterflies
Monarch
Cabbage White
