Registrar: Gabe Cunningham
Trip Report: Anne Lazarus
Participants: 10
Weather: partly sunny, calm, 60’s-70 F
Bird Species: 54
The participants want to thank Gordon for leading this excellent trip. We especially appreciated his showing us the Vesper Sparrow, a bird we all wanted to see. Hawks, sparrows, and of course the ubiquitous Yellow-rumped Warblers were the dominant land birds we observed. The Pine Siskins did not fail us. These playful finches displayed at multiple sites, but they demanded quick hand-eye coordination to see as they darted through trees and shrubs. A Bald Eagle sighting is always a treat, and we enjoyed one such sighting.
Lunchtime was also a birding experience. We were surrounded by Palm Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, both species of kinglets, finches, and surprises like a Blue-headed Vireo and a Red-breasted Nuthatch. A lovely sighting in the Community Gardens was a male House Finch in beautiful plumage. Our attention was riveted by large numbers of American Robins, which appeared to be staging to migrate further south.
At the boat ramp, we observed a flock of Black-bellied Plovers and two American Oystercatchers on the dock, with many more oystercatchers lounging on the beach across the channel. A Royal Tern made a sudden appearance. The water was dominated by Laughing Gulls, Herring Gulls, and Double-crested Cormorants, as can be expected at this date. Altogether, we saw 54 bird species.
Species Lists
Birds
Brant
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Mallard
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
American Oystercatcher
Black-bellied Plover
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Royal Tern
Double-crested Cormorant
Osprey
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Bald Eagle
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Eastern Phoebe
Blue-headed Vireo
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
European Starling
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
House Sparrow
House Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-throated Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Common Grackle
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Butterflies
Monarch
