Registrar: Kathleen Howley
Participants: 17
Weather: Overcast in a.m.; sunny in p.m.; mid 40’s F, winds 10-15 mph
Bird Species: 46
Because of the weather forecast for Sunday, Anne and Alice decided to change the day of this trip from Sunday to Saturday, and their decision turned out to be right one.
The participants met at 8:15 a.m. at the Coast Guard Station, and then we divided into two groups. The birding at the Coast Guard Station proved exciting as we had close up views of the Red-throated and Common Loons, Common Eider, Red-breasted Mergansers, and Bufflehead. With the aid of our scopes, we saw all three species of scoters, and Long-tailed Ducks in flight. One of the highlights was the Black-headed Gull spotted by Lenore Swenson among the other gulls along the spit.
During our treks along the beach, both groups viewed beautiful flocks of Sanderlings and Dunlin, and all of us had great looks at the Snowy Owl perched on top of the dune. At the Jetty a large flock of Black-bellied Plovers was seen.
When we broke for lunch, someone reported that a Spotted Towhee has been seen at Baldwin Harbor Park. Many of the participants then headed off to try to see it, while some others stayed to bird the conifers behind the parking lot. Everyone eventually ended up at the park, but, as it turned out, the Spotted Towhee was not seen by anyone that afternoon. However, we did enjoy seeing and hearing the Monk Parakeets.
We did not go to Point Lookout as seeing the Spotted Towhee took precedence for most of the participants.
We ended the trip with a total of 46 species.
Species Lists
Birds
Brant
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Gadwall
Mallard
American Black Duck
Greater Scaup
Common Eider
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Red-breasted Merganser
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Black-bellied Plover
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Dunlin
Black-headed Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Red-throated Loon
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
Red-shouldered Hawk (en route)
Red-tailed Hawk
Snowy Owl
American Kestrel
Monk Parakeet
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Horned Lark
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
European Starling
Northern Mockingbird
American Robin
House Sparrow
Red Crossbill
Dark-eyed Junco
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Mammals
Domestic Cat
