Registrar: Claire Borrelli
Participants: 16
Weather: Sunny, winds calm, low to mid 80’s F
Bird Species: 51
Many thanks to Anne and Amy, who provided expert leadership and encouraged others to chime in whenever they saw or heard a bird. Their collaborative approach was welcomed by the group, and we were able to see or hear 51 species.
We started at 8:00 am at the end of the Ironwood Drive parking area. From there, we headed north across the stream and up the power-line cut. Our first bird was a stunning Scarlet Tanager. Before crossing the stream, we saw a Green Heron take off. Next were beautiful views of Cedar Waxwings, Indigo Buntings, and Prairie Warblers. Other highlights were a juvenile Bald Eagle and a Red-shouldered Hawk in flight, as well as a perching Broad-winged Hawk. Although we saw a number of warbler species, the highly sought-after Golden-winged Warbler remained elusive. We checked with other birders encountered on our way, and it seems we were not alone in our failure to see or hear one that day.
We broke around noon. A few of us went to the Sterling Forest Visitor Center to eat lunch, while others went to chase the Neotropic Cormorant recently reported in nearby Newburgh, NY.
It was a wonderful morning. Thank you to our enthusiastic, good-humored fellow birders for making it a pleasant, all-around good time!
Species Lists
Birds
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Double-crested Cormorant
Green Heron
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Pileated Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Great Crested Flycatcher
Yellow-throated Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Tree Swallow
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Carolina Wren
Gray Catbird
Eastern Bluebird
Wood Thrush
Cedar Waxwing
American Goldfinch
Field Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Baltimore Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Ovenbird
Worm-eating Warbler
Louisiana Waterthrush
Blue-winged Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Cerulean Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Indigo Bunting
