Date: 8/27/12 8:13 am
From: Gail B. Mackiernan %<3Ckatahdinss...>%3E <katahdinss...>
Subject: [MDBirding] Cerulean Warbler, other migrants at Wheaton Regional Park today



Hi all,

Still fairly quiet at Wheaton Regional this morning, cloudy early but soon becoming sunny and rather warm. We only saw small groups of migrants scattered about the area down behind the white house and along Pine Lake; the SW corner of the Gude Garden in Brookside Gardens also had some activity. The best bird by far was a HY male CERULEAN WARBLER, the first for us in the park -- it (like many other birds today) had been bathing in wet leaves and was enjoying sunning himself, preening and fluffing in a vine tangle only about 7-8 feet up -- very cooperative for a Cerulean, and we had great views for over 5 minutes of this little gem. A beautiful cerulean blue on his back, crown more greenish-blue, faint but obvious suffusion of pale yellow on his throat and upper breast, remainder of underparts white, clear and fairly dark streaks along his sides, obvious whitish supercilium and no breastband. Had forgotten how short-tailed these little guys are. We had 8 species of warbler today, including three bright male Blue-wingeds (a great year for this species). A Yellow-throated Vireo was singing in the woods, and a Warbling accompanied a small flock in Brookside Gardens. Otherwise mostly the expected species.

Gail Mackiernan and Barry Cooper
Colesville, MD

link to full eBird list: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/email?subID=S11449971

Highlights:

Wood Duck 8
Great Blue Heron 1
Green Heron 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Chimney Swift 15
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 5
Northern Flicker 6
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee 8
Alder/Willow Flycatcher (Traill's Flycatcher) 1 virtually no eye ring, dullish plumage, more "Willow" than "Alder"
Eastern Phoebe 2
Yellow-throated Vireo 1 heard only -- still singing!
Warbling Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 10
Barn Swallow 2 fly-overs
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 6
Eastern Bluebird 4
Veery 1 heard only giving loud repeated "veer" call
Wood Thrush 2
Gray Catbird 18
Blue-winged Warbler 3
Black-and-white Warbler 4
Common Yellowthroat 3
American Redstart 4
Cerulean Warbler 1 HY male
Northern Parula 1
Magnolia Warbler 4
Chestnut-sided Warbler 8
Baltimore Oriole 4



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