We did not enjoy the same great weather as those who counted yesterday, and things started slowly, but our approximately eight hours of birding (yes, we gave up early) ultimately yielded some nice birds.
We began before dawn with three owl species (EASTERN SCREECH-OWL, BARRED OWL, & GREAT HORNED OWL) and watched at least ten BALD EAGLES fly out of Parker's Creek into the bay before any of them started circling back, which make counting difficult. We saw both SCARLET & SUMMER TANAGERS, including a striking male of the latter species. We had three thrushes: 3 WOOD THRUSH, 1 VEERY, and 1 GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH who made up for poor looks by vocalizing. We saw and heard both WHITE-BREASTED & RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES and had a final tally of 14 species of warbler: OVENBIRD, BLACK-AND-WHITE, NASHVILLE, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, HOODED, AMERICAN REDSTART, NORTHERN PARULA, MAGNOLIA, BAY-BREASTED, CHESTNUT-SIDED, BLACK-THROATED BLUE, PALM (Western), PINE, & BLACK-THROATED GREEN.
(I even got two county birds: the Nashville Warbler and a very colorful Bay-breasted Warbler.)
Leslie Starr & Joe Turner
Port Republic
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