Hi all,
Much busier bird-wise than yesterday -- very quiet at 7 AM, but things literally started hopping by 8:30 and didn't let up for some time, mostly around the white house and mini-train tracks. After the early activity slowed, Barry and I went into Brookside Gardens where we ran into lots of fruit-eating birds including our first GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH of the season. We had 12 warbler species, however I only glimpsed the Yellow that was seen better by Rae and Woody DuBois and Helen Patton. We had 5 BLUE-HEADED VIREOS, again FOS, most of these were later in the morning. I tried to do an exact count of fly-over jays (unless otherwise distracted) and got to 123. There were fewer today than past days so probably distinct undercounts earlier. Increase in catbirds and thrashers, decrease in robins. Still looking for our first Palm Warbler -- rather odd gap, as they are usually regular here.
Gail Mackiernan and Barry Cooper
Colesville, MD
Highlights:
Great Blue Heron 1
Green Heron 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 2
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Chimney Swift 6
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 10 more numerous than usual
Northern Flicker 12 decrease from last few days
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee 4
Acadian Flycatcher 1 largish empid with large bill, slightly "peaked" head, eye ring, pale yellow underparts but whitish throat
Alder/Willow Flycatcher (Traill's Flycatcher) 1
Eastern Phoebe 4
Great Crested Flycatcher 1 carefully examined to eliminate other Myiarchus species; bright yellow underparts, gray throat, reddish undertail
Blue-headed Vireo 5
Red-eyed Vireo 12
Blue Jay 123 attempt at an exact count of fly-overs plus birds perched in trees
House Wren 3
Carolina Wren 4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3
Eastern Bluebird X heard only as fly-overs
Gray-cheeked Thrush 1 FOS
Swainson's Thrush 5
Gray Catbird 35 estimate; distinct increase in WRP since yesterday, plus still many in BG at fruiting trees & shrubs
Brown Thrasher 5
Cedar Waxwing 2
Black-and-white Warbler 8
Tennessee Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 7
American Redstart 3
Northern Parula 3
Magnolia Warbler 12
Blackburnian Warbler 3 all HY birds
Yellow Warbler 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler 6
Blackpoll Warbler 4
Black-throated Blue Warbler 4
Black-throated Green Warbler 15 most common warbler overall; had one flock of 6 together plus others throughout morning
Eastern Towhee 2
Chipping Sparrow 8 including leucistic individual
Scarlet Tanager 5
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 9
Indigo Bunting 1
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