Leaders: Kathy Horn, Kyle Chelius, Bernie Hodgdon
Temp: 38°F
Winds: W 15-20 mph
Weather Conditions: sunny
Though it felt like winter, it looked like spring at the State Park this morning. Northern Gannets were in feeding close, diving between pods of dolphin. Osprey called overhead, Field Sparrows were sitting up singing, Pine Warblers were active, and a Glossy Ibis flew into the nearby marsh. What was unusual were the mammal sightings. A Red Fox came trotting through the dunes, crossing the path in front of us and a Raccoon dozed in the sun alongside a muskrat mound at the edge of Lighthouse Pond.
43 species
Species | Count |
Canada Goose | 8 |
Mute Swan | 6 |
Blue-winged Teal | 2 |
Northern Shoveler | 2 |
Gadwall | 7 |
Mallard | 14 |
Green-winged Teal (American) | 16 |
Bufflehead | 10 |
Mourning Dove | 2 |
American Coot (Red-shielded) | 20 |
American Oystercatcher | 1 |
Killdeer | 1 |
Herring Gull (American) | 7 |
Great Black-backed Gull | 2 |
Forster’s Tern | 3 |
Northern Gannet | 25 |
Great Egret | 1 |
Glossy Ibis | 1 |
Black Vulture | 1 |
Turkey Vulture | 12 |
Osprey (carolinensis) | 4 |
Northern Harrier | 1 |
Cooper’s Hawk | 1 |
Red-tailed Hawk | 1 |
Eastern Phoebe | 1 |
American Crow | 1 |
Fish Crow | 3 |
Carolina Chickadee | 3 |
Tufted Titmouse | 1 |
Purple Martin | 4 |
Tree Swallow | 7 |
Carolina Wren (Northern) | 8 |
Northern Mockingbird | 3 |
American Robin | 4 |
Field Sparrow | 4 |
Song Sparrow | 1 |
Eastern Towhee | 1 |
Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged) | 12 |
Brown-headed Cowbird | 2 |
Common Grackle | 3 |
Pine Warbler | 2 |
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) | 5 |
Northern Cardinal | 3 |

Pine Warbler photo by Kathy Horn

Pine Warbler photo by Kathy Horn

Pine Warbler photo by Kathy Horn