Leaders: Kathy Horn, Roger Horn, Bernie Hodgdon
Temp: 73° F
Winds: S 4mph
Weather Conditions: heavy fog at start, then cloudy
Though the fog was too thick to see out over the water when we started this morning’s walk, it quickly cleared and turned out to be a great morning for birding. Male and female Blue Grosbeaks were sitting close to the trail, singing and chipping. A recently fledged Northern Cardinal, with its dark bill, begged for food from a cooperative parent. A squadron of 21 Brown Pelicans flew by over the water, Black Skimmers skimmed, and Spotted and Solitary Sandpipers presented themselves for comparison. We’ve seen very few Orchard Orioles in the park this year, but we saw both male and female today, and it seemed we were never out of earshot of Indigo Buntings, Common Yellowthroats and Purple Martins.
59 species
Species | Count |
Canada Goose | 1 |
Mute Swan | 60 |
Gadwall | 8 |
Mallard | 35 |
Mourning Dove | 5 |
Chimney Swift | 3 |
Ruby-throated Hummingbird | 4 |
American Oystercatcher | 5 |
Killdeer | 2 |
Least Sandpiper | 2 |
Short-billed Dowitcher | 24 |
Spotted Sandpiper | 1 |
Solitary Sandpiper | 2 |
Greater Yellowlegs | 1 |
Lesser Yellowlegs | 1 |
Laughing Gull | 50 |
Herring Gull | 1 |
Lesser Black-backed Gull | 8 |
Great Black-backed Gull | 35 |
Least Tern | 8 |
Forster’s Tern | 80 |
Royal Tern | 1 |
Black Skimmer | 22 |
Double-crested Cormorant | 3 |
Brown Pelican | 21 |
Green Heron | 1 |
Glossy Ibis | 15 |
Turkey Vulture | 1 |
Osprey (carolinensis) | 3 |
Downy Woodpecker (Eastern) | 1 |
Great Crested Flycatcher | 3 |
Eastern Kingbird | 1 |
American Crow | 2 |
Fish Crow | 1 |
Carolina Chickadee | 2 |
Northern Rough-winged Swallow | 3 |
Purple Martin | 61 |
Tree Swallow | 7 |
Barn Swallow (American) | 3 |
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher | 1 |
Carolina Wren | 7 |
European Starling | 3 |
Gray Catbird | 4 |
Brown Thrasher | 2 |
Northern Mockingbird | 2 |
American Robin | 3 |
Cedar Waxwing | 2 |
American Goldfinch | 2 |
Field Sparrow | 4 |
Yellow-breasted Chat | 1 |
Orchard Oriole | 2 |
Red-winged Blackbird | 21 |
Brown-headed Cowbird | 3 |
Common Grackle | 5 |
Common Yellowthroat | 7 |
Yellow Warbler | 1 |
Northern Cardinal | 5 |
Blue Grosbeak | 3 |
Indigo Bunting | 4 |