Blog post

April 29, 2009 [LINK / comment]

Peak migration season is here

We had quite a heat wave earlier this week, and it seems to have prompted a sudden rush of migrating birds. It's hard to squeeze in time for birding, but I have managed to do the bare minimum as the peak spring migration season has arrived. Rather than describe each outing, I'll simply list the first-of-season sightings, and then show the e-Bird report from the only extensive birding trek I've done this past week.

• Northern Parula (Apr. 23)
• Solitary sandpipers (Apr. 24)
• Green heron (Apr. 25)
• Brown thrashers (Apr. 25)
• Grasshopper sparrow (Apr. 25)
• Kingbirds (Apr. 25)
• Catbirds (Apr. 26)
• Indigo bunting (Apr. 26)
• Worm-eating Warbler (Apr. 27)
• Red-eyed Vireo (Apr. 28)
• Ovenbird (Apr. 28)
• Hooded Warbler (Apr. 28)
• Scarlet Tanager (Apr. 28)
• American Redstart (Apr. 28)
• Broad-winged hawk (Apr. 28)

CORRECTION: The Blue-headed Vireo I previously included in the above list (Apr. 28) was not a first-of-year sighting.

 Location:     Peaks of Otter Recreation Area
Observation date:     4/28/09
Number of species:     26

Turkey Vulture     5
Sharp-shinned Hawk     1
Downy Woodpecker     1
Northern Flicker     1
Blue-headed Vireo     5
Red-eyed Vireo     3
Blue Jay     3
American Crow     2
Carolina Chickadee     6
Tufted Titmouse     5
White-breasted Nuthatch     2
Carolina Wren     4
Wood Thrush     1
American Robin     4
Northern Mockingbird     1
Black-and-white Warbler     3
American Redstart     1
Worm-eating Warbler     2
Ovenbird     6
Hooded Warbler     2
Scarlet Tanager     3
Eastern Towhee     5
Song Sparrow     3
Northern Cardinal     4
Boat-tailed Grackle     6
Brown-headed Cowbird     2

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) 

Note that the Broad-winged hawk listed above was seen a few miles west of the Peaks of Otter, that same day.

Chipping Sparrow, one of many we have seen out back lately. They seem to have left over the past couple days.