Observers: Ian Gardner
Location: Old Crow Wetland
Observation date: 4/7/11
Time: 7:00-9:30am
Notes: After a successful, yet cursory, excursion to Old Crow Wetland yesterday, I took a more in depth look this morning. I parked the car just after sunrise, but with the continuing cloud cover the birds kept their dawn chorus and activity at peak levels until 9am. Right away I noticed the Blue-winged Teal, Green-Winged Teal, Mallard, Hooded Mergansers, Wood Duck, and Canada Geese in the lower pond. I even had a surprise Horned Grebe that usually inhabits larger bodies of water. Swallows filled the air in dense configurations, even colorfully decorating a White Ash. Tree Swallows held the majority with Barn and Northern Rough-winged filling in. During my walk around the ponds, 7 Wilson's Snipe flew up from their vegetative cover. Sparrows were diverse today with 5 species present (Fox, Savannah, Song, Swamp, and White-throated). On my walk to the "Goldenrod Field," I identified the same juvenile light-morph ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK flying off past the hotel construction. 7 Eastern Meadowlarks were also singing and flying between the remaining stems. Just as I cleared the peak of the hill, 12 Fish Crows flew overhead. That marks a high count for that corvid at the wetlands. Bufflehead pairs remained in the Walmart-side pond as they have since February. Again, I wandered back down to the lower pond, avoiding mother goose and the flighty Wood Ducks. I would focus on the Quaking Aspen forest today. After reading of Joe Verica's reports of sapsuckers and kinglets, I thought I might have some luck and I was correct. 7 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers in all hopped up the silvery trunks while nearly a dozen Golden-crowned Kinglets and Black-capped Chickadees sorted through the spent aspen catkins, adorning trees and honeysuckle shrubs below. A few Yellow-rumped Warblers joined the flock while an invasion of Dark-eyed Juncos and American Goldfinches filled the canopy for a minute or two. By about 9am, the sun appeared and the chorus quieted (all except for the Brown Thrasher and Eastern Towhees). By the end of the 2+ hours I spent in the wetlands, I identified 50 species, which might be a personal high count. I guess persistence (and afternoon classes) pays off. Enjoy the weather!
Number of species: 50
Species List:
Canada Goose 50
Wood Duck 4
Mallard 2
Blue-winged Teal 6
Green-winged Teal 2
Bufflehead 9
Hooded Merganser 8
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Horned Grebe 1
Great Blue Heron 3
Turkey Vulture 2
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK 1 Light-morph
American Kestrel 2
Killdeer 1
Wilson's Snipe 7
Ring-billed Gull 1
Mourning Dove 4
Belted Kingfisher 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 7
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 8
Eastern Phoebe 5
Blue Jay 3
American Crow 2
Fish Crow 12
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2
Tree Swallow 50
Barn Swallow 10
Black-capped Chickadee 7
Tufted Titmouse 5
White-breasted Nuthatch (Eastern) 1
Carolina Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 11
Eastern Bluebird 6
American Robin 20
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling 4
Yellow-rumped Warbler 4
Eastern Towhee 2
Savannah Sparrow 4
Fox Sparrow (Red) 1
Song Sparrow 18
Swamp Sparrow 8
White-throated Sparrow 2
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 35
Northern Cardinal 9
Red-winged Blackbird 14
Eastern Meadowlark 7
Common Grackle 3
American Goldfinch 11
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
Ian Gardner,
Juniata College class of 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Cerulean Warbler: Riverside Nature Trail (Raystown Spillway)
Location: Riverside Nature Trail
Observation date: 4/21/11
Time: 10:30am-12:00pm
Notes: With spring upon us, it's time to look for incoming warblers through the forests. I took a walk through the Riverside Nature Trail along the Raystown Dam spillway this morning. Even without birds, the forest was full of life. All the maples were blooming: Red, Silver, Sugar, and Box Elder. This is one of the few places I can see all four species blooming together. Underneath their canopy, the Spicebush shed a yellow glow to the shrub layer with occasional Serviceberry dotting the understory. Trout Lily, Bloodroot, Cut-leaf Toothwort, and Dutchman's Breeches, creating an ephemeral carpet, were in full bloom and the Virginia Bluebells and Mayapples were right behind them. Amid all the colors of burgeoning botanicals, several species of migrating birds made an appearance. At the very beginning of the trail, even at the parking lot, the wheezing songs of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers echoed around me. They constantly flit through the branches, like kinglets with longer tails. Another abundant species was the Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler. Their subdued warbling was constantly in the background as the Eastern Towhees, Louisiana Waterthrushes, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Carolina Wrens, and Black-capped Chickadees sounded off. After scanning across the stream and canopy for a few minutes, I noticed a warbler gleaning through the understory. It looked like a Black-and-white Warbler at first glance, but its behavior was completely wrong. BWWA tend to cling to tree trunks in more similar fashion to nuthatches than warblers. This bird was flying between branches and even hawking occasionally. After looking through my binoculars, the blue hues of its feathers gave it away. It was a bright male CERULEAN WARBLER, a first of the year for me. After attempting to identify what ended up being an immature Double-crested Cormorant at the Raystown Dam for 30 minutes this morning, this wood warbler definitely brightened my day. The CEWA was located just past the powerline cut at the beginning of the trail. The rest of the hike added a few more species to the list including Eastern Phoebe, Pine Warbler, Wood Duck, White-throated Sparrow, and Hairy Woodpecker.
Number of species: 36
Species List:
Canada Goose 2
Wood Duck 1
Turkey Vulture 4
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Belted Kingfisher 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 2
Eastern Phoebe 1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 4
Tree Swallow 20
Barn Swallow 10
Black-capped Chickadee 12
Tufted Titmouse 2
White-breasted Nuthatch (Eastern) 1
Carolina Wren 3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 12
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 6
Eastern Bluebird 1
American Robin 2
Northern Mockingbird 1
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling 4
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 14
Pine Warbler 1
Cerulean Warbler 1
Louisiana Waterthrush 4
Eastern Towhee 8
Chipping Sparrow 3
Song Sparrow 2
White-throated Sparrow 4
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 2
Northern Cardinal 3
Red-winged Blackbird 2
Common Grackle 13
American Goldfinch 4
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
Ian Gardner,
Juniata College class of 2011
Observation date: 4/21/11
Time: 10:30am-12:00pm
Notes: With spring upon us, it's time to look for incoming warblers through the forests. I took a walk through the Riverside Nature Trail along the Raystown Dam spillway this morning. Even without birds, the forest was full of life. All the maples were blooming: Red, Silver, Sugar, and Box Elder. This is one of the few places I can see all four species blooming together. Underneath their canopy, the Spicebush shed a yellow glow to the shrub layer with occasional Serviceberry dotting the understory. Trout Lily, Bloodroot, Cut-leaf Toothwort, and Dutchman's Breeches, creating an ephemeral carpet, were in full bloom and the Virginia Bluebells and Mayapples were right behind them. Amid all the colors of burgeoning botanicals, several species of migrating birds made an appearance. At the very beginning of the trail, even at the parking lot, the wheezing songs of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers echoed around me. They constantly flit through the branches, like kinglets with longer tails. Another abundant species was the Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler. Their subdued warbling was constantly in the background as the Eastern Towhees, Louisiana Waterthrushes, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Carolina Wrens, and Black-capped Chickadees sounded off. After scanning across the stream and canopy for a few minutes, I noticed a warbler gleaning through the understory. It looked like a Black-and-white Warbler at first glance, but its behavior was completely wrong. BWWA tend to cling to tree trunks in more similar fashion to nuthatches than warblers. This bird was flying between branches and even hawking occasionally. After looking through my binoculars, the blue hues of its feathers gave it away. It was a bright male CERULEAN WARBLER, a first of the year for me. After attempting to identify what ended up being an immature Double-crested Cormorant at the Raystown Dam for 30 minutes this morning, this wood warbler definitely brightened my day. The CEWA was located just past the powerline cut at the beginning of the trail. The rest of the hike added a few more species to the list including Eastern Phoebe, Pine Warbler, Wood Duck, White-throated Sparrow, and Hairy Woodpecker.
Number of species: 36
Species List:
Canada Goose 2
Wood Duck 1
Turkey Vulture 4
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Belted Kingfisher 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 2
Eastern Phoebe 1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 4
Tree Swallow 20
Barn Swallow 10
Black-capped Chickadee 12
Tufted Titmouse 2
White-breasted Nuthatch (Eastern) 1
Carolina Wren 3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 12
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 6
Eastern Bluebird 1
American Robin 2
Northern Mockingbird 1
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling 4
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 14
Pine Warbler 1
Cerulean Warbler 1
Louisiana Waterthrush 4
Eastern Towhee 8
Chipping Sparrow 3
Song Sparrow 2
White-throated Sparrow 4
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 2
Northern Cardinal 3
Red-winged Blackbird 2
Common Grackle 13
American Goldfinch 4
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
Ian Gardner,
Juniata College class of 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
LIFE LIST: Bird is a Verb
Okay, so now you know a little about why I bird. For the next several posts, I'll show how I bird and what the tangible goal is for this hobby.
The name of the game is Listing. Originally there were Life List (all bird species you see in your lifetime), but when you have limited frequent flier miles, the Life List tends to plateau after a while. So the lists got more complicated: Hemisphere Lists, Continent Lists, Country Lists, State/Province List, County List. That makes sense, start with the world, and make smaller areas to find birds in. More fun to be had.
For instance, here are my lists that include my trip abroad to Ecuador two years ago, my two Florida Spring Break trips, and one sojourn to the West Coast:
Life List: 490
Country List (USA): 360
State List (PA): 215
County List (Huntingdon): 175
This is where you can get creative. After you list your birds by the spatial category, you can add birds seen this year, this month, this week, this day. So now we have temporally. These lists lead to many sleepless nights and long drives for the Big Year and Big Day goals. Doesn't sound creative enough? How about only counting birds that are seen on wires (telephone, barbed, cables, fence)? Ever seen a wild turkey on a telephone wire? Yeah, neither have I, but that's when I'd start a Wire List (really helpful list for the long drive through Kansas). Other lists include Dream List (birds of your dreams: I'm at 30 with a couple repeats), Roadkill List, Singing/Calling List, and No Fossil Fuel List (cannot use transportation fueled by fossil fuels to find birds).
The name of the game is Listing. Originally there were Life List (all bird species you see in your lifetime), but when you have limited frequent flier miles, the Life List tends to plateau after a while. So the lists got more complicated: Hemisphere Lists, Continent Lists, Country Lists, State/Province List, County List. That makes sense, start with the world, and make smaller areas to find birds in. More fun to be had.
For instance, here are my lists that include my trip abroad to Ecuador two years ago, my two Florida Spring Break trips, and one sojourn to the West Coast:
Life List: 490
Country List (USA): 360
State List (PA): 215
County List (Huntingdon): 175
This is where you can get creative. After you list your birds by the spatial category, you can add birds seen this year, this month, this week, this day. So now we have temporally. These lists lead to many sleepless nights and long drives for the Big Year and Big Day goals. Doesn't sound creative enough? How about only counting birds that are seen on wires (telephone, barbed, cables, fence)? Ever seen a wild turkey on a telephone wire? Yeah, neither have I, but that's when I'd start a Wire List (really helpful list for the long drive through Kansas). Other lists include Dream List (birds of your dreams: I'm at 30 with a couple repeats), Roadkill List, Singing/Calling List, and No Fossil Fuel List (cannot use transportation fueled by fossil fuels to find birds).
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