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