Mount Pleasant Farm Bird Walk

A beautiful day, especially earlier in the morning before the wind picked up, for the congenial participants. Nothing super awesome but we found plenty of nice birds; we also did not find a number of expected migrants, such as yellow-bellied sapsucker. Overall, the birding was fairly active a good deal of the time. We had 51 species. Probably Lincoln's Sparrow was our bird of the day b/c of the fantastic and lengthy views we had. Beautifully marked and colored--and the head, close up, in sunlight, is crisp and unique, subtly colored. 

Other nice birds: osprey, pileated, bald eagle, raven, winter wren, BROWN CREEPER, black-throated-blue warbler, both kinglets, and at least EIGHT purple finches (2 male, 6 female).

EBird: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S20267773 .

PS--I forgot to mention the Rose-Breasted Grosbeak atop a tree with a Robin and Cedar Waxwing--near the bridge to the swale. It's considered by eBird to be rare/late right now; it wasn't on the eBird checklist, which is why I forgot it earlier. Thanks to Denis Muller for spotting it. Thanks to everyone for spotting birds--a good group effort this morning!

Tim Houghton

(Glen Arm)

 

Lincoln's Sparrow at feeder.  Photo by Wikipedia

 

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Patterson Park Friday Bird Walk

Wow - what a morning of migrant birds!  Even as we waited for everybody to gather, birds were zipping around and above us.  There seemed to be a high number of Eastern Phoebes, Northern Flickers, and Blue Jays.  Our first warbler was a male Redstart.  Other warblers seen include Common Yellowthroat, Palm, Ovenbird, Black and White, Black-throated Green, and Magnolia.

Also noted:
Green Heron
Canada Goose
Mallard
Ring-billed Gull
Coopers Hawk
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
House Wren
American Robin
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
Hermit Thrush
Gray Catbird
Both Ruby and Golden Crowned Kinglets
Brown Thrasher
Cedar Waxwing
Eastern Towhee
White-throated and Song Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird

Other birders were at Patterson Park as well - their bird lists and comments can be seen on
http://www.mdbirding.com/.

The next schedule bird walk at the park is Saturday, Oct. 25th at 8AM.

At the wetland garden

At times we didn't know which way to look - there were so many birds!



 

Bird Walk at Irvine Nature Center

Blue-headed Vireo / photo by Kye Jenkins

Blue-eyed Darner / photo by Kye Jenkins

Complete ebird list: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S20036577 .

Bird Walk at Cromwell Valley Park

During the CAS field trip this morning, Denis Muller and I found a Vesper Sparrow at 11:30 in the field behind the kiln, first seen along the path and then perched on a branch--not far from the big tree (a sycamore) that stands alone (with a picnic table). I had probably seen it earlier, around 7:30, but didn't get a good look then. We had 57 species, and a lot of work and time yielded 11 warbler species. 
Some notable finds:

1. VESPER SPARROW (1, we got all the field marks, larger, white outer tail feathers, eye ring, streaking on chest and head, outlined cheek patch)

2. Warbling Vireo (2, late on eBird but probably normal for here)

3. Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker (6, 4 in one tree)

4. Philadelphia Vireo (1)

5. Ruby -Crowned Kinglet (10+)

6. White-Throated Sparrow (1)

7. 11 warbler species (ovenbird, blacknwhite, yellowthroat, redstart, parula, magnolia, blackburnian, chestnut-sided (Dennis), black-throated blue, yellow-rumped (fos), black-throated green)

http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S19957031 

Best Birding Wishes,

Tim Houghton

(Glen Arm)

 

Enjoy the following photos by CAS board member Fred Brundick:

 

 

 

Bird Walk at Ladew Gardens

Twelve of us had a good time in perfect weather to bird Ladew this morning, and Ladew was birdier than normal (the Nature Walk in the back). Some of the birds below, with highlights in caps (46 species total):

Warblers (9):

Black-and-White (1)

Yellowthroat (x)

Redstart (5)

Parula (1)

Magnolia (5)

YELLOW (1)

Chestnut-Sided (1)

Black-Throated Blue (3)

Black-Throated Green (7, too bad they didn't sing this fall)

Others:

GREAT CRESTED FLYCATHER (1, late)

PURPLE FINCH (1, found by Kye J.)

Bald Eagle (1, adult)

Hairy Woodpecker (1)

White-Eyed Vireo (1, heard)

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet (1)

Scarlet Tanager (2)

RB Grosbeak (1)

Afterwards, we enjoyed an outdoor lunch at the Cafe and birded there a bit, too--and got the eagle there.

http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S19895725 .

Best Birding Wishes,

Tim Houghton

(Glen Arm)

 

Our walk was enhanced by the beautiful goldenrod

Fantastic "rock snake"

White Turtlehead found near the pond on the Nature Walk

Near the café

The butterfly house is closed for the season, but you can peer in from the outside.

 

Canoe Trip at Robert E. Lee Park

Beautiful morning for a serene paddle on Lake Roland. The scenery was lovely, the water was smooth and the company was stellar. Added some photos, bird list is below.
1 Canad...a Goose
4 Wood Duck
4 Mallard
2 Double-crested Cormorant
1 Great Blue Heron
1 Bald Eagle
1 Red-shouldered Hawk
1 Killdeer -- Heard
6 Mourning Dove
35 Chimney Swift
4 Belted Kingfisher
4 Red-bellied Woodpecker -- Most heard
3 Downy Woodpecker
5 Northern Flicker
1 Pileated Woodpecker -- Heard
1 Red-eyed Vireo
10 Blue Jay
5 American Crow
1 Barn Swallow
15 Carolina Chickadee
4 Tufted Titmouse
5 Carolina Wren
3 American Robin
20 Gray Catbird
1 Northern Parula
1 Black-and-white Warbler
4 Northern Cardinal
1 American Goldfinch -- Heard

Hugh Simmons

Wildflowers and Birds at Bosely Conservancy

If you like lazy, slow, paddling through winding channels surrounded by wetland wildflowers, you would have loved our kayak trip today. 

There were still a few blooms of Spadderdock.

 

Marsh Hibiscus (or Rose Mallow) in the foreground.

Joe-pye Weed

Fawn (isn't that a great name for a naturalist?), from the Anita Leight Estuary Center, is explaining how beneficial beavers are and how their habits helped shape these beautiful channels.

Monarch Butterfly on Swamp Milkweed

Green-headed Coneflower

In Ha-Ha Cove - Ring-billed and Laughing Gulls, Forster's Terns, and a juvenile Little Blue Heron.

Green-headed Coneflower on each side.

Heading home.  We also spotted Ironweed, Pickerel Weed, Wild Rice, Jewelweed, Cardinal Flower, and Goldenrod.

Bird List:
Canada Goose  12
Wood Duck  1
Great Blue Heron  3
Little Blue Heron  1
Osprey  3
Laughing Gull  1
Ring-billed Gull  8
Forster's Tern  3
Mourning Dove  2
Yellow-billed Cuckoo  1
Belted Kingfisher  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  2
Eastern Wood-Pewee  1
Eastern Phoebe  1
Eastern Kingbird  2
Blue Jay  1
Tree Swallow  15
Barn Swallow  2
Carolina Wren  2
American Robin  1
Gray Catbird  2
European Starling  1
Common Yellowthroat  3
Northern Cardinal  2
Indigo Bunting  3
Red-winged Blackbird  15
Common Grackle  2
Brown-headed Cowbird  1
American Goldfinch  3

Thank you to the Anita Leight Estuary Center for helping with this event - and to Fawn for her expertise and knowledge. 

We hope to see you next year on this trip!