Birding Class #6: "Palm Wonderful!"

The following is a transcript from Jerry McWilliams, our birding instructor and guru of all things wing'd.
It was cool, but we had some sun, which made it comfortable birding. Another nice gathering of birders including, Bernhard & Janet, Kate, Philip, Toni, Julie, Michele, Joao, Julie Dell, Judy, Jean, and Linda.

Jerry's other half, Linda, Guru of All-Things-Greenand soon to be co-author of Presque isle, Naturally!

We started off with a beautiful pair of Baltimore Orioles at our meeting place then a stop at the banding station where they were just setting up, so we decided to stop back later and have another check. At the owls nest we found the adult bird sitting high on the nest, exposing its entire head and upper body. Apparently the young owl was nestled down and beneath the parent, since we didn't see it. The trails were quite slow this morning with only a handfull of warbler species, though we did see numerous Palm Warblers (See top photograph). We had great views of perched American kestrels and an immature Bald Eagle that circled over Pine Tree Trail.

Very distant shot of the kestrel. This immature bald eagle circled over Pine Tree Trail quite a few times.

At beach 11 we saw a distant flock of Common Terns and what looked like a Peregrine Falcon that put up all of the gulls. There were still some ducks hanging around off beach 11, but mostly scaup and Bufflehead. Even the banding station was slow with their best bird being a Grasshopper Sparrow. We did get some up close and personal looks at a House Wren and a Gray Catbird.

We recorded 55 species of birds today:

Canada Goose--several throughout

Mallard--a few at various sites

Redhead--one in Thompson Bay

Greater Scaup--three or four in Thompson Bay

Lesser Scaup--about a dozen in Thompson Bay

Bufflehead--about 20 off beach 11

Red-breasted Merganser--a couple along beach 11

Wild Turkey--a male on the sand mound at Beach 10 parking lot

Common Loon--one bird calling in Presque Isle Bay off the banding station

Double-crested Cormorant--four seen from Pine Tree Trail

Great Blue Heron--at least three flying over Thompson Bay

Great Egret--one over Pine Tree Trail

Bald Eagle--one first year bird over Pine Tree Trail

Sharp-shinned Hawk--one flew in front of the car near beach 11

American Kestrel--two or three along Pine Tree Trail

Peregrine Falcon--one possible bird over Gull Point

American Coot--several off beach 11

Killdeer-- a few heard and seen

Ring-billed Gull--a few at Gull Point

Herring Gull--several scattered around the park

Caspian Tern--a few flying over Gull Point

Common Tern--30 flying well off Gull Point

Mourning Dove--two or three along Pine Tree Trail

Great Horned Owl--one on the nest

Downy Woodpecker--territorial rapping at several sites

Northern Flicker--one along Pine Tree Trail

Blue Jay--several flying over Beach 11 and a few at Niagara Pond

American Crow--several scattered throughout

Tree Swallow--several overhead

Barn Swallow--several overhead

Black-capped Chickadee--at least a couple along Pine Tree Trail

White-breasted Nuthatch--one heard on Pine Tree Trail

House Wren--one heard on Pine Tree Trail and one at Fry's landing

Ruby-crowned Kinglet--a few along the trails

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher--single birds on each trail

Hermit Thrush--one on Pine Tree Trail

American Robin--several at various sites

Gray Catbird--two or three along the trails

Brown Thrasher--one on Dead Pond Trail

European Starling--several on the ground at various places

Nashville Warbler--one at Fry's landing

Yellow Warbler--fairly common everywhere, but most heard only

Black-thoated Blue Warbler--one at Fry's landing

Yellow-rumped Warbler--a few along the trails

Palm Warbler--fairly common everywhere and the most frequently seen warbler

Common Yellowthroat--one singing on Pine Tree Trail

Eastern Towhee--three or four heard singing along the trails

Song Sparrow--a couple on Dead Pond Trail

Swamp Sparrow--one or two along Niagara Pond

White-throated Sparrow--one heard along Pine Tree Trail

Red-winged Blackbird--several scattered throughout the park

Brown-headed Cowbird--several around the park

Baltimore Oriole--singles and pairs at several locations

Purple Finch--one immature male singing on Pine Tree Trail

American Goldfinch--one over beach 11 parking lot

The Black-Throated Blue: our obsession with this bird cost us a view of the Nashville Warbler. C'est la vie!

Toni and I have been extremely busy getting ready for the Festival of the Birds! It promises to be a very exciting event and last year was "Sold Out". I'm not sure how many tickets remain, but if anyone is interested in attending click here for details and registration information. Toni and I will be presenting a workshop on Nature Blogging. Also, some of our works, along with those of other local artists, will be on display during the festival and for the next six weeks. If you can't make it to the festival but want to see the largest variety of migrating birds around, you must visit Presque Isle State Park within the next three weeks!! Things are a hoppin'! If you do plan a trip and need a some directions or advice for hot spots, drop Toni and I an e-mail.