The Last Birding Class :(

Well, the 2009 spring birding classes have some to an end. A great big thanks to our mentor and friend, Jerry McWilliams, for his generosity, patience and for being an all around good sport. No questions were too trivial and no ridiculous comments ridiculed. Unfortunately, after class Jerry was caught by the DCNR speeding off the park & creating a disturbance by yelling "Hallelujah, it's over!" repeatedly. He was brought to central booking--a.k.a. the Ranger Station. We all chipped in 5 bucks and posted his bail. A bake sale will be held next week at the Stull Center to retain an attorney for Jerry. There are rumors that Jerry may jump bail and leave the country this week, maybe heading to South America! We're confident he'll stick around so we don't all lose all the money we chipped in for his bail.
The following is an excerpt from Jerry's first correspondence post-incarceration.

We sure lucked out on the weather again. Forecasts were for rain, strong wind, and thunderstorms. It never materialized, at least the rain never came until we were in our cars and leaving the park. The skies remained mostly cloudy with humid temperatures in the low 70's throughout the morning. Joining me for class today was Bernhard & Janet, Toni, Julie Leonard, Michele, Joao, Jean, and Kate. We had a super day of birding with lots of bird activity. We stopped at the Great horned Owls nest. From there we were able to see the top of the owlets head. The adults weren't around.

Pine Tree trail was kind of quiet, except for a fleeting glimpse of a Bald Eagle through the trees. The entrance of Thompson Circle was pretty good with many species of birds to look at, but the prize find was a Black-billed Cuckoo that gave us prolonged views.
Fry's landing was the hopping place to be with many warblers to sift through. Our most interesting finds there were Yellow-bellied Flycatcher and Orange-crowned Warbler. We spent most of the morning at Fry's then we stopped to have a look at the Least Bitterns nest. We watched the male rolling the eggs and repairing the nest.
When we went out to the channel to use the restroom with had a Swainson's Thrush out in plain view as well as a Gray-cheeked Thrush, though the latter didn't stick around long. Sidewalk Trail was a little slower than Fry's, but we did manage to turn up another Orange-crowned Warbler and Gray-cheeked Thrush.

We recorded the following 71 species of birds:
Canada Goose--several everywhere
Gadwall--one in Horseshoe Pond Mallard--a couple in Horseshoe Pond and a pair along Thompson Bay
Common Goldeneye--one male in Horseshoe Pond
Least Bittern--one male incubating on a nest
Turkey Vulture--11 over Niagara Pond
Bald Eagle--one over Pine Tree Trail
Cooper's Hawk--one over Fry's landing Killdeer--a couple in beach 11 parking lot
Spotted Sandpiper--one along Beach 11
Ring-billed Gull--a few at Gull Point Herring Gull--at least a couple at Gull Point
Caspian Tern--a couple overhead
Black-billed Cuckoo--one at Dead Pond Trail
Common Nighthawk--one above the owls nest
Ruby-throated Hummingbird--one flying over Sidewalk Trail
Downy Woodpecker-- a couple over Sidewalk Trail
Eastern Wood-Pewee--a couple at Thompson Circle, one or two at Fry's landing, and one on Sidewalk trail
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher--two at Fry's landing
Least Flycatcher--singles at various sites
Great Crested Flycatcher--singles at most sites
Eastern Kingbird--a couple heard
Blue-headed Vireo--one or two at Fry's and one on Sidewalk Trail
Warbling Vireo--one heard singing at the meeting place, The Feather
Red-eyed Vireo--fairly common throughout
Blue Jay-several throughout
American Crow--one at Thompson Bay
Purple Martin--four over beach 11
Tree Swallow-several throughout
Northern Rough-winged Swallow--two along Beach 11
Barn Swallow--several throughout
Red-breasted Nuthatch--two at Fry's landing
House Wren--several throughout
Ruby-crowned Kinglet--one along Pine Tree trail
Veery--singles at various sites with one singing at Fry's landing
Gray-cheeked Thrush--one at the channel and one on Ridge Trail
Swainson's Thrush--singles at several sites including one singing along Pine Tree Trail
Wood Thrush--a couple singing at Fry's landing
American Robin--several throughout
Gray Catbird--many throughout
European Starling-little groups at a few sites
Cedar Waxwing--about 20 flying past the owl site
Orange-crowned Warbler--one at Fry's landing and one on Sidewalk Trail
Nashville Warbler--one at the channel
Northern Parula--one heard singing at Fry's landing
Yellow Warbler--several everywhere
Chestnut-sided Warbler--more than 40 throughout
Magnolia Warbler--more than 40 throughout
Black-throated Blue Warbler--more than 30 throughout
Palm Warbler--at least a few at several sites
Bay-breasted warbler--at least a dozen at Fry's landing and two or three on Sidewalk Trail
Blackpoll Warbler--one heard out the window while driving along the road Black-and-white-Warbler--at least a dozen altogether
American Redstart--more than 50 all total
Ovenbird--at least four heard and one seen briefly at Fry's landing
Northern Waterthrush--a couple at Fry's landing and one on Sidewalk Trail
Common Yellowthroat--several at most sites, mostly heard only
Hooded Warbler--one female seen briefly and another bird heard at Fry's landing
Wilson's Warbler--One at Thompson Circle, one or two at Fry's landing, and one or two on Sidewalk Trail
Canada Warbler--one or two at each site
Eastern Towhee--several at most sites
Chipping Sparrow--two in beach 11 parking lot
Swamp Sparrow--a few heard singing
White-throated Sparrow--one or two at each site
White-crowned Sparrow--some along the road, at beach 11 parking lot, and three on Sidewalk Trail
Northern Cardinal--one male at Thompson Circle
Rose-breasted Grosbeak--one heard at Fry's landing, and one seen on Ridge Trail
Red-winged Blackbird--a few at most sites
Brown-headed Cowbird--a few at most sites
Baltimore Oriole--several throughout American Goldfinch--two at Beach 11 parking lot

~Jerry McWilliams (Instructor)

Thanks and Good Luck to you Jerry and if you do go on the lam--YOU OWE ME 5 BUCKS!

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.