Slower Day, But Still Good!

Today was definitely a little slower than the previous two, but still a lot of fun to be out there. The sheer numbers of birds weren't around, but there were still quite a few. I added six more FOS to the property list today: Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Philadelphia Vireo, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Swainson's Thrush, Wood Thrush, Yellow-breasted Chat. It was definitely the day of the thrush! I enjoyed seeing all of them. The Yellow-breasted Chat was in some of the thick yaupons along the trail to go into the woods.

I saw something today I've never seen before. There were between 100 and 200 Chimney Swifts flying low above the trees very, very fast. It was as if they were feeding on something. They stayed in basically the same area for long periods of time. Barn Swallows would join them occasionally, but mostly it was just the swifts.

This was a productive weekend for my yearly property list. I added 21 FOS birds this weekend. They really showed up in great numbers. I just wonder how many more I would have gotten if it hadn't rained quite so much and I could have spent more time birding. I saw a total of 74 species on the property this weekend, fifteen of which were warblers. This is definitely one of those weekends that I'll remember for a long time!

Bird species seen 4/19/09 (43 species): Turkey Vulture, Mississippi Kite, Red-shouldered Hawk, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Yellow-billed Cuckoo (FOS), Chimney Swift, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker ,Eastern Wood-Pewee, Acadian Flycatcher, White-eyed Vireo, Philadelphia Vireo (FOS), Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Tree Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Barn Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Gray-cheeked Thrush (FOS), Swainson's Thrush (FOS), Wood Thrush (FOS), Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, Northern Parula, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, American Redstart, Ovenbird, Kentucky Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat (FOS), Summer Tanager, Northern Cardinal, Blue Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting