Monday, May 26, 2008

site = Garrett Mountain,Paterson ,NJ
date = 5/25/08
Leader : Bob Machover
 

1. Canada Goose – many, with chicks of various ages

2. Mallard – a few

3. Turkey Vulture – a few

4. Red-tailed Hawk – 1

5. Rock Pigeon

6. Mourning Dove

7. Yellow-billed Cuckoo – 2, heard only

8. Chimney Swift – heard only

9. Red-bellied Woodpecker – fairly numerous

10. Downy Woodpecker – ditto

11. Hairy Woodpecker – 1, heard and seen

12. Northern Flicker – 1 or 2 heard

13. Eastern Wood-Pewee – 2 seen, another couple heard

14. Yellow-bellied Flycatcher – 3!, all well-seen at eye-level…also heard

making the chu-whee call

15. Eastern Phoebe – several

16. Great Crested Flycatcher – many, seemingly everywhere

17. Warbling Vireo – common around the lake

18. Red-eyed Vireo – abundant of course

19. Blue Jay

20. American Crow

21. Northern Rough-winged Swallow – a couple over the lake

22. Black-capped Chickadee – several

23. Tufted Titmouse – several

24. White-breasted Nuthatch – 1 or 2

25. Veery – 4 or 5

26. Gray-cheeked Thrush – 2, one slightly brownish, the other steel-gray –

both evenly colored across back, wings and tail.

27. Swainson’s Thrush – more than 6

28. Wood Thrush – at least a dozen, all heard only

29. Gray Catbird – abundant

30. Northern Mockingbird – a few

31. Brown Thrasher – quite common, lots of singing birds perched in the

open

32. European Starling

33. Northern Parula – 1 seen, about 4 more heard

34. Yellow Warbler – common around lake

35. Chestnut-sided Warbler – 3-4 seen

36. Magnolia Warbler – about 10 seen

37. Black-throated Blue Warbler – 3, 2 seen and one heard

38. Black-throated Green Warbler – 1 or 2 early in AM

39. Bay-breasted Warbler – 1 seen and heard, early in AM

40. Blackpoll Warbler – about 8 heard, 1 or 2 seen

41. Black-and-white Warbler – 2 or 3 seen

42. American Redstart – something like 20 seen and heard…the most

common warbler of the day

43. Ovenbird Warbler– 3 or 4 heard, one seen

44. Mourning Warbler – 1 male, foraging in trees at eye-level or slightly

higher…well-studied by all for at least 15 minutes…at one

point, he sat motionless for a few minutes, perched like a

flycatcher…curiously, he failed to sing once

45. Common Yellowthroat – perhaps as abundant as the redstarts

46. Scarlet Tanager – 7 or 8 heard, 1 well-seen

47. Eastern Towhee – several heard

48. Chipping Sparrow – common

49. Song Sparrow – several

50. White-throated Sparrow – 2, very late

51. Northern Cardinal

52. Rose-breasted Grosbeak – very common

53. Red-winged Blackbird – some at marshy end of the lake

54. Common Grackle – common

55. Brown-headed Cowbird – fairly common

56. Baltimore Oriole – abundant

57. American Goldfinch – fairly common

58. House Sparrow

59 Wild Turkey 

60 American Robin

Note: Apart from the incredible views of the Mourning Warbler, the most exciting part of the day was the discovery of a mixed-species feeding frenzy around a swarm of low-flying insects, presumably a recent hatch of termites. It’s worth listing the birds involved:

1. Red-bellied Woodpecker

2. Downy Woodpecker

3. Eastern Wood Pewee

4. Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (2)

5. Great Crested Flycatcher

6. Red-eyed Vireo

7. Veery (probably 2)

8. Swainson’s Thrush

9. Gray-cheeked Thrush

10. Northern Parula Warbler

11. Chestnut-sided Warbler(1 male, 1 female)

12. Magnolia Warbler

13. Black Throated BlueWarbler (1 female)

14. American Redstart Warbler (probably 3 – one ad. male, 2 females)

15. Ovenbird Warbler

16. White-throated Sparrow (2)

Also nearby, though probably not part of the frenzy, were a couple of Mourning Doves and a Black-and-white-Warbler.