October 13, 2012
Participants: Bob Machover (leader), Emily Goldstein, Sandi Paci, Edith Goren, Kathy Toomey
Weather: Chilly morning (low 40s) with little wind, breezy and warmer afternoon.
LSP = Liberty State Park ; GM = Glenhurst Meadows
1. Canada Goose: LSP – Common; GM – About 50
2. Brant: LSP – Very many
3. Wood Duck: GM – About 20, in two flyover flocks
4. Gadwall: LSP – Fairly common
5. Mallard: LSP – Some
6. Northern Shoveler: LSP – 2,
7. Double-crested Cormorant: LSP – About two dozen, mostly hanging out on jetty
8. Turkey Vulture: GM – Several
9. Northern Harrier: LSP – 2
10. Cooper’s Hawk: GM – 1 big female, chasing pigeons
11. Red-shouldered Hawk: GM – 2 heard calling. Could they have been Blue Jays? No, according to an experienced local birder who told us there was a breeding pair and two juveniles in the area.
12. Red-tailed Hawk: GM – 2,
13. American Kestrel: GM – 1
14. Killdeer: LSP – 2 flyovers
15. Ring-billed Gull: LSP – Common
16. Herring Gull: LSP – Slightly less common
17. Great Black-backed Gull: LSP – A few
18. Rock Pigeon: LSP – Lots in parking lot; GM – Lots around barn and silo
19. Mourning Dove: LSP – 2, I think; GM – Hardly any more than 2
20. Belted Kingfisher: GM – 1
21. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: LSP – 3
22. Red-bellied Woodpecker: GM – About half a dozen seen and/or heard
23. Downy Woodpecker: GM – 2
24. Northern Flicker: LSP – Several; GM – ditto
25. Eastern Phoebe: LSP – Also several; GM – likewise
26. Blue Jay: GM – Very many
27. American Crow: LSP – A few; GM – Lots
28. Black-capped Chickadee: GM – Only one heard in the distance! (I couldn’t hear it)
29. Tufted Titmouse: GM – Only one small flock of a few birds
30 White-breasted Nuthatch: GM – A few heard
31. Carolina Wren LSP – 1 heard; GM – Also one heard
32. Ruby-crowned Kinglet: LSP – Several; GM – Not very many
33. Eastern Bluebird: GM – 2 seen and a few more heard
34. Hermit Thrush: LSP – 1
35. American Robin: LSP – Some, i.e. not too many; GM – Likewise
36. Gray Catbird: LSP – A couple; GM – Similar
37. Northern Mockingbird: LSP – 3
38. European Starling: LSP – Fairly common
39. Cedar Waxwing: LSP – A small flock of immatures
40. Yellow-rumped Warbler: LSP – Very many; GM – Some
41. Palm Warbler; LSP: Many; GM – Maybe a dozen
42. Common Yellowthroat: LSP – 3 or 4; GM – A couple
43. Eastern Towhee: LSP – Several; GM – 1 or 2
44. Chipping Sparrow: GM – 1
45. Clay-colored Sparrow: LSP – 1 glimpsed. Before the bird disappeared into the phrags, most of us saw that it had a tawny unstreaked front, a rather bold facial pattern and a distinctly gray nape. Odds are perhaps 90% it was a Clay-colored Sparrow.
46. Field Sparrow: LSP – A small flock (I missed them)
47. Vesper Sparrow: GM – 2. Great opportunity to study them as they were feeding on the ground right in front of us at the community garden adjacent to Glenhurst Meadows.
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| Vesper Sparrow, photo taken by Sandy Paci |
At GM we glimpsed a mystery sparrow with a clear breast and a bold facial pattern suggestive of Lark Sparrow. It seemed larger and more robust than a clay-colored but there did not seem to be a central breast spot or a large white area on the outer corners of the tail feathers. So it will remain unidentified.
48. Savannah Sparrow: LSP – Around 8
49. Song Sparrow: LSP – Fairly common; GM – Some
50. Lincoln’s Sparrow: LSP – 1 (I got on the bird just as it flew, not to be relocated...boo hoo). (everyone’s descriptions were convincing)
51. Swamp Sparrow: LSP – Some; GM – Many (the most common sparrow at GM)
52. White-throated Sparrow: LSP – Maybe a dozen; GM – A few more than a dozen
53. White-crowned Sparrow: LSP – Around 10 birds
54. Dark-eyed Junco: LSP – A few
55. Northern Cardinal: LSP – Several; GM: Likewise
56. Red-winged Blackbird LSP – One flock of about 20 birds; GM – A few large flocks
57. Common Grackle: GM – One flock of about 20
58. Purple Finch: GM – A few small flocks totaling maybe 24 birds
59. Pine Siskin: GM – As with the Purple Finches
60. American Goldfinch: GM – Fairly common
61. House Sparrow: LSP – Some; GM – Also
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