May 22 sightings

Hi friends,

The Kirtland's was not to be relocated today at the wildlife beach, but an orange-crowned warbler was seen. There have been a couple reports of Connecticut and Mourning warblers at the boardwalk, and Mary was able to locate one on the west stretch of the walking trail behind the SPMBC, near the first bench. Here is a link to the walking trails behind the SPMBC, courtesy of the Friends website:

http://www.friendsofmageemarsh.org/maps/Magee_Marsh_2008.pdf

These birds are skulkers that are very difficult to get a good look at, especially during this spring with its thick vegetative growth so early in the spring. The brush pile on the north side of the boardwalk near #15-16 on the boardwalk are usually good to check for Mourning or Connecticut. A couple black-billed cuckoos were seen at the boardwalk, as well as a decent variety of warblers in relatively small numbers. A gentleman mentioned to me that he heard an Alder flycatcher while traveling down the causeway, so flycatcher numbers may be increasing into tomorrow. Today's movement of birds into the area wasn't quite as good as I thought they might be, but south winds are anticipated overnight. Let's keep our fingers crossed for tomorrow!

Magee sightings May 21

Hi friends,

Today there were some good birds seen here, and a couple of them were away from the boardwalk. A Kirtland's warbler was spotted at the wildlife beach by two Tropical Birding guides, Iain Campbell and Christian Boix. It was only about 50 yards from the entrance to the beach, and when Mary and I saw it around 2:30 PM, it was sitting motionless in a sumac tree, looking rather tired and even appearing to doze off once. It became more active later according to other accounts and was actively foraging late in the afternoon. A couple of Connecticut warblers were reported at the boardwalk and near the aluminum barn building to the east of the main beach. You would probably do well to follow the beach trail near the east end of the parking lot when searching for this bird. Mary and I missed it at around 4:00 PM, and others hadn't been having any luck either. Other Connecticuts were reported on the north side of the boardwalk across from the observation tower, and a couple further east on the boardwalk. Remember that the Kirtland's found last week only stuck around one day, and I think that this bird may also be a one-day wonder as well given the favorable S-SE winds that brought some of these birds in on Friday. The Kirtland's sometimes follow the north coast of Ohio west into Michigan rather than heading across the lake, so it may show up in places like Ottawa NWR, Metzger Marsh, Maumee Bay SP, etc. (or not. It would be nice to be able to communicate directly with these birds about their travel plans, but these are educated guesses at best).

In addition to some Connecticuts and the Kirtland's arriving on Friday, it seems possible that Saturday will also bring another wave of migrants to the area. If you are able to (and the rain/and or T-storms miss us), I would advise you to come to Magee on Saturday the 22nd. Check the wildlife beach for the Kirtland's, Connecticuts, and even an Orchard oriole. One was spotted by Rick Nirschl while a group of us was observing the Kirtland's, and the immature bird stole a couple eyes that had tired of this rare migrant (imagine that!).

May 19 bird count

Hello friends,

With the help of bird count stalwart Shane Roberts, I conducted the monthly bird count under mostly sunny skies and seasonable (finally!) weather. We saw (or other birders mentioned that they saw) over 80 species in a little over 5 total hours of birding. The rarest bird was probably an orange-crowned warbler on the boardwalk, which we don't get many of here at Magee. I hung around with a mixed group of warblers near #5 at the boardwalk, in a small clearing with a couple cypress trees. A little further west near #4 was a woodcock, which hung around throughout the day. Here is a list of what we saw today.

Double-crested cormorant
Great blue heron
Great egret
Green heron
Canada goose
Trumpeter swan
Wood duck
Mallard
Blue-winged teal
Bald eagle
Killdeer
Spotted sandpiper
Ruddy turnstone
American woodcock
Dunlin
Ring-billed gull
Herring gull
Common tern
Chimney swift
Ruby-throated hummingbird
Downy woodpecker
Northern flicker
Tree swallow
Purple martin
Barn swallow
Cedar waxwing
House wren
Gray catbird
Brown thrasher
Veery
Gray-cheeked thrush
Swainson's thrush
American robin
Blue-gray gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned kinglet
Eastern wood-pewee
Least flycatcher
Willow flycatcher
Great crested flycatcher
Eastern phoebe
Eastern kingbird
Black capped chickadee
Blue jay
Warbling vireo
Philadelphia vireo
Red-eyed vireo
Tennessee warbler
Orange-crowned warbler
Nashville warbler
N. parula
Yellow warbler
Chestnut-sided warbler
Magnolia warbler
Cape May warbler
Black-throated blue warbler
Yellow-rumped warbler
Black-throated green warbler
Blackburnian warbler
Bay-breasted warbler
Blackpoll warbler
Black-and-white warbler
American redstart
Prothonotary warbler
Ovenbird
Mourning warbler
Common yellowthroat
Wilson's warbler
Canada warbler
American goldfinch
House finch
House sparrow
Northern cardinal
Indigo bunting
Baltimore oriole
Red-winged blackbird
Common grackle
Brown-headed cowbird
Bobolink
Scarlet tanager
Song sparrow
Swamp sparrow
White-crowned sparrow
White-throated sparrow
Eastern towhee

I have heard from other birders that Friday may be a good day for an influx of migrants into the area. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

May bird count moved to Wed, May 19

Hello friends,

Due to the prediction of inclement weather and a conflict with a possible school group, the May bird count will be moved to Wednesday, May 19 starting at 7:00 AM at the bird center. Call 419-898-0960 ext. 31 if you would like to join me.