Eagle Marsh
September 10, 2016
Eleven birders met this morning for Stockbridge Audubon's field trip at Eagle Marsh, led by Ed Powers and me. At the 7:30 meeting time, it was already fairly warm (73F) and extremely humid, but, with heavy cloud cover and strong breezes, the outing stayed comfortable enough. Overall, the birding was pretty slow, allowing the group to return to the cover of our vehicles just as the rain began at about 10:00. Though our bird list was pitifully light, we did have some highlights, five Black-crowned Night-Herons and five Bald Eagles probably the most noteworthy. Otherwise, with no birds to look at for much of the time (and as nature abhors a vacuum), Sam Schwartz was able to step up and fill those voids with his extensive plant knowledge. Our list (plants not included) with estimated numbers in many cases:
Canada Goose- 50+
Wood Duck- 30+
Mallard- 20+
Blue-winged Teal- 60+
Double-crested Cormorant- 30+
Great Blue Heron- 10
Great Egret- numerous flyovers, but I had 51 take flight in the direction of Engle Road from their overnight roost at the west end at 7:00
Green Heron- 2
Black-crowned Night-Heron- 5 at pond south of barn
Turkey Vulture- 1
Bald Eagle- 5 (one adult, two 2nd-year, two juvs)
Cooper's Hawk- 2 juvs
Killdeer- 7
Spotted Sandpiper- 1
Least Sandpiper- 3 (these were at Serv-All afterwards; very little mud left exposed after last night's heavy rain)
Ring-billed Gull- 8
Mourning Dove- 10
Belted Kingfisher- 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker- 1
American Kestrel- 1
Blue Jay- 2
American Crow- 1
Barn Swallow- 1
Marsh Wren- 2
American Robin-2
Gray Catbird- 2
European Starling- 20+
Common Yellowthroat- 1
Song Sparrow- 3
Northern Cardinal- 2
Red-winged Blackbird- 30+
American Goldfinch- 7
Mink- 1
Rodger Rang
Fort Wayne
September 10, 2016
Eleven birders met this morning for Stockbridge Audubon's field trip at Eagle Marsh, led by Ed Powers and me. At the 7:30 meeting time, it was already fairly warm (73F) and extremely humid, but, with heavy cloud cover and strong breezes, the outing stayed comfortable enough. Overall, the birding was pretty slow, allowing the group to return to the cover of our vehicles just as the rain began at about 10:00. Though our bird list was pitifully light, we did have some highlights, five Black-crowned Night-Herons and five Bald Eagles probably the most noteworthy. Otherwise, with no birds to look at for much of the time (and as nature abhors a vacuum), Sam Schwartz was able to step up and fill those voids with his extensive plant knowledge. Our list (plants not included) with estimated numbers in many cases:
Canada Goose- 50+
Wood Duck- 30+
Mallard- 20+
Blue-winged Teal- 60+
Double-crested Cormorant- 30+
Great Blue Heron- 10
Great Egret- numerous flyovers, but I had 51 take flight in the direction of Engle Road from their overnight roost at the west end at 7:00
Green Heron- 2
Black-crowned Night-Heron- 5 at pond south of barn
Turkey Vulture- 1
Bald Eagle- 5 (one adult, two 2nd-year, two juvs)
Cooper's Hawk- 2 juvs
Killdeer- 7
Spotted Sandpiper- 1
Least Sandpiper- 3 (these were at Serv-All afterwards; very little mud left exposed after last night's heavy rain)
Ring-billed Gull- 8
Mourning Dove- 10
Belted Kingfisher- 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker- 1
American Kestrel- 1
Blue Jay- 2
American Crow- 1
Barn Swallow- 1
Marsh Wren- 2
American Robin-2
Gray Catbird- 2
European Starling- 20+
Common Yellowthroat- 1
Song Sparrow- 3
Northern Cardinal- 2
Red-winged Blackbird- 30+
American Goldfinch- 7
Mink- 1
Rodger Rang
Fort Wayne
