9 species of warblers this morning, but being a greedy birder, it is the ones that I missed that I think about.
Yes, I did see another Blue-winged Warbler, but no, I didn't see the Brewster's or the Worm-eating that Peter reports were in the same vicinity. Yes, I did get my first of year Common Yellowthroat and Prairie Warbler, but I missed Ovenbird, and parula, and yes I spotted a Northern Waterthrush but didn't see its cousin from Louisiana. And most frustrating of all was that in a tree behind the Boathouse that was alive with warblers (mostly yellow-rumps) I could swear I saw Bay-breasted Warlber (female), but they were all jumping around so much from branch to twig to twig to branch and I got distracted by a the Prairie Warbler so I lost the mystery bird after seeing it fleetingly twice.
It was foggy and/or overcast all morning. Just as I stepped on to 9th Street, leaving the park, the sun came out.
While I was standing on top of the stairs of Lookout Hill that lead down to the Maryland Monument, a trio of strollers stopped me and were curious about my binoculars. One of the men lives in South Carolina on the water and can see an eagle's nest (for all I know it's an Osprey, but let it go) and bought binoculars that aren't powerful enough, he complained. He wanted to know what the specs on mine were and I showed him and told him that the really powerful ones he was considering would be a problem because after a certain magnification you can't hold them steady enough to make the extra magnification worth it. His friend asked me what kind of binoculars his buddy should buy then, immediately seeing how open-ended a question that was, asked me what binoculars I would buy. (Interesting how they instantly assume I'm an expert whose opinion is worth hearing.)
Well, the answer to the question is obvious: I would buy the binoculars I'm holding in my hands because those are the binoculars that I bought when I went out to buy binoculars. (Although, I have to say, that I wish that the binoculars I bought when I went out to buy binoculars were made by a company whose name I could pronounce.)
48 species wandering around the park today, mostly the Lullwater, Peninsula, and Lookout Hill. The duck and geese numbers have fallen precipitously, or else they're all hidden away, nesting.
Canada Goose 11
Mute Swan 4
Mallard 16
Ruddy Duck 7
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1 Lullwater
American Coot 1 Boathouse Pond
Laughing Gull 3
Herring Gull 10
Rock Pigeon 1
Mourning Dove 9
Chimney Swift 1 Peninsula
Belted Kingfisher 1 Lullwater
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Downy Woodpecker 1 Lookout Hill
Northern Flicker 3
Blue-headed Vireo 1 Peninsula
Blue Jay 3
crow sp. 1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 5
Tree Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 5
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Tufted Titmouse 1 Ravine
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1 Lullwater
White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Lookout Hill
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1 Peninsula
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2
Hermit Thrush 3
American Robin 100
Gray Catbird 1 Lookout Hill
European Starling 70
Blue-winged Warbler 1 Peninsula
Yellow Warbler 6
Yellow-rumped Warbler 59
Pine Warbler 1
Prairie Warbler 1 Behind Boathouse
Palm Warbler 6
Black-and-white Warbler 2
Northern Waterthrush 1 Lullwater
Common Yellowthroat 1 Near Binnen Bridge
Eastern Towhee 2 Male Ravine, female Lullwater
Field Sparrow 1 Behind Pagoda
Song Sparrow 4
Swamp Sparrow 2
White-throated Sparrow 15
Northern Cardinal 11
Red-winged Blackbird 45
Common Grackle 8
House Sparrow 20
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