A frustrating morning at Colliers Mills: none of the warblers I hoped to see were evident and the two new birds of the year were "heard only." In general, unless it's an owl or a nightjar, or a blatantly obvious bird like a Blue Jay or crow, I don't like my FOYs to be "heard birds." I started out a birdwatcher and even though now I'm a birder, I still prefer my birds on the retina instead of the ear drum.
Both birds were heard on Hawkin Road and both birds, following a personal rule of mine, were heard at least twice. The trees are just starting to leaf out and that means even birds that seem on top of you (like a very loud Brown Thrasher today) are getting harder to find.
Traipsing around for 3 1/2 hours, exploring a couple of paths I rarely walk, yielded 42 species. They were:
Canada Goose 10
Wood Duck 3 Pond on Hawkin Rd
Turkey Vulture 2
Osprey 1
Bald Eagle 1
Killdeer 1 North end of CM Lake
Mourning Dove 4
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1 Heard, Hawkin Road
Red-bellied Woodpecker 5
Downy Woodpecker 3
Northern Flicker 3
Eastern Phoebe 1 Heard, north end of CM Lake
Great Crested Flycatcher 1 Heard, Hawkin Road
Eastern Kingbird 2
White-eyed Vireo 2 Heard
Blue Jay 4
Fish Crow 1 Heard
Tree Swallow 4
Barn Swallow 10
Carolina Chickadee 5
Tufted Titmouse 3 Heard
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
Carolina Wren 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 10
Eastern Bluebird 1
American Robin 10
Gray Catbird 3
Brown Thrasher 2 Heard
European Starling 15
Ovenbird 5 Heard
Black-and-white Warbler 2
Common Yellowthroat 5 Heard
Palm Warbler 4
Pine Warbler 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 10
Prairie Warbler 5 Heard
Chipping Sparrow 15
Swamp Sparrow 2
Eastern Towhee 20
Northern Cardinal 2
Red-winged Blackbird 15
Brown-headed Cowbird 1 Heard
Glad you had a thrasher, not very common at home. Written while waiting for a flight to go keep my eyes open for magpies and flamingos.
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