Brig 4/28--Chimney Swift, Black Skimmer, Bank Swallow, Saltmarsh Sparrow, Orchard Oriole

Saltmarsh Sparrow

After all the excitement last night, Bob & I were up and ready to go at 7 when Mike picked us up for our trip to Brig. With the whip-poor-will Bob, yesterday, had picked up 18 of the 19 species he needed to reach his goal for the weekend, so we were pretty certain of at least one birder being happy.

Turned out we all were. I don't know how many Bob added to his list but I got 5 more on to it. The weather was very cool for late April and, while it didn't rain, it was damp, and while the winds weren't as bad as yesterday, when you could barely stand up at Heislerville, they were not the gentle, warm breezes one wishes for.

However, once we met up with Hank, the four of us started the trip, as always, at the Gull Pond where, among the usual swallows, Bob picked out a Bank Swallow, year bird for all us. Out on the dikes the Seaside Sparrows were singing and we even managed to get a couple in sight. I called out to Mike to stop the car and in the grass on the side of the road there was a Savannah Sparrow. Right next to it, a Seaside flew in. Then, just a little to the right, a Saltmarsh Sparrow flew in. Quite a trio!

Black Skimmers with Herring Gull

We'd speculated as to whether Black Skimmers would have returned. The answer was yes, at least for two of them. The rest of the trip around the dikes provided plenty of birds to sort through with a surprising number of shorebirds (though none of them in large quantities) and enough lingering ducks to keep it interesting. We weren't about to go around again as we didn't think there would be anything else to find, so after lunch we instead walked around the wooded area of the drive and along the old railroad bed that runs between Great Creek Road and the Gull Pond Road.

Near the Exit Pond (or Entrance Pond, depending on your point of view) Mike heard a chattering and called out "Oriole!" but which oriole we weren't sure. A bird was jumping around the reeds (an odd place, I thought, for an oriole) and once I got my bins on it, it turned out to be our year Orchard Oriole. At least a year bird for 3 of us anyway--Mike already had it. Finally, as we were walking on old rail path Hank looked up and called out "Chimney Swift." The was my 5th and final year bird for the day.

Since I couldn't for the life of me hear the Prairie Warbler (not usually a hard bird for me to hear, hope my ears aren't suddenly going), I only ended up with 83 species for our 5 hours plus time spent driving 8 miles and walking one.

Snow Goose  1

Brant  200

Canada Goose  100

Mute Swan  8

Wood Duck  6

Northern Shoveler  10

Gadwall  4

Mallard  10

American Black Duck  30

Green-winged Teal  12

Bufflehead  4

Mourning Dove  7

Chimney Swift  1

Clapper Rail  2    Heard

American Oystercatcher  1

Black-bellied Plover  11

Whimbrel  50

Dunlin  45

Least Sandpiper  4

Semipalmated Sandpiper  1

Short-billed Dowitcher  3

Greater Yellowlegs  30

Willet  50

Laughing Gull  5

Ring-billed Gull  5

Herring Gull  100

Great Black-backed Gull  4

Caspian Tern  2

Forster's Tern  20

Black Skimmer  2    Sand bar off south dike

Double-crested Cormorant  20

Great Blue Heron  8

Great Egret  20

Snowy Egret  10

Little Blue Heron  1

Tricolored Heron  1

Turkey Vulture  5

Osprey  6    A few occupied nests

Bald Eagle  3

Red-tailed Hawk  2

Northern Flicker  1

Eastern Phoebe  2    Heard

Great Crested Flycatcher  1    Heard

White-eyed Vireo  2

Blue Jay  5    Heard

American Crow  2

Fish Crow  6

Northern Rough-winged Swallow  1

Purple Martin  10

Tree Swallow  25

Bank Swallow  1

Barn Swallow  1

Carolina Chickadee  4

Tufted Titmouse  6

Red-breasted Nuthatch  1

House Wren  3

Marsh Wren  2    Heard

Carolina Wren  4

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  2

American Robin  10

Gray Catbird  6

Brown Thrasher  2

European Starling  2

House Finch  1    Heard

American Goldfinch  1

Chipping Sparrow  3

Field Sparrow  1    Heard

White-throated Sparrow  20

Seaside Sparrow  10

Saltmarsh Sparrow  1    

Savannah Sparrow  1

Song Sparrow  2

Eastern Towhee  2    Upland section

Orchard Oriole  1    

Red-winged Blackbird  50

Brown-headed Cowbird  2

Boat-tailed Grackle  1

Ovenbird  1    Heard

Common Yellowthroat  15

Yellow Warbler  5

Pine Warbler  1    Heard

Northern Cardinal  4

House Sparrow  4