Colliers Mills 5/6--Eastern Wood-Pewee, Eastern Warbling Vireo, Veery, Baltimore Oriole, Blue Grosbeak

Blue Grosbeak, male and female

I went over to Colliers Mills in the early A.M. to look for some of the birds still not on the list for either the year or the county. Warbling Vireo--I'm sorry, Eastern Warbling Vireo, is usually singing at the parking lot, but not this morning. It took me until I had circled Turnmill Pond--I'm sorry Turnmill Lake--and was in the field on Success Road until I heard one (you hardly ever see them and truth be told, they're not much to look at anyway). There's a mnemonic for their song that the late Pete Bacinski tried to teach me; something like "If I sees you I will seize you till I squeeze you...." I forget the rest. As I used to say to Pete, "I need a mnemonic for the mnemonic." 

I'd already heard Eastern Wood-Pewee on Hawkin Road and had successfully called out Hooded Warbler in its usual spot (which Scott discovered a few years ago) behind a patch of Mountain Laurel on the road off Hawkin that leads to the Borden's Branch wetlands. I was so intent on getting the Hooded Warbler that it didn't register with me until I walked away that I'd also heard a Veery there (Veeer!), along with a Wood Thrush. Wood Thrush is expected; Veery is infrequent there. 

I'd also heard the tick of a Blue Grosbeak in along the edge of the police shooting range field, but I wanted more than that for that species and I was able to see one walking up the east side of Colliers Mills Lake. I also heard and briefly saw two Baltimore Orioles, so overall, it was a good morning. I also went back to the woods north of Success Road just to see how many Red-headed Woodpeckers I could find there--three was the number and it only takes three to break the eBird filter.  I suspect the reviewer keeps the filter tight to eliminate those birders who, either through fat finger or just plain ignorance, list Red-bellied Woodpeckers as RHWO. 

In terms of breeding, the Canada Geese have goslings, and I saw a couple of juvenile Killdeer on the sand strip that runs along the shooting range field. 

Canada Geese with goslings.

Juvenile Killdeer, near police shooting range. 

For the hike around Turnmill the Borden's Branch wetlands and along the length of Colliers Mills Lake into the woods I had 45 species:

Canada Goose  14
Mallard  2
Mourning Dove  2
Killdeer  6
Laughing Gull  30     Flyover
Turkey Vulture  4
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Red-headed Woodpecker  3     
Red-bellied Woodpecker  4
Northern Flicker  2
Eastern Wood-Pewee  2
Great Crested Flycatcher  6
Eastern Kingbird  2
White-eyed Vireo  4
Eastern Warbling Vireo  2
Red-eyed Vireo  2
Blue Jay  6
American Crow  1
Carolina Chickadee  3
Tufted Titmouse  3
Tree Swallow  3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  5
Carolina Wren  1
European Starling  5
Gray Catbird  10
Brown Thrasher  3
Northern Mockingbird  2
Eastern Bluebird  1
Veery  1    
Wood Thrush  1
American Robin  15
Chipping Sparrow  3
Eastern Towhee  10
Baltimore Oriole  2
Red-winged Blackbird  20
Brown-headed Cowbird  4
Ovenbird  10
Black-and-white Warbler  4
Common Yellowthroat  10
Hooded Warbler  1     
Pine Warbler  2
Yellow-rumped Warbler  1
Prairie Warbler  7
Northern Cardinal  3
Blue Grosbeak  3