Double Trouble 5/11--Great Crested Flycatcher, Brown Thrasher

Drained Cranberry Bog

For a change of pace, I got up early this morning and drove over to Double Trouble State Park to see if I could turn up anything different than what I've seen in the WMA.  I think this was the first time that I've seen the cranberry bogs drained. That's a hopeful sign that this year, unlike last year, someone has leased the bogs from the state.

Catbirds, robins, Chipping Sparrows, grackles, were all in abundance. The first new bird for the year was the Brown Thrasher I sighted in the trees opposite the bog pictured here. Good to get that bird; the joke between Shari and me is that she always spots one, it jumps into the foliage (as this one did) and I never see it. She probably see about 10 thrashers to my one.

Drained Cranberry Bog with Great Egret

The other new bird for the year was the Great Crested Flycatcher I spotted in the woods. This is a fine looking bird, hefty, with a lot of yellow on its breast and stomach. And it has a voice like the alarm on an emergency door. I'd heard one of these the other day (not sure where) and didn't know what it was but now the association will be unmistakable. I was also pleased to hear Black-and-white Warblers and have my hearing confirmed by seeing one on a branch, singing. I want to get good at ear birding before I get old and deaf.

Because the Bird Stayed Still Long Enough for Me to Take Its Picture

Lesser Yellowlegs were feeding in one of the bogs that was still draining and many blackbirds, including more females than I usually notice, were around too.

And I finally saw a Common Yellowthroat instead of just hearing them. Saw two actually.


28 species for the morning.
Canada Goose  1
Mallard  10
Great Egret  3
Turkey Vulture  2
Lesser Yellowlegs  4
Mourning Dove  5
Eastern Phoebe  1
Great Crested Flycatcher  1
Blue Jay  1
American Crow  1
Fish Crow  1
Tree Swallow  7
Barn Swallow  10
Tufted Titmouse  2
Carolina Wren  1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  2
American Robin  10
Gray Catbird  15
Brown Thrasher  1
Black-and-white Warbler  4
Common Yellowthroat  10
Pine Warbler  2
Eastern Towhee  4
Chipping Sparrow  10
Song Sparrow  1
Northern Cardinal  1
Red-winged Blackbird  15
Common Grackle  25