“It’s May you say”, spouted the Blue Jay

I squeezed in some birding this weekend, in between the left over April rain drops. Friday afternoon I took the opportunity to do some birding before my daughter’s softball game at a new spot in Plumsted Township.

After checking out some overgrown yard terrain and only turning up the usual suspects; field sparrow, catbird, eastern phoebe, and a loud ovenbird, I headed to the woods. Before I crossed the road I got rewarded with great views of two foraging white eyed vireos. This was a good sign that my willingness to trudge along in ducky weather was an ideal from the head of Zeus. The rest of the birds seen were more than obliging to linger in my Bausch & Lomb binoculars.

As I walked along old cranberry bogs I had a funny but slightly scary thought. I was walking wide eyed scanning the trees and fields afar or occasionally skyward not really taking notice of my footsteps on the trail. On such a sunny afternoon I really should be more careful in taking notice of what may lie on these greenways. Never know when a reptile may materialize under foot. It also never hurts to study the butterflies that awkwardly crisscross the native flora. If anyone believes that birdwatchers are a rare breed, try to follow a butterfly’s path thru a lens, now that takes skill and extreme levels of patience.

Encouraged by the new arrivals of spring migrant birds I was determined to set out early Saturday morning. In anticipation of the messy weather I got up early before the sunrise to get some birding in. I can’t remember who the weather person was that I listened to, but the rain was not going to hold off till the afternoon like they promised. In spite of the drizzle there were still a lot of voices in the woods. Singing male feathered songsters perched high and low in trees of all sorts.

That same small island of trees near the road provided another great find. I listened to a melodious song and finally zeroed in on the Purple finches whose rosy red colors were not dulled by the spring rain. Two other highlights of the trip were a pair of Solitary Sandpipers and a singing male Prairie Warbler. I was surprised by a lone Chimney Swift who joined the swallows (Barn and Tree) for the breakfast buffet of flying insects over one of the bogs. There were great views, not so great weather, but again uplifting intimate shared moments with the avian community.

Location: Plumsted Township, New Egypt

Observation date: 5/1-5/2

Notes: Friday evening was clear and sunny; Saturday morning was on and off drizzle.

Number of species: 41

American Goldfinch

American Robin

Belted Kingfisher

Black-and-White Warbler

Black-capped Chickadee

Blue Jay

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Brown-headed Cowbird

Canada goose

Chimney Swift

Chipping Sparrow

Common Yellowthroat

Downy Woodpecker

Eastern Bluebird

Eastern Kingbird

Eastern Phoebe

Eastern Towhee

Field Sparrow

Gray Catbird

Great Blue Heron

Great Crested Flycatcher

House Wren

Killdeer

Lesser Yellow Legs

Mallard

Northern Cardinal

Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)

Ovenbird

Prairie Warbler

Purple Finch

Red-winged Blackbird

Savanna Sparrow

Solitary Sandpiper

Swamp Sparrow

Tree Swallow

Tufted Titmouse

Turkey Vulture

White Eyed Vireo

White-throated Sparrow

Wood duck

Wood Thrush