Whoa! It’s been a long time since I’ve done a bird post to
le blog. Since 10 May to be exact. You might wonder where I’ve been. Well, I’ve
been here, I just changed gears a little bit from birds to plants. When I was
mostly focused on birds, I could go out birding, then come home write my notes as a
blog post, post it and be done with it all in 30 minutes or so. Plants are a
different matter.
Many plants I know. Most I do not. Especially the hard ones,
like grasses, sedges, and rushes. Many of these require that I collect a
specimen and bring it home and examine it under my microscope. The technical
keys are, well, technical. They also employ the botanical lexicon with which I
am quite rusty. So, things are slow and I usually go late into the night
working on plant identifications. The result is this doesn’t leave much time to
blog [case in point, I wrote this post on the 15th and I’m just
getting around to posting it!].
The other complication is that my schedule altered slightly
and most of my visits have been in the afternoon well past the time good for
birds. This was compounded by the fact that my car, a 1994 Honda Passport with
270,000 plus miles, needed some attention from our local mechanic. I’ll spare
you from the details of that unpleasantry.
The good news for me is that school is out and I no longer
have to see the kids off to the bus, which frees up my morning quite a bit. My
car is now moving forward again. However, I still try not to drive it and use
my bicycle when ever possible. I’ll still be focused on plants but should be
able to do at least one breeding season post per week.
As far as plants go, feel free to check out my photo albums
for each family. I have many hundreds of photos posted at this point. If you
see anything that is incorrectly identified, please don’t hesitate to let me
know. My main focus with the plant project is to inventory all that grows at
the Stroud Preserve. You can check out my running list here.
As for birds, I did manage to get out on Saturday (15 June 2013). I believe
everything on my list below is pretty normal for this time of year. The most
exciting thing for me was the many Yellow-billed Cuckoos that I heard and saw.
Last summer I did not see or hear any. In fact, I did not record one for the
preserve at all until the fall. Even then, I only saw two. On Saturday I saw
twice as many as I have ever see or heard in total previously!
Here are the rest of the details. I misplaced my notes on
the numbers seen today so an X signifies presence. All observations from 15
June unless otherwise noted.
Start time: 8:00 AM
End time: 1:00 PM
Temp: 60-82°
Wind: slight
to none
Skies: Clear
Species Total: 58
- Black
Vulture – X
- Turkey
Vulture – X
- Red-tailed
Hawk – I haven’t check the nest site on the north side of the preserve since
the middle of May.
- Wild
Turkey – heard calling on 19 June on the southwest side of the preserve.
- Rock Dove
– X
- Mourning
Dove – X
- Yellow-billed
Cuckoo – Up to 6 birds seen or heard. I did not detect this species at all last
summer.
- Barred
Owl – a pair calling along the green trail where I suspect they nested.
- Chimney
Swift – X
- Ruby-throated
Hummingbird – X
- Belted
Kingfisher – X
- Red-bellied
Woodpecker – X
- Downy
Woodpecker – X
- Hairy
Woodpecker – X
- Northern
Flicker – X
- Pileated
Woodpecker – Absent, last recorded on 10 May
- Eastern
Wood-Pewee – X
- Acadian
Flycatcher – A number of birds can be found calling in wooded areas of the preserve.
- Willow
Flycatcher – Many birds calling in open areas with small trees or shrubs.
- Eastern
Phoebe – X
- Eastern
Kingbird – X
- White-eyed
Vireo – X
- Warbling
Vireo – X
- Red-eyed
Vireo – X
- Blue Jay
– X
- American
Crow – X
- Fish Crow
– Not recorded at the preserve, however, numerous birds can be seen in downtown
West Chester feeding fledglings.
- Tree
Swallow – X
- Northern
Rough-winged Swallow – X
- Bank
Swallow – X
- Carolina
Chickadee – X
- Tufted
Titmouse – X
- White-breasted
Nuthatch – X
- Carolina
Wren – X
- House
Wren – X
- Blue-gray
Gnatcatcher – X
- Eastern
Bluebird – X
- Veery – X
- Wood
Thrush – X
- American
Robin – X
- Gray
Catbird – X
- Northern
Mockingbird – X
- Brown
Thrasher – X
- European
Starling – X
- Cedar
Waxwing – X
- Blue-winged
Warbler – Multiple males singing on territory.
- Ovenbird
– X
- Common
Yellowthroat – X
- Eastern
Towhee – X
- Chipping
Sparrow – X
- Field
Sparrow – X
- Song
Sparrow – X
- Northern
Cardinal – X
- Indigo
Bunting – X
- Bobolink
– 15 to 20 birds in the usual nesting area.
- Red-winged
Blackbird – X
- Eastern
Meadowlark – ? I have not been able to check the suspected nesting area because
of road construction. Last noted on 10 May.
- Common
Grackle – Strangely difficult to see in the summer months. Very common in other
urban areas around West Chester and Exton.
- Brown-headed
Cowbird – X
- Orchard
Oriole – X
- Baltimore
Oriole – X
- House
Finch – X
- American
Goldfinch – X