I visited Sapsucker Woods twice on Saturday. Though I found no very unusual species, both outings stand among the most rewarding I’ve had in recent autumns, with much frenetic migrant activity and countless excellent views.
On my first visit, Poppy Singer, Gary Fine, and I found rather few birds on the Wilson Trail North at around 8 AM, but about an hour later, the three of us and Kevin Cummings ran into an impressive mixed flock by 91 Sapsucker Woods Road (the “frog barn”). Then, noting not only the excellent birding but also the relative absence of mosquitoes, I went home and persuaded my wife Miyoko Chu to return to this spot with me. We didn’t find much together at 11 AM. But I stuck around alone, met Paul Anderson and Gary Kohlenberg, widened my search, and eventually found quite a lot of birds again, especially in a dazzling flock along the Wilson Trail North. My warbler tally is as follows: CANADA (1 M at western bend in pondside branch of Wilson Trail North) BAY-BREASTED (very abundant and conspicuous -- 3 near frog barn, 7+ along Wilson Trail North) BLACK-THROATED BLUE (1 F along road in late morning – no sign of a white wing spot, but I’m sure of the ID) BLACK-THROATED GREEN (several in each of the two main flocks) MAGNOLIA (very abundant and conspicuous – 10+ near frog barn, 7+ along Wilson Trail North) CHESTNUT-SIDED (only a little less abundant than Magnolia in both main flocks) BLACKBURNIAN (1 M along Wilson Trail North) BLACK-AND-WHITE (1+ M, 1 F along Wilson Trail North) TENNESSEE (2 in Fuller Wetlands, 4+ along Wilson Trail North) NASHVILLE (1 in Fuller Wetlands) NORTHERN PARULA (1+ in each of the main flocks) AMERICAN REDSTART (1 in each of the main flocks) COMMON YELLOWTHROAT (a couple near each of the main flocks) In addition to the Orange-crowned Warbler that Laura Stenzler mentioned earlier (great find – looking forward to the details), I also missed a CAPE MAY WARBLER and probable YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER that Gary Kohlenberg found. So there are probably at least 16 warbler species in Sapsucker Woods today, comprising dozens and dozens of individual birds. Other highlights include a bright PHILADELPHIA VIREO along the pondside branch of the Wilson Trail North, a molting male SCARLET TANAGER feeding a begging juvenile along the driveway to the frog barn, and a BARRED OWL that Poppy, Gary Fine, and I heard hooting somewhere out along the East Trail. Mark Chao -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
