I decided to squeeze in some mid-afternoon birding from the north lot at Rapids
Lake MVNWR. I had planned to stop there this morning, but with hunters out I
decided to just bird the closed area. Despite the heat and humidity this
afternoon birds were plentiful including some out in the open sun. The Parula
this afternoon brought the total warbler species for the day to 22 which is 3
better than I've had any previous day. Birds included
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 1 working along the shore of Rapids Lake
Yellow-throated Vireo 1
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Tennessee Warbler 1
Nashville Warbler 5
Northern Parula 1
Yellow Warbler 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler 3
Magnolia Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 8
Magnolia Warbler 1
Blackburnian Warbler 2
Palm Warbler 5
Blackpoll Warbler 1
Black and White Warbler 2
American Redstart 2
Ovenbird 1
Mourning Warbler 1
Grasshopper Sparrow 1
White-throated Sparrow 1
Scarlet Tanager 4
Concerning the warblers I have been seeing, of all the Redstarts I have seen
this spring only 1 has been female(today). The majority of the Yellow Warblers
seen have been male as have the Tennessee. All the Chestnut-sided I have
seen have been male as well. The Blackburnian today were both male and
female, and the Mourning this afternoon was a male while it was a female at
Carver Park. Magnolia's have been a mix of male and female(more male). While
the last two springs were pretty mediocre here, I wonder if the numerous days
and nights of east or southeast winds is what is leading to the improved
warbler numbers, or birds are stopping due to the lack of leafout. The number
of Towhee and Summer Tanagers reported are probably the result of the strong
southeast wind. Last spring I saw only 17 warbler species from May 9 to May
15, and I only saw 1 Chestnut-sided and 1 Wilson's the entire spring.
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