I mentioned signs of spring in my last post, and the past few days I've seen them everywhere I've been birding. Male Red-winged Blackbirds are back and singing at small ponds around the county. A few Double-crested Cormorants are back at Briery Creek Lake. On Friday I saw my first Tree Swallow for the year, and then saw 19 at Briery Creek on Saturday morning. I've seen many flocks of grackles and other blackbirds the past few days. All this plus the recent warmer temperatures, calling chorus frogs and a spring peeper, and the first few moths of the year, suggest that the winter duck bonanza is coming to a close, even though a female Long-tailed Duck was still at Sandy River until at least Friday, and flocks of Red-breasted Mergansers remain at both Briery and Sandy River this weekend as well.
The Tree Swallows I mentioned represented species 99 for the year in Prince Edward County. Number 97 was American Woodcock, seen and heard displaying a few nights ago, and another sign of spring, and number 98 was Wood Duck. After not seeing Wood Ducks in January or early February, I saw them in two places on Friday. I might have made it to 100 for the big year on Saturday, but got a call about a jaeger at Kerr Dam in Mecklenburg County and immediately headed down there. Not a bad distraction -- 100 can wait a little longer! While watching the jaeger I saw and heard a few other species that are new for the year and that I might not see in the county in 2014, including Brown-headed Nuthatch and Lesser Black-backed Gull.
Good candidates for number 100... Pine Warbler, Osprey, Sharp-shinned Hawk, or another duck... despite the great duck show I still need a few species, such as the teal, for the year.
The Tree Swallows I mentioned represented species 99 for the year in Prince Edward County. Number 97 was American Woodcock, seen and heard displaying a few nights ago, and another sign of spring, and number 98 was Wood Duck. After not seeing Wood Ducks in January or early February, I saw them in two places on Friday. I might have made it to 100 for the big year on Saturday, but got a call about a jaeger at Kerr Dam in Mecklenburg County and immediately headed down there. Not a bad distraction -- 100 can wait a little longer! While watching the jaeger I saw and heard a few other species that are new for the year and that I might not see in the county in 2014, including Brown-headed Nuthatch and Lesser Black-backed Gull.
Good candidates for number 100... Pine Warbler, Osprey, Sharp-shinned Hawk, or another duck... despite the great duck show I still need a few species, such as the teal, for the year.
A brief update just to say... number 100 was a singing Pine Warbler that I saw and heard this morning a little ways east of Sandy River Reservoir.
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