Sandy River swallows

Four swallow species are easy to see in Prince Edward every year: Tree, Barn, and Northern Rough-winged, along with Purple Martins. Two others have never been easy to find here, but in theory should occur every year: Bank and Cliff. Finding those two was one of the little puzzles I needed to solve for my county big year. Fortunately, as of this afternoon, the puzzle is solved.

Last Friday afternoon I had a chance to do a little birding but a storm interrupted me shortly after I started. I decided to drive to Sandy River Reservoir to wait out the rain and see if the storm would bring anything with it - I was hoping for a tern or shorebird, maybe. No luck with those groups, but after the storm cleared dozens of swallows appeared over the lake. Among the more abundant Barn and Tree swallows was at least one Cliff Swallow, which was number 138 for the year.  (I wouldn't be too surprised if a breeding colony of this species eventually appeared in the county -- they can be found to the north and south of Prince Edward -- but as far as I know now they are strictly transients here.)

This afternoon was something of a repeat. I tried to do a little birding on the way home from school but it was rainy and at first a Blue Grosbeak and a Savannah Sparrow were about the best things I could find (the Blue Grosbeak was my second for the year).  But as I headed for home the rain stopped and I decided to take a look at Sandy River, and when I arrived the scene was much like last Friday -- dozens of swallows over the lake. Again, most were Barn and Tree, but I picked out a single Bank Swallow in my scope and watched it flying over the middle of the lake for a few moments. That made number 144 for the year in Prince Edward, and I think this is the first time that I've seen all six "expected" swallows in one year in the county.

Other highlights at the lake today were a single Common Loon in alternate plumage and a lingering (or transient?) Red-necked Grebe, and the best bird of the past weekend was a Marsh Wren at Briery Creek Lake.

busy time

This is the time of year when it's easy to find birds you haven't seen since last fall. Temperatures have finally warmed some, flowers are blooming, and migrants are returning. Last Friday and Saturday it seemed that White-eyed Vireos suddenly appeared, singing in every little patch of appropriate habitat around the county. Louisiana Waterthrushes and Common Yellowthroats are both back and singing as well. Phoebes and gnatcatchers are building nests. On the other hand, our winter visitors are disappearing. I saw a single Red-necked Grebe at Sandy River Reservoir on Saturday, but expect it to leave soon if it hasn't already. Numbers of more common species like White-throated Sparrows are dropping as well.

My county list for the year is now 125, the most recent additions being Prairie Warbler yesterday morning and Wood Thrush yesterday evening. None of the species I've added recently has been rare; the most interesting transients so far this month were probably Greater Yellowlegs and Caspian Terns, both at Sandy River Reservoir on 4 April. The challenge right now is to find time to look for less common migrants: the end of the school year is approaching, some family illnesses have caused schedule changes, and this weekend will be Easter weekend. Busy times!

Another fuzzy cell phone picture... Caspian Terns this time.
Taken at Sandy River Reservoir, 4 April 2014

Goodbye ducks!

March is gone and my big year is one-fourth done. Over the past two weeks ducks have been leaving the area. The flocks of diving ducks I was enjoying as recently as last week have disappeared; I only saw two ducks while checking several good ponds this morning. I still haven't seen a Northern Pintail this year, and I might have to wait for fall for that species now (at least in the county), but in general it has been a wonderful winter for waterfowl.

Several Red-necked Grebes are still hanging around the area, many now in bright breeding plumage, and during a brief stop at Briery Creek Lake yesterday I saw Red-necked, Horned, and Pied-billed grebes from a single spot in one of the main parking lots.

April has been warm and wonderful so far, and I hope it stays that way. A few species I thought I'd have seen by now haven't appeared. Probably the best example is Louisiana Waterthrush. I normally hear the first one singing in late March in the county. I've been birding in places where I expected to hear them the past two mornings, but didn't. I'm sure I'll hear one soon, though. Another sure-to-be-here-soon species is Yellow-throated Warbler. I actually saw one of these several days ago, but I was in Charlotte County. I also expect Blue-headed Vireo, Common Yellowthroat, and some others any day. And then the real rush of spring migration will begin....

This morning's highlight was a pair of yellow (i.e. "Eastern") Palm Warblers; they represented species 112 for the year in Prince Edward County. Here's hoping for lots more warblers in the next several weeks!