Rock Creek today (5/6)
GAIL@UMDD.UMD.EDU
Thu, 6 May 99 20:45:10 EDT
There was a pretty fair selection of migrants at Rock Creek Park, DC, today
but they took a while to "get on to" -- everything seemed to be high up and
the light was difficult. Quite a few birders, too, including folks on their
way to work downtown and thus somewhat more spiffily attired than the usual
run of birdwatchers, showing the "dark blue suit with matching wellington
boots" and "matching skirt, sweater and hiking boot ensemble for spring."
Anyway, in about four hours Barry and I managed a pretty nice list --
3 Blue-winged; 1 "Brewster"s" in the Maintenance Yard, pale yellow underparts
with whitish belly/throat, yellowish wingbar, singing both Blue-winged and
Golden-winged songs, with BW predominating; 2 Chestnut-sided, 1 Magnolia, 1
Hooded, 3 Redstarts, 1 Wormeating, 3 Blackpolls, ca. 20 Black-and-White, 8
Black-throated Blue, ca. 15 Black-throated Green, ca. 15 Parula, 1 Nashville,
ca. 400 (!) Myrtle (Yellow-rumped), 5 Ovenbirds, 6 Common Yellowthroats,
ca. 15 Red-eyed Vireos, 6 Baltimore Orioles, 6 Scarlet Tanagers, 3 Indigo
Buntings, 10 Wood Thrushes, 2 Veerys, 1 Gray-Cheeked Thrush (early),
2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 10 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, 1 Eastern Pewee, 1 Acadian
Flycatcher, 4 Great Crested Flycatchers, 20 White-throated Sparrows, 1 Red-
headed Woodpecker (fly-by at the ridge), 1 fly-by Cuckoo sp.
It has been a rather odd migration -- that early push of (usually later)
species in late April (e.g. Tennessee Warbler) and the large number of Yellow
rumps still around (and swamping everything else), even as the first Black-
polls arrive.
The NPS, USFWS, NBS, and several organizations such as the American Bird
Conservancy are hosting INTERNATIONAL MIGRATORY BIRD DAY at the Rock Creek
Park Visitor's Center at Glover Rd. on Saturday, May 8. There will be
displays, bird walks and they hope to do some netting of migrants. Many
of us will be busy with May Counts in various areas, but it might be worth a
visit if you have the time.
Gail Mackiernan and Barry Cooper