Higbee Beach: Kingbirds, Waxwings and Warblers

CMBO's inaugural fall Higbee Beach walk hit a nice little wave of migrants. Highlights included 2 Worm-eating Warblers, several Northern Waterthrushes, an Ovenbird walking right down the path in front of us, multiple Black-and-white Warblers, American Redstarts, Prairie Warbler, and Northern Parula.

Plus, it's always a highlight seeing a lot of birds, and there were a lot of Eastern Kingbirds and Cedar Waxwings engaged in morning flight, and at one point we had 16 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers in view at once! Shades of things to come.

The parula was actually singing, a weak version of the slow parula song. A Blue Grosbeak was also singing, from a treetop in the hedge between the first field and the tower field.

The full list is below.

Location: Higbee Beach
Observation date: 8/14/09
Notes: CMBO Higbee Walk. Coudy to partly sunny, wind light north going east, front passed late yesterday.
Number of species: 52

Cooper's Hawk 1
Semipalmated Plover 3
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Lesser Yellowlegs 5
Semipalmated Sandpiper 5
Least Sandpiper 8
peep sp. 25
Laughing Gull 25
Mourning Dove 5
Chimney Swift 10
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker 4
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1
Empidonax sp. 3
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Eastern Kingbird 150
White-eyed Vireo 2
Blue Jay 5
American Crow 15
Purple Martin 25
Tree Swallow 10
Barn Swallow 10
Carolina Chickadee 10
Tufted Titmouse 5
Carolina Wren 10
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 40
American Robin 45
Gray Catbird 3
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling 5
Cedar Waxwing 250
Blue-winged Warbler 2
Northern Parula 1
Yellow Warbler 1
Prairie Warbler 1
Black-and-white Warbler 8
American Redstart 5
Worm-eating Warbler 2
Ovenbird 1
Northern Waterthrush 5
Common Yellowthroat 2
Northern Cardinal 8
Blue Grosbeak 1
Bobolink 15
Red-winged Blackbird 15
Common Grackle 10
Brown-headed Cowbird 2
Orchard Oriole 5
Baltimore Oriole 10
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch 2