BBC Bird Walk with Sabrina Hepburn

Blue Dasher Dragonfly

57 degrees and foggy to start. It was a great turnout for the BBC bird walk led by Sabrina Hepburn who is amazingly knowledgeable about birds and nature.

We started in the lower gardens where most of us had the pleasure of viewing a Lincoln sparrow, a loner amongst the large number of song sparrows. Saw a common yellowthroat, and a phoebe, but oat of what we saw were our regulars.

In the upper gardens, the most productive area was at the back. With all those eyes focused on the oak trees, we started seeing all kinds of warblers, from the black-throated green, to a couple of redstarts, to a parula and magnolia warbler. We saw a couple of warblers we couldn't quite identify. Some of us caught a glimpse of a thrush and it was speculated that it was a Swainson's Thrush. Some saw a hummer whiz by and we accidentally woke up a sleepy raccoon who was comfortably napping atop a large shrub. Hayne's found this unusual mushroom in the woods as we walked the trail from upper gardens to soccer field area. The closest I could come is a parasol mushroom. If anyone knows what this is for certain, please let us know.

Mystery Mushroom

As I had to leave early, here is Hayne's official list:

Mallard  3
Solitary Sandpiper  1
Mourning Dove  3
Chimney Swift  3
Red-bellied Woodpecker  1
Downy Woodpecker  3
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)  5
Empidonax sp.  1     lower garden. Buffy wingbars, no eyering visible
Eastern Phoebe  2
Blue Jay  6
Black-capped Chickadee  4
Tufted Titmouse  4
White-breasted Nuthatch  4
House Wren  2
Carolina Wren  1
American Robin  1
Gray Catbird  6
European Starling  2
Cedar Waxwing  8
American Redstart  3
Magnolia Warbler  2
Blackpoll Warbler  1
Pine Warbler  1
Black-throated Green Warbler  1
Chipping Sparrow  15
Song Sparrow  25
Lincoln's Sparrow  1     lower gardenj
Northern Cardinal  X
Common Grackle  6
House Finch  3
American Goldfinch  15
House Sparrow  2