What a lovely morning we had for our bird walk led by Al Sgroi at NARA Park. Here is the list of the birds and number of each species that we saw or heard. 41 species in all!
5/17/22
7:00 – 9:00 am
1.6 miles
- Turkey vulture 1
- Canada goose 2
- Mallard 1
- Red tailed hawk 1
- Great blue heron 1
- Killdeer 1
- Mourning dove 3
- Ruby throated hummingbird 1
- Downy woodpecker 2
- Northern flicker 1
- Pileated woodpecker 1
- Eastern wood peewee 1
- Eastern phoebe 1
- Eastern kingbird 2
- House wren 1
- Warbling vireo 2
- American crow 3
- Fish crow 2
- Tree swallow 1
- Barn swallow 4
- Black capped chickadee 2
- Robin 3
- Catbird 1
- Starling 5
- Indigo bunting
- Yellow warbler 1
- Chestnut sided warbler 1
- Yellow rumped warbler 1
- Pine warbler 2
- American redstart 3
- Ovenbird 4
- Wilson’s warbler 1
- Chipping sparrow 4
- Song sparrow 3
- Rose breasted grosbeak 1
- Red winged blackbird 6
- Common grackle 5
- Brown headed cowbird 1
- Baltimore oriole 3 (nest building)
- American goldfinch 6
- House sparrow 4
For beginner birders (like me) who were amazed by the Sound ID function Al was using, it is part of the Merlin Bird ID app, by The Cornell Lab. This app helps to identify birds by location, date, size, color(s) and behavior. You can also have the app “listen” and compile a list of birds in the area based on sound identification. It’s quite accurate, as you can play the song for each bird identified, and compare it to what you are hearing! For me, this is the first step to learning those songs.
I also like the BirdCast website during migration, as it uses radar to compile statistics on migrating birds, even giving information on which birds to look for when you’re outside.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/heres-how-to-use-the-new-migration-forecast-tools-from-birdcast/
Again, many thanks to Al and Sandra for their guidance. Have fun wherever your birding adventures take you this summer!