Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Magee Marsh migrants 5/2

This morning (Wednesday 5/2) I took a brief look at the boardwalk at Magee Marsh (Lucas Co., n.w. Ohio). The overall species composition was similar to what I had reported the previous day, and many of the notable individuals (such as Cape May, Blackburnian, and Bay-breasted Warbler males) seemed to be in the same places. The numbers of Yellow-rumped Warblers and Hermit Thrushes had dropped considerably from what had been there Tuesday, but Palm Warblers, Nashville Warblers, Black-and-white Warblers, and Ruby-crowned Kinglets were still present in about the same abundance as before. New for me today were Lincoln's Sparrow and Scarlet Tanager (but I know that at least Lincoln's Sparrow had been seen by others yesterday). Interesting to think that Yellow-rumped Warbler and Hermit Thrush might have migrated out in last night's conditions while many other species stayed put. The only noticeable increases for me were Pine Warbler (I saw four today and only one yesterday) and White-crowned Sparrow (big influx at the east end of the boardwalk, as well as to the south at the headquarters of Black Swamp Bird Observatory, just off Route 2). I couldn't relocate yesterday's Clay-colored Sparrow. Among diurnal migrants, a number of Sharp-shinned Hawks came by paralleling the beach, and there were some big flights of Blue Jays going over.

The Little Blue Heron adult was along the causeway through Magee Marsh again today, just north of the obvious big pump on the west side of the road.

 
Nature Blog Network