For comparison: Swainson’s Thrush (left), Gray-cheeked Thrush (centre), and Wood Thrush (right).
Opening yesterday morning (7th) was idyllic: full moon half way down in the west casting a pale light over the meadows and creating a patchwork of luminescence under the trees; almost overhead loomed Orion; and, if you stopped and listened carefully, the call notes of thrushes – which came closer to the ground as the east began to gray.
Swainson’s Thrush (left) and Gray-cheeked Thrush (right).
This morning the skies weren’t as clear with the moon peeking out between dark clouds that dropped light showers every now and again. But….high overhead you could hear thrush call notes. Birds were on the move. Net opening is a magical time that most people sleep through.
September 7th; Banded 44:
1 Eastern Wood Pewee
1 Eastern Phoebe
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
3 Gray-cheeked Thrushes (first of the season)
5 Swainson’s Thrushes
1 Wood Thrush
2 Gray Catbirds
2 Warbling Vireos
4 Red-eyed Vireos
1 Blue-winged Warbler
1 Nashville Warbler
Talk about a “confusing fall warbler”! This is a very washed out juvenile Cape May Warbler. Compare it with the one below.
This one you can tell pretty easily is a Cape May.
1 Cape May Warbler
3 Magnolia Warblers
2 Black-throated Green Warblers
4 Bay-breasted Warblers
2 Blackpoll Warblers
2 Ovenbirds
1 Northern Waterthrush
2 Common Yellowthroats
2 Song Sparrows
1 American Goldfinch
ET’s: 44 spp.
September 8th; Banded 54:
1 Mourning Dove
1 Downy Woodpecker
2 Eastern Wood Pewees
1 Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
1 House Wren
1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
1 Gray-cheeked Thrush
7 Swainson’s Thrushes
2 Wood Thrushes
4 Gray Catbirds
1 Warbling Vireo
2 Philadelphia Vireos
10 Red-eyed Vireos
1 Blue-winged Warbler
1 Nashville Warbler
2 Chestnut-sided Warblers
3 Magnolia Warblers
4 Black-throated Green Warblers
1 Blackpoll Warbler
1 Black & White Warbler
4 Common Yellowthroats
1 Lincoln’s Sparrow (1st of the migration)
1 Baltimore Oriole
ET’s: 52 spp.
Rick