Magee birding 30-Apr-2006

Staring to pick up some. More variety on the boardwalk on April 30. A couple of Blackburnian Warblers, several Blue-headed Vireos, Orchard and Baltimore Orioles, at least a dozen species of warblers.

Weather: Mostly cloudy with some sun peaking through altostratus clouds. Temps 45-50 at 8:00 a.m. with light winds.

Observed from the parking lot, the outside edge near the west entrance, and from the boardwalk:

Yellow Warbler x
Palm Warlber xi
Pine Warbler x
Myrtle Warbler xi
Black-and-white Warbler x
Blackburnian Warbler x
Black-throated Green x
Nashville Warbler x
Chestnut-sided Warbler x
Common Yellowthroat x
White-throated Sparrow xi
Lincoln's Sparrow x
Warbling Vireo x
Blue-headed Vireo (5)
Warbling Vireo x
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher x
Hermit Thrush x
Wood Thrush x
Red-breasted Nuthatch x
Orchard Oriole x
Baltimore Oriole x
Ruby-crowned Kinglet xi
Osprey x
Bald Eagle x
Cooper's Hawk x
Red-tailed Hawk x
Turkey Vulture x
Winter Wren x
Gray Catbird x
Rusty Blackbird x
Virginia Rail x
Sora x
Eastern Towhee x
Sandhill Crane x

Sightings by other birders:

Black-throated Blue
Northern Waterthrush

I met a couple from Utah. It's their first visit to the area. They're staying for three weeks. They have a few target birds to check off on their life list that they hope to see while here. One is the Connecticut Warbler. I told them they may have to extend their stay a few days, sinc the CT is more likely in late May. If a CT is spotted, hopefully it hops up into a bush or a tree for a bit, since the garlic mustard is so bad this spring that it will be tough to see the ground skulkers.