Article source for : Magee 12-Apr-2006
The temps overnight remained above 55 degrees all night. The warmest night of the spring, I believe. It rained for a little while in Toledo around 4:00 a.m. Good activity on the boardwalk, including two Northern Parulas, an Orange-crowned, a handful of Pines, a few Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, and several Myrtles, kinglets, and Hermit Thrushes.
I exited off Rt 2 at 8:45 a.m. The weather was overcast with temps around 60 and light winds early but strong later.
In between the [[BSBO]] office and the Magee Marsh nature center, a Brown Thrasher was singing. In the woodlot at the turn just past the nature center and before entering the causeway, another Brown Thrasher sang. Also along the road through this little woodlot was an Eastern Phoebe and a few Fox Sparrows.
Along the causeway:
Swamp Sparrows singing xi
American Coots (222)
Blue-winged Teal xi
Northern Shoveler x
Pied-billed Grebe x
Gadwall x
I parked by the west entrance of the boardwalk and birded the outside edge and along the boardwalk just to the bridge where the big loop starts.
Some dragonflies flew around. Several groups of blackbirds migrated along the shoreline. Birdwatching got operated for a little while when a heavy thundershow rumbled through with a lot of close lightning.
Sightings along boardwalk and outside edge:
Junco xx - several dozen in the parking lot by the west entrance.
American Tree Sparrow x
Chipping Sparrow x
White-throated Sparrow x
Fox Sparrow x
Eastern Towhee x
Ruby-crowned Kinglet x
Golden-crowned Kinglet xi
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher x
Myrtle Warbler xi
Pine Warbler (5)
Northern Parula Warbler (2)
Orange-crowned Warbler (1)
Brown Creeper xi
Hermit Thrush xi
Winter Wren x
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker x
Rusty Blackbird x
Cooper's Hawk (2)
Osprey spotted twice with a good bit of time between both sightings. Assume it was the same bird. First sighting, the Osprey was flying at tree-top height along the shoreline. Second sighting, the Osprey flew over the boardwalk with something in its talons.
Great-horned Owl nest in broken off tree near the little loop. I think mile-marker six. The fuzzy top of one young bird could be seen.
One Northern Parula hung around the west entrance of the boardwalk. It sang two different songs fairly often. It had a faint necklace.
Another birder said she saw a Parula further in, and that one had a dark necklace. The other N. Parula I saw was by the bridge where the big loop begins. This bird was moving around with a group of 10-15 Myrtles. This Parula did have a bold, dark necklace. I only heard it sing once.
Another birder who arrived around sunrise said he heard an American Bittern along the causeway and a Virginia Rail along the boardwalk.
tag=Magee
tag=sightings
