Though Higbee wasn't hoppin' with birds like it was earlier this week, it still has enough variety to be interesting. Red-eyed Vireos were definitely the bird of the day and they made for interesting comparisons with the White-eyed and Philadelphia Vireos also seen. But all those vireos aren't on their way to the same overwintering place. Some White-eyed Vireos stay in the southern US while others go down into Mexico, Bermuda, the Bahamas and northern Central American countries. Philadelphia Vireos go further - down to southern Central America - while Red-eyed Vireos go all the way down to South America! Group 1 Leaders: Kathy & Roger Horn, and Catherine Busch.
42 species
Osprey 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
Herring Gull (American) 2
Royal Tern 1
Mourning Dove 4
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 11
Merlin 1
Alder Flycatcher 1
Eastern Kingbird 12
White-eyed Vireo 4
Philadelphia Vireo 2
Red-eyed Vireo 28
Blue Jay 5
American Crow 2
Purple Martin 4
Tree Swallow 12
Carolina Chickadee 4
Tufted Titmouse 3
House Wren 2
Carolina Wren 7
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 3
Veery 4
American Robin 5
Gray Catbird 9
Brown Thrasher 2
Northern Mockingbird 1
Cedar Waxwing 18
Black-and-white Warbler 2
Common Yellowthroat 4
American Redstart 2
Northern Parula 8
Black-throated Blue Warbler 1
Palm Warbler (Western) 1
Northern Cardinal 3
Bobolink 2
Red-winged Blackbird 7
Common Grackle 2
Baltimore Oriole 2
: Settled, calm conditions are ideal for birding, but not ideal if you are looking for a large number of birds. But during September, even a quiet day at Higbee Beach is interesting and gives a chance to enjoy the birds more. A Blackpoll Warbler early on the walk started us off nicely, then things picked up again as we found a busy group of Red-eyed Vireos and Northern Parulas. A couple of Philadelphia Vireos played hide and seek with us for a while, but overheard birds were far more co-operative and included a party of late Purple Martins and a seemingly constant trickle of fish-carrying Ospreys. Toward the end of our walk, one of the latter met its comeuppance when a Bald Eagle winged in and stole its breakfast! Group 2 Leaders: Mike Crewe, Chris Marks, Deb Payson, Carrie Bell, and Mary Watkins.
40 species (+1 other taxa)
Green Heron 1
Osprey 5
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2
Cooper's Hawk 2
Bald Eagle 1
Laughing Gull 5
Herring Gull 1
Great Black-backed Gull 6
Royal Tern 2
Mourning Dove 12
Chimney Swift 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 3
Northern Flicker 15
Merlin 2
Empidonax sp. 1
Eastern Kingbird 1
White-eyed Vireo 3
Philadelphia Vireo 2
Red-eyed Vireo 15
Blue Jay 6
American Crow 2
Purple Martin 5
Tree Swallow 1
Carolina Chickadee 4
Tufted Titmouse 2
House Wren 2
Carolina Wren 6
Veery 1
Gray Catbird 4
European Starling 10
Common Yellowthroat 8
American Redstart 2
Northern Parula 4
Blackpoll Warbler 1
Prairie Warbler 1
Northern Cardinal 3
Red-winged Blackbird 1
Baltimore Oriole 1
American Goldfinch 1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
