Mariton - Bird Census Report

This morning was the 15th Annual Migratory Bird Census.  This is timed to be on the Saturday closest to May 12th.  May 12th seems to be about the peak of warbler migration for most years in our area.  (Our hike at Fulshaw Craeg on Tuesday should be great!)  Many organizations have their Big Day Counts the same time.  We walk a course that is just under two miles, so we don't see everything in the four hours of the census.  At the end, we can usually name about a dozen bird species that we commonly find, but for some reason didn't find on the morning of the census. 

This morning we counted 52 species and 361 individual birds.  The two most abundant bird species were Blue Jays and Wood Thrush (both at 30 individuals).  Next came Tufted Titmouses and Ovenbirds (tied at 22 individuals). 

In all, we counted 10 warbler species, plus there were 3 warbler songs that we all drew a blank on. We saw a few flocks of Yellow-rumped Warblers and we got great views of their prominent yellow rump patch.  At the River Lookout we had a great view of a Worm-eating Warbler as it threw its head back to sing its song.  There were several Black-throated Green Warblers in the woods, as well as a few Black-throated Blue Warblers. 

We had a pair of Great Blue Herons fly over us.  Several Scarlet Tanagers and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks presented great views.  And this was the first year that we counted Barn Swallows on this count.  I think they usually arrive at Mariton in the week following the count.