Basha Kill 5/18/13

In a brave move, I went out to the Basha Kill solo this morning. As you probably know, I do plenty of birding alone, but in this case I say it is brave because it is warbler season, and this being only my second year of looking for warblers, it still does not come very easily to me. I find both aspects of looking for warblers a challenge: 1. birding by ear, and 2. finding these littlest of birds in the vastness of the rapidly growing foliage. I felt pretty good about it when I was out, I was really enjoying myself. But by the end of the morning, I had only totaled 6 species of warblers, which is not exactly spectacular. Even though I did not get many warblers, I was seeing, hearing and identifying many birds. I ended the morning with 41 species, which a very nice total for me. Here’s my list for the day:

Canada Goose  X
Wood Duck  4
Mallard  5
American Bittern  1
Great Blue Heron  10
Green Heron  1
Osprey  1
Bald Eagle  2
Rock Pigeon  10
Mourning Dove  7
Black-billed Cuckoo  1
Chimney Swift  2
Ruby-throated Hummingbird  2
Eastern Phoebe  3
Eastern Kingbird  4
Yellow-throated Vireo  2
Warbling Vireo  X
Blue Jay  3

American Crow  1

Barn Swallow  8
Veery  1
Wood Thrush  4
American Robin  X
Gray Catbird  X
Brown Thrasher  1
Black-and-white Warbler  1
Common Yellowthroat  X
American Redstart  6
Magnolia Warbler  1
Yellow Warbler  X
Chestnut-sided Warbler  1
Field Sparrow  1
Song Sparrow  X
Swamp Sparrow  2
White-crowned Sparrow  2
Northern Cardinal  1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak  1
Red-winged Blackbird  X
Common Grackle  X
Baltimore Oriole  X
American Goldfinch  6