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Posted by Toe on 23:07:44 10/17/11
I guess migration is not so bad after all. Seven years to the day I finally experienced Warbler Valahalla II. Valhalla is a grand hall ruled by the Norse God Odin. The term Warbler Valhalla was coined by a guy named Pete who was birding with me on Oct. 16, 2004 at Royal Palm where we were literally stepping over the birds. Since that date, I've longed to experience a similar migration event. The last couple of days I'd say qualify. I didn't bird yesterday due to church in the morning and rain in the afternoon, but on Saturday I got to see 21 warbler species, while today at Bill Baggs I got 20. That's 41 warbler species in two days, wow! OK, I may have to work on the math. Still, the variety and numbers of some birds has been impressive. Today I stopped counting Yellow-billed Cuckoos at ~175! If you read my previous posts, you know I tend to downplay most events. I'm not exagerating with this number. A veritable nuisance species.
The only downside to today was the rain. I found it hard to hold the binocs in one hand, the camera in the other hand, and the umbrella in the other hand. But, it was the rain that got us the birds in the first place. Another regret is that I got two very bad photos of the Golden-winged, so I put a lot of effort hoping to relocate it for a better shot but it was not to be. Maybe I could have added a couple more species, but a Golden-winged doesn't come along every day. A good photo will have to wait.
Here's my list for today:
Golden-winged Warbler
Tennessee Warbler (10)
Northern Parula (30-40)
Yellow Warbler
Magnolia Warbler (2)
Cape May Warbler (30)
Black-throated Blue Warbler (200)
Blackburnian Warbler (2)
Yellow-throated Warbler
Prairie Warbler (3)
Palm Warbler (50+)
Bay-breasted Warbler (25)
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler (20)
American Redstart (100+)
Worm-eating Warbler
Ovenbird (75+)
Northern Waterthrush (2)
Common Yellowthroat (10, many more in the brushy areas)
Hooded Warbler (2)
Yellow-billed Cuckoo (175+)
Eastern Wood-Pewee (3)
Acadian Flycatcher
White-eyed Vireo (6)
Yellow-throated Vireo (2)
Red-eyed Vireo (75+)
Philadelphia Vireo
Gray-cheeked Thrush (3)
Swainson's Thrush (2)
Wood Thrush
Summer Tanager (2)
Scarlet Tanager (5)
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (2)
Blue Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting (100+)
Painted Bunting (25)
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