Posted by Justin Miller on August 31, 2015 at 16:11:03
Green Cay has been getting more active the past few weeks with the first migrants starting to pop in. Saturday, I managed to get out from around noon to 3:30pm before the rains came: Painted bunting - one full color male and two green females at the front feeders. Several blue-grey gnatcatchers, prairie warblers also in the entrance area and the gnatcatchers throughout the park. Northern waterthrush at the east end dead-end gazebo area along with surprisingly high numbers of black-and-white warblers (at least 6 in that spot and 4 more elsewhere in the park). Cooper's hawk and several red-shouldered hawks also hanging out in the forest there, trying to be sneaky...the hawk activity had been fairly low most of the summer, but has picked up notably the past two weeks. Kingfishers are back as well for the last three weeks - at the east end open waters. Swamphens had at least two families again this year - 4 and 5 chicks, all growing now and almost ready to go on their own. Least bitterns still around in large number - they really had a bumper crop of them this year. Lots of roseated spoonbills there Saturday - at least 15 of them.