Great time upstate w/ my school's hiking club. On the property we were staying at alone:
Baltimore Oriole - 9
Tennessee Warbler - 3
Cape May Warbler - 1*^
Nashville Warbler - 1*^
Mute Swan - 10 (4 cygnets)
Wood thrush - 2
Eastern Kingbird - 4
Pileated Woodpecker - 1
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1^
Black-throated Green Warbler - 1^ 4
Red-eyed Vireo - 2^
Scarlet Tanager - 1
Yellow-throated Vireo - 2*^
Turkey Vulture - 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 1^
And on the Hike (sorry for lack of precise counts, I had to keep up):
Red-eyed Vireo - 2^
Common Raven - 7
Blue-headed Vireo - way TNTC
Blackburnian Warbler - WAY TNTC
White-crowned Sparrow - 1^
Pileated Woodpecker - 1
*=Lifer ^=Year Bird
3 Teneesees and a Cape May? Yellow-throated Vireo? You're doing better than me! But didn't you see the Nashville and the BT Green in CP with me?
Saved a Sanderling today... here's what I posted somewhere else on BF:
After a nice relaxed day of shorebirding at the end of Jones Beach, in New York (in one area: American Oystercatcher, Black-bellied, Semipalmated and Piping Plovers, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Dunlin, Least, Semipalmated, Spotted and Purple Sandpiper) I was very surprised to find a Sanderling flailing around off the rocks of the jetty.
The bird was at the waterline, so attemtping to climb down and fetch it would be deadly. But I quickly realized that the bird was connecting to a fishing line that was draped across the rocks and ended at my feet. I bet the fisherman who left the line never expected anything more to reeled in with it. But there was one more.
Gently I pulled the bird toward me. The line appeared to be around the wing, but then the bird stopped moving and went limp. Was the line around its neck? The bird made no movement as it splashed into tidal movement. Determine that there may have been a chance, I kept reeling it up. Finally, after getting it's body snagged between rocks, I managed to get it onto the rocks at my level.
It burst into life again! I cupped my hands around it as best as I could, and ran over to my mother who happened to be with me, on this Mother's Day. Fearing the bird would die of shock, we went to work. It wasn't easy unravelling the string from around the wing, but within a few minutes the bird was free. I gave it a peck on the back of the head for good luck, and set it down. The Sanderling didn't hesitate a second to thank me - he or she was gone in a flash and joined the rest of the flock!
Never a dull day, is there? Happy Mother's Day to all!