Twelve birders from Jackson Audubon braved the rain and the cold on May 2 to visit Magee Marsh, east of Toledo. This location is generally a hotspot of warbler activity during the spring, but as I often say, “nature is not Disney.” You have good days and not so good days. While the group only saw five warblers, there were, as always, other highlights to the trip. Three vireos were counted and a whip-poor-will was lounging within view of the boardwalk. The high wind and the rain made for some difficult viewing and we stayed off the easternmost exposed portion of the boardwalk.
Some of the group continued to the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge to look for shorebirds. We were treated to a large flock of greater yellowlegs. In among the shorebirds was a group of American Pipits. We tried to council a killdeer against setting up her nest on the path to an observation tower but I don’t think she was listening.
Spring is a great time of year for bird watching. On the same day, I saw my first of year purple martins and likely last of season juncos. It reminds me how much I enjoy the change of the seasons and lets me pause to reflect on the past and look forward to the future.
Species list:
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Turkey Vulture
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
Greater Scaup
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Solitary Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper
Dunlin
Wilson's Snipe
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Common Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Whip-poor-will
Belted Kingfisher
Downy Woodpecker
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
N. Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
American Crow
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
American Pipit
Cedar Waxwing
European Starling
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Yellow Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Palm Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Northern Oriole
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
