10/3/2020
So, let's get this part out of the way. I headed out to a local park on Friday morning for a couple hours. I had my first White-throated Sparrow of the season. Sunday, I got rained out in the morning. I headed half way across town but turned back when the rain started falling harder. It was not going to be light enough for photos, anyway.
Saturday, was a great day, though! I headed to Eagle Creek Park, again. Instead of heading to my usual location, the Marina, I headed over to the Discovery Center. I checked around a bit and was happy to find a White-eyed Vireo and my first Ruby-crowned Kinglet of the year. I have to admit, I was puzzled by the vireo. I could only hear the bird singing, and it must be a young bird. The scrambled version of his song almost made it sound like a Bell's Vireo. After locating it, it was quite clear it was a White-eyed Vireo.
I slowly headed out onto the point there and quickly stirred up 5 or 6 Yellow-rumped Warblers in a bush. Turning on the path, I playfully kicked a walnut on the ground and flushed up a Tennessee Warbler off the ground. I kind of laughed at the oddness of it and turned on the path again towards the end of the point. There were warblers everywhere. Every bush had warblers in it. Every tree had warblers in it. There were birds flying back-and-forth everywhere, and there were more feeding on the ground. It was like a miniature fallout. Of course, the vast majority of them were Yellow-rumped Warblers. I also had Black-throated Green, Tennessee, Blackpoll, Bay-breasted, Black-and-white, and Palm Warblers. I was extremely excited to see a Blue-headed Vireo. I spent 2 hours out on that point. At times, I just spent a lot of time watching. It was an amazing experience. As always, I wish I had done better with photos, but it was such an amazing experience. Things finally slowed down and dispersed. I checked a couple other places, but everywhere was a bit slower. I made one last stop by the Discovery Center and then called it a day.
At home, I pulled out the hammock to relax for a little bit. I thought I was crazy when I heard a Red-breasted Nuthatch. I assumed I heard just a bit of an odd call from one of my regulars. About 10 minutes later, there was a Red-breasted Nuthatch on my feeder. The bird showed up a few times over the next hour, and I was happy to get a shot of it. As usual, he was a 1-day wonder. No sightings on Sunday. They never stay. But it's great to see them, and it was an unexpected surprise to cap off a great morning.
Thanks for reading,
Mike
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