View from the Field: Morning Flight

Twenty-nine of us up on the dike this morning had quite a hopping spectacle happening around us. A decent showing of Palm Warblers and the season's first Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and American Pipit were tallied, marking a definite mid-season milestone for the 2014 Morning Flight. Over 550 warblers of 19 species, 451 Northern Flickers, 12 Eastern Phoebes, 2 Philadelphia and 40 Red-eyed Vireos, and 323 Cedar Waxwings. The four most abundant warbler species were Palm Warbler (153), Northern Parula (92), Blackpoll Warbler (59), American Redstart (56). Scarlet Tanager (17) and Rose-breasted Grosbeak (11) also represented well.

Weather and time: sunny and mostly clear; 53–59 ºF; winds NNE at 5-10 mph; 20% cloud cover; good visibility; 0648 sunrise; 4.25 hours.

Morning Flight Count totals:
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) 2
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) 3 2 north, 1 south
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) 5
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) 1
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) 1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 451
Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens) 3
Empidonax sp. (Empidonax sp.) 1
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) 12
Philadelphia Vireo (Vireo philadelphicus) 2
Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus) 40
Fish Crow (Corvus ossifragus) 25 south; predawn -15 min
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula) 4
kinglet sp. (Regulus sp.) 1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 11
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 31
American Pipit (Anthus rubescens) 1
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) 323
Northern Waterthrush (Parkesia noveboracensis) 23
Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia) 25
Tennessee Warbler (Oreothlypis peregrina) 5
Nashville Warbler (Oreothlypis ruficapilla) 3
Connecticut Warbler (Oporornis agilis) 2
American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla) 56
Cape May Warbler (Setophaga tigrina) 19
Northern Parula (Setophaga americana) 92
Magnolia Warbler (Setophaga magnolia) 3
Bay-breasted Warbler (Setophaga castanea) 5
Blackburnian Warbler (Setophaga fusca) 3
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia) 2
Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica) 1
Blackpoll Warbler (Setophaga striata) 59
Bay-breasted/Blackpoll Warbler (Setophaga castanea/striata) 10
Black-throated Blue Warbler (Setophaga caerulescens) 36
Palm Warbler (Setophaga palmarum) 153
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) 16
Prairie Warbler (Setophaga discolor) 2
Black-throated Green Warbler (Setophaga virens) 6
warbler sp. (Parulinae sp.) 135
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) 1
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) 3
Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea) 17
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) 11
Blue Grosbeak (Passerina caerulea) 1
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) 5
Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) 166
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula) 5
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) 4
Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus) 1
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) 3

Today's full list can be viewed at: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S19915278