9/27/08 CBA Field Trip

Thanks to Howard Horne for the following excellent field trip report:

8 birders attended the Fort Morgan Trip on Saturday.

Present:
Howard Horne
Tom & Joan Siegwald
Leslie Marcus
Warren & Ann Boutreis
Venetia Friend
Eleanore from Loxley (last name unknown).

Now for the birds:

I arrived ~30 minutes early and found several birds missed by the group:

Merlin 1 (fly-by)
NASHVILLE WARBLER 1 (After I originally found the Nashville before everyone's arrival, we tried chasing the bird on several occasions, but it would never settle down and allow a decent look...)
Epidomax sp. (probably a Yellow-bellied)

Also had 3 Palm Warblers at the Ferry landing after everyone left.

Here is my group list:

Least Flycatcher 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
Yellow Warbler 2
Black-and-White Warbler 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler 1
Prairie Warbler 4-5
Magnolia Warbler 3-5
American Redstart ~4-5
Common Yellowthroat 2
Northern Parula 2
Waterthrush sp. (Tom had one, but no one else was able to get on the bird.)
White-eyed Vireo 2
Carolina Chickadee (resident)
Brown-headed Nuthatch (resident)
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1
Wood Thrush 1
Snowy Egret 2
Downy Woodpecker 1
Indigo Bunting 2 (call notes only).

Common Stuff: Mourning Doves (fairly common) Mockingbirds, Cardinals, Brown Thrashers, Laughing Gulls, Brown Pelicans...

All and all a very slow day and somewhat hot compared to the past few days (The hotness may have resulted from having to wear long sleeve shirts to ward off the mosquitos). Species diversity ok, but numbers of individuals low.

Mosquitos were fierce, but with bug spray (100 % DEET) somewhat tolerable. Not quite as bad as I have seen them in the past, but still very annoying. Shaded forested areas are the worst...