Mariton: Migratory Bird Census 2017

by Tim Burris, Preserve Manager.  Photos by Carole Mebus.

Scarlet Tanager

I rescheduled the Migratory Bird Census from Saturday to Mother’s Day due to the weather forecast.  We wouldn’t have been able to hear birds singing on Saturday with all the rain, and it would have been difficult to even see birds.  It was a good call, even though several birders weren’t able to make the new date.

Wood Thrush singing loudly.

We ended up with a group of three birders.  Sometimes less is more.  We ended up counting 57 species and 309 individual birds.  Wood Thrushes were once again the most abundant species on this count (25).  That says a lot about Mariton’s rich forest.  It is also reassuring to know that future generations will be able to hear this bird’s beautiful song.

A close second was Blue Jay (20).  We counted 15 Ovenbirds, and 14 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.  We also counted 3 Hooded Warblers, an Osprey, a Screech Owl, and a Chestnut-sided Warbler.  We heard what we think was a Nashville Warbler, but weren’t confident enough without a sighting to add it to the count.  All in all it was a great morning with 11 warbler species.