Mariton: Migratory Bird Census
by Tim Burris, Preserve Manager. Photos by Carole Mebus.
Baltimore Oriole
On Saturday, Mariton held its 27th Migration Bird Census. The morning started out a little overcast, but we were seeing birds. Soon the clouds moved out and we had beautiful blue skies. The warblers were in good numbers and we heard and saw quite a few interesting birds.
At the end of the morning we had tallied 52 species, and 277 individuals. This is a snap shot census. We don’t expect to get everything on the preserve, but we get enough to see trends from year to year.
A Great-crested Flycatcher checking out a nest box.
Wood Thrush were the most prevalent species, and we counted 25 birds. Usually Blue Jays are right up there, and this year we counted 19 jays. Ovenbirds were third with 14 individuals. Northern Flickers and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks were next, followed by Baltimore Orioles.
We got a good looks at a Magnolia Warbler and a Blackburnian Warbler which was really exciting. It was also neat that we counted so many Black-throated Blue Warblers (10), Black-throated Green (6), and American Redstarts (9).
What a way to end the census.
We were almost birded out as we got back to the nature center. Then Jessica looked up and saw eagles soaring overhead. We counted 3 different mature Bald Eagles, plus a Cooper’s Hawk to end our count.