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Mariton: Migratory Census. Wow!

May 10, 2014

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

MEBUS BlackThroatedBlueWarblerRiverLookoutTrailMaritonMigrationCount0510

(Black-throated Blue Warbler)

Who would ever imagine that we would count more Black-throated Blue Warblers on a bird count at Mariton than Wood Thrush?  Our Migratory Bird Census was held Saturday morning.  We tallied 58 species and counted 397 individual birds in less than 5 hours.  We counted 23 Black-throated Blues, and believe me when I say they were undercounted.  There were locations where there was so much activity that we couldn’t count or identify everything that was flitting about in the trees.

At the end of the day, Yellow-rumped Warblers were the most counted species on the census with 30 individuals (again undercounted).  Black-throated Blues were second.  Wood Thrush were way down the list with 14 individuals.

MEBUS ScarletTanagerNorthFieldWoodsEdgeMaritonMigrationCount0510

(Scarlet Tanager)

If you want to see warblers, you need to get out in the next day or two.  We counted 13 different warbler species and we had a few that we couldn’t identify.  I have never heard so many Northern Parulas or Chestnut-sided Warblers singing at Mariton.

A huge THANK YOU goes out to Virginia Derbyshire, Anne Hogenboom, Carole Mebus, Bill and Sharon Roehrig, and Bob Schmidt for doing the count.  It was foggy this morning when we started, but turned into a wonderful day for birders.