Mariton: Bird Census

We held our Migratory Bird Census last Saturday.  The weather was a mostly a light drizzle with a shower.  While that doesn’t bother most birds, it made it a little harder for the birders to hear bird songs.  We ended the morning with 41 species and 218 individuals ( a little below average).  Considering the weather, I am happy with the count.

One of the highlights were the Wood Thrushes.  We counted 20 of these birds, the most of any species.  Blue Jays, Red-eyed Vireos and Ovenbirds all tied for second with 14 birds each.  I hadn’t been hearing many Red-eyed Vireos before Saturday, so was pleased by the number we counted that morning.  We also counted a Cape May Warbler for the first time on a census.    

It was a good morning to be out, even if it was a little wet.  We will be doing the Nesting Bird Census on June 4th, which is very similar.