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Author: Peter Kasper
Sunday, October 30
Even though the strong winds made birding very difficult at times,
the morning at Fermi turned out to be quite profitable. The best
birds of the morning were a flyover
Golden Eagle (appeared to be a
2nd year bird) at the Garden Club and an adult
Harris's Sparrow in
the Garden Club. Two
Northern Shrikes were found; Peter and I had
one along Swenson Road while Denis' class had one behind AE Sea.
Denis noticed, interestingly, that the shrike was hunting somewhat
like a kestrel above a tree with its main prey being
American Robins. Following are some of the other birds seen between our two
groups. First, in the sparrow Hedge area was a
Northern Harrier, a
female
Ring-necked Pheasant,
Yellow-rumped Warblers and
Eastern Towhees. Lake Law produced a
Pied-billed Grebe, several
Hooded Mergansers and a flyover
Ring-necked Duck. The list of other
sparrows seen in several locations, but mostly in the Garden Club were the first
American Tree Sparrows of the season,
Song Sparrows,
a
Swamp Sparrow,
Chipping Sparrows,
Field Sparrows,
Savannah Sparrows,
Fox Sparrows,
White-throated Sparrows,
White-crowned Sparrows and a load of
Dark-eyed Juncos. Eleven Species, not bad for
the conditions. To round out the morning's birds, seen in various
locations, were
Belted Kingfishers,
Hermit Thrushes,
Eastern Bluebirds, and an
American Kestrel. Dave
Saturday, October 29
The
Red-necked Grebe reported earlier in the week was not found this
morning. The only waterfowl seen this morning on Lake Law was a pair
of
Ring-necked Ducks and a
Ruddy Duck. Also seen were several
American Coots and a
Pied-billed Grebe. A flyover
Belted Kingfisher and
Greater Yellowlegs rounded out the birds in the lakes area.
American Black Ducks were in the Main Ring Moat while a
Cooper's Hawk was seen flying in the area. Main Ring Woods produced a
Brown Creeper, a
Ruby-crowned Kinglet, many
Eastern Bluebirds, several
Hermit Thrushes, several
Fox Sparrows, many
White-throated Sparrows and a
Great Horned Owl. Dave
Thursday, October 27
A
Red-necked Grebe was seen today in Lake Law by several observers.
Dave
Sunday, October 23
It was a beautiful morning at Fermi today and the birding was
equally satisfying. It was a morning of early and late season birds.
The three highlights were all seen on the way to the Sparrow Hedge.
First was a
Northern Shrike which is typically first seen in the
third week of Oct. Then there were several
Sedge Wrens which tied
for the latest sightings except for a single Nov. sighting and,
finally, a
Nelson's Sparrow which tied for the latest sighting and
was also a first for the year. The other birds seen or heard in the
Hedge area were
Killdeer,
Eastern Phoebe,
Ruby-crowned Kinglet,
Golden-crowned Kinglet,
Eastern Bluebird,
Gray Catbird,
Cedar Waxwing,
Tennessee Warbler,
Yellow-rumped Warbler,
Eastern Towhee,
Swamp Sparrow,
Fox Sparrow,
White-crowned Sparrow, and
White-throated Sparrow. Geese numbers are rising slowly with more
Canada Geese than in past weeks, at least one
Cackling Goose and about a
dozen
Greater White-fronted Geese. However, other waterfowl still
are not moving through. This morning's records were a single
Ring-necked Duck on Lake Law and a single
Blue-winged Teal on Nepese. A
Winter Wren was also seen near Nepese marsh along with a bunch of
Swamp Sparrows. Added to the morning's
list from the Main Ring Woods were
Hermit Thrush,
Orange-crowned Warbler,
Field Sparrow, and a couple of
Great Horned Owls. Dave
Sunday, October 16
Denis and his class were at Fermi this morning and came up with the
first
Snow Goose of the year, yes none were recorded this spring. In the raptor department they had
Sharp-shinned Hawk,
Cooper's Hawk and
two
Northern Harriers. The standout sparrows were
Savannah Sparrows,
Fox Sparrows,
Lincoln's Sparrows and the first
Dark-eyed Juncos of
the season.
Other birds of note were
Pied-billed Grebe,
Eastern Phoebe,
House Wren,
Eastern Bluebird,
Orange-crowned Warbler, and
Eastern Meadowlark. Dave
Tuesday, October 18
The first diving ducks of the fall migration were found in small
numbers this morning. There were several
Ring-necked Ducks on A.E.
Sea and fifteen
Ruddy Ducks on Lake Law. Sparrows still dominate the
migrants seen throughout the Lab, with approximately half of those
seen today being
White-crowned Sparrows. The Sparrow Hedge area
produced
White-crowned Sparrows,
White-throated Sparrows,
Song Sparrows,
Swamp Sparrows,
Fox sparrows and a
Lincoln's Sparrow. Also in the area were
Yellow-rumped Warblers,
Palm Warblers,
Eastern Towhees and a
Cooper's Hawk seen at the eastern end of the Hedge,
probably one of the residents. On my return from the Hedge a
Sharp-shinned Hawk was resting in a tree, while he scanned the area
for a meal. Nepese marsh produced a
Pied-billed Grebe and several
more
Swamp Sparrows. Just north of Nepese was the first large flock
of
Dark-eyed Juncos of the season. There was a fair number of sparrows
in the Garden Club but they were quite subdued. The reason for this
behavior soon flashed by as a group of sparrows cringed in a nearby
bush, a
Cooper's Hawk. The hawk eventually flew off, but the
sparrows remained quite shy. New species in the area were
Field Sparrows and
Chipping Sparrows, in addition to two more
Lincoln's Sparrows. The Main Ring Moat had three
American Black Ducks while an
American Kestrel was perched just below the Osprey Nest. The Main Ring Woods had more of the same sparrows, but here the dominate
species was the
White-crowned Sparrow. Also seen here were
Hermit Thrushes, a
Ruby-crowned Kinglet and the year's first
Winter Wren.
The Big Woods was devoid of migrants, with just a few of the local
woodpeckers, etc. Dave
Sunday, October 9
This morning the Sparrow Hedge was blessed with a good quantity of
late fall warblers, though not a lot of variety. The best activity
was at the eastern end of the Hedge where the sun warming the trees.
Seen were lots of
Yellow-rumped Warblers, several
Tennessee Warblers,
Orange-crowned Warblers,
Nashville Warblers and a
Palm Warbler. Other birds observed in the area were
Ruby-crowned Kinglets,
Cedar Waxwings,
White-crowned Sparrows and
White-throated Sparrows. On our return from the Hedge several
Eastern Towhees were
seen and heard, in addition to a Sharp-shined Hawk. The only
sighting of note near Nepese marsh was a flyover
Caspian Tern. The Garden Club added several more birds to the morning's list including
an
Eastern Phoebe and several
Field Sparrows,
Lincoln's Sparrows,
Rose-breasted Grosbeaks,
and
Indigo Buntings. Dave
Thursday, October 6
The migration at the Lab appears to have shifted from the earlier
neotropical migrants to the later sparrows. The lakes of the Sparrow Hedge area were very quiet except for the still numerous
Double-crested Cormorants. On the way back to the Hedge there were
Yellow-rumped Warblers,
Cedar Waxwings,
Eastern Towhees,
Swamp Sparrows, a
Fox Sparrow and
White-crowned Sparrows. The Hedge itself
was fairly quiet with just
White-throated Sparrows added to those
already mentioned. A large flyover flock of blackbirds contained a
good number of
Common Grackles. On the way back to the car a
Cooper's Hawk was flushed. Several
American Crows were present in
the
area. I only mention these to document their continued resurgence.
Nepese marsh was quiet with just one
Northern Shoveler and a
reluctant
Sora that finally succumbed to the calls from my iPod. The Garden Club had all the same sparrows of the Hedge area plus
Field Sparrows,
Chipping Sparrows and a first of the year
Clay-colored Sparrow. Also, a very agitated
House Wren was scolding from one of
the gardens. Main Ring Woods had many of the same sparrows and a
bunch of
Yellow-rumped Warblers. Finally, on the way to Wilson Hall a
Turkey Vulture was seen circling the area. Dave
Sunday, October 2
The Sparrow Hedge area was hopping this morning with a good mixture
of birds. First, a
Caspian Tern was seen searching Lake Law. The Hedge actually started off quite slow but, activity quickly improved
was we moved west along it. Birds seen were Several
Chimney Swifts,
an
Eastern Phoebe, many
House Wrens, a
Brown Thrasher,
Ruby-crowned Kinglets, several
Tennessee Warblers,
Nashville Warblers, many
Yellow-rumped Warblers, a
Magnolia Warbler, several
Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, several
Eastern Towhees and an
Eastern Meadowlark. Also seen were a first for the year
Cape May Warbler and first for the
season
Palm Warbler. Sparrows have started their movement south,
seen were
Field Sparrows,
Swamp Sparrows,
White-crowned Sparrows,
White-throated Sparrows, and a
Vesper Sparrow. The surprise for the
morning was a
Sandhill Crane heard then spotted on the ground in the
reeds southwest of Lake Law. On the way back to the car a
Sharp-shinned Hawk was seen flying southwest. The Nepese
Marsh area
produced several of the same sparrows, three
Northern Shovelers and
a
Sora. Dave
Saturday, October 1
Sandhill Cranes were heard flying over during the seed harvest held
inside the Main Ring today. Dave
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