Blog post

May 20, 2006 [LINK]

ABC field trip to Chimney Hollow

I led my first field trip with the Augusta Bird Club this morning, which was sunny and mild. I was joined by Susan Clark and Elaine Carwile, who taught me a lot about wildflowers. We began at Chimney Hollow at about 7:45, and finished at nearby Braley's Pond at about 12:30, when it was starting to get windy. We heard many kinds of warblers in the tree tops, and some that were very close to us, but we only managed to see one such species: a Louisiana waterthrush, which was the first of the season for me. I saw 23 different species, and heard but did not see another 20.

The highlight of the day was probably seeing four young Phoebes in their nest just as they were about to fledge. I had spotted that same nest under the roof of the map / information board at Braley's Pond when I did the Big Spring Day survey on April 29. By the time we finished walking around the pond today, the young ones were gone.

Talk about overcrowding! The beaks of three about-to-fledge Phoebes are visible in this photo, and the eye of a fourth can be seen at the lower left. Among the many wildflowers we saw were Yellow violets and Birds-on-the-wing, which I also photographed on April 29, before I knew what the name was.

Seen (at least once):

• Cedar waxwings
• Red-winged blackbirds
• Grackles
• Indigo bunting
• Belted kingfishers
• Red-eyed vireos
• Acadian flycatchers (FOS)
• Great crested flycatchers
• Blue-headed vireos
• Sharp-shinned hawk (diving!)
• Turkey vultures
• Blue jays
• Cardinal
• American crows
• Phoebes (1 adult, 4 juv. in nest)
• Chipping sparrows
• Black-capped chickadees
• Louisiana waterthrush (FOS)
• Spotted sandpiper
• Kestrel
• Starlings
• Robins
• Mourning doves

Heard (but not seen):

• N. parulas
• Hairy woodpeckers
• Pileated woodpecker
• N. flicker
• Ovenbirds
• Ruby-throated hummingbird
• Black & white warblers
• Prairie warbler
• Black-throated green warbler
• Worm-eating warblers
• Hooded warbler
• Blackpoll warbler
• Cerulean warbler??
• Tufted titmice
• Goldfinch
• Scarlet tanagers
• White-breasted nuthatch
• Pine warbler
• Carolina wren
• Blue-gray gnatcatchers