Some really good birds today, but boy was it hot and humid!!! My favorites today were the group of about 8 Wild Turkeys as we left the Headquarters area, the very close 10 or so Glossy Ibis along Prime Hook Road, and the distant 10 White Pelicans along the same stretch of road. We also saw as many Snowy and Great Egrets as I have seen recently. My estimate viewed from the Boardwalk trail was 1,200+ of the two combined.
Our shorebird count was good with Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs (the last being very distant), Spotted Sandpiper, Sanderling, Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Plover and Black-bellied Plover.
Also excellent views of Caspian and Forster's Terns very successfully catching fish. My total species count was 36 species. And please remember that our goal is learning about the birds we encounter, and not recording a big list.
As I said, next week will be different. We will have a greater variety of terns and gulls, so if you are inclined to do homework, study Forster's vs. Common Terns, Caspian vs. Royal Terns, and Ring-billed vs. Herring vs. Great Black-backed Gulls.
Looking forward to seeing most of you next Wed at Cape Henlopen.
PS - To photographers in the class: If you get some good photos on our field trips, I am happy to post them on this blog site with credit to you. Scroll down to July 23, 2015 for some in-flight photos of the same White Pelicans we saw today.
Our shorebird count was good with Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs (the last being very distant), Spotted Sandpiper, Sanderling, Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Plover and Black-bellied Plover.
Also excellent views of Caspian and Forster's Terns very successfully catching fish. My total species count was 36 species. And please remember that our goal is learning about the birds we encounter, and not recording a big list.
As I said, next week will be different. We will have a greater variety of terns and gulls, so if you are inclined to do homework, study Forster's vs. Common Terns, Caspian vs. Royal Terns, and Ring-billed vs. Herring vs. Great Black-backed Gulls.
Looking forward to seeing most of you next Wed at Cape Henlopen.
PS - To photographers in the class: If you get some good photos on our field trips, I am happy to post them on this blog site with credit to you. Scroll down to July 23, 2015 for some in-flight photos of the same White Pelicans we saw today.
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