Garden Plots at Elkhorn Garden Plots

This is a great place to go Birding in the fall. Lots of migrants. The gardens provide lots of cover and a wide variety dining choices, seeds, insects, berries and old veggies left on the vines in many of the plots that have been left unattended in the fall. Additionally, very few gardeners are around to intimidate the little fellows. In fact the birders out number the gardeners this time of year

Nashville Warbler
Mourning Warbler
White Crowned Sparrow
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Palm Warbler (western subspecies)

Robins, Cardinals, B Jays, Carolina Wrens, House Wrens, House Sp. Mocking birds, Song Sp. , House Finches, Goldfinches. Common Yellow Throat.

I am looking for a Tennessee Warbler but I am afraid that I have missed it.

Photo Credit to Jeff Culler.He also help me identify the Palm Warbler (western) as I really had no idea what I was looking at.

A Good day today

This morning I had a field trip with the local Bird Club. I always look forward to being with birders that have years in the field. You can not help but pick up tips on habitat & habits. Today was no exception. Many warblers have moved on but several are still present. One of those very experienced birder spotted one and then another Orange Crown Warbler (138 )the OCW stayed still long enough for everyone to get a good look. For many of us it was a life list bird. For almost all but the birders that have been at if for decades it was a county and state list bird.

Other first of the year birds were pair of Eastern Meadow Larks (139), a beautiful Indigo Bunting(140) and a Lincoln's Sparrow (141), this is also a lifer but fairly common for the experienced. Below is a complete list as compiled by our fearless leader. I did not see the entire list and sadly there are 2 sparrows in the list needed for the year.

Canada Goose:
Black Vulture: 2
Turkey Vulture: 1
Osprey: 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk: 3
Red-shouldered Hawk: 2
Red-tailed Hawk: 1
Mourning Dove: 1
Chimney Swift: 12
Red-bellied Woodpecker:
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: 1
Northern Flicker:
Eastern Phoebe: 5
Blue Jay:
American Crow:
Carolina Chickadee:
Tufted Titmouse:
White-breasted Nuthatch:
Carolina Wren:
House Wren: 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet: 4
Eastern Bluebird:
American Robin:
Gray Catbird:
Northern Mockingbird:
Cedar Waxwing:
Orange-crowned Warbler: 1-2. First winter bird, virtually devoid of field marks, grayish aspect, with broken eye ring, and pale yellow vent area.
Magnolia Warbler: 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler: 2
Black-throated Green Warbler: 6
Palm Warbler: 9-12
Black-and-white Warbler: 2
American Redstart: 1
Common Yellowthroat: 12
Eastern Towhee: 3
Chipping Sparrow:
Field Sparrow: 1
Savannah Sparrow: 1
Lincoln's Sparrow:
Northern Cardinal:
Indigo Bunting:
Red-winged Blackbird:
Eastern Meadowlark: 2
House Finch:
American Goldfinch