April 17: Lone Rock Point

On Monday I went to the trail at Lone Rock Point. The weather was not rainy, but it was a fairly cold and windy day. As soon as I got to the trail, I could hear plenty of song sparrows singing. Some looking around found me 3 of them in a tree not far from the trail. I continued on the trail towards the water and saw 2 blue jays flitting about in the pine trees. I followed them around, but they were pretty wary of me so they left the area. I then spotted about 5 turkey vultures soaring in the sky, presumably looking for prey. They were giant with silver on the inside of the wing, so I knew they were turkey vultures. Soon after, I heard the distinct liquid call of the brown-headed cowbird, which was a lifer for me, so I got really excited trying to find them. I soon found them in a bush. They weren't nesting, because brown-headed cowbirds lay their eggs in other species' nests, so they were presumably foraging for food. After that, I heard the distinct "phoebe" call of the eastern phoebe. I saw 2 of them on a branch nearby before moving on. I continued on the trail and then saw a yellow warbler hanging out in a tree, which was another lifer for me. I watched it for a bit before it flitted away. Soon after, I reached the water, and it was pretty hoppin'. The first thing I noticed were a group of tree swallows, another lifer for me, so I was excited about that. There were also some buffleheads, double-crested cormorant, common mergs, ring-billed gulls, herring gulls, american crows, and a common raven.

Posted on April 21, 2017 03:47 AM by nickvance17