Thursday, May 24, 2007

Splendid morning!


Black-bellied Plovers

Dunlin

Semipalmated Plover

Common Tern

This may be a Least Sandpiper, but the yellow legs we saw in the field don't show up--that may make it a Semipalmated Sandpiper.


The goslings have hatched!

Herring Gull

Two plumages, same species

Song Sparrow

Two photos of a Lapland Longspur


Female Redhead

Tree Swallow

We saved dessert for last! Red-headed Woodpecker (there were two by the parking lot!)
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Today was one of the DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDs--those dull, dark, dank, drippy, drizzly, Duluth days that birders delight in. The light was poor for identifying warblers, but we still had a nice variety, and had a smörgåsbord of shorebirds who were apparently enjoying a smörgåsbord of their own in the form of a dead deer washed up on the beach, along with the array of tasty maggots and other bugs gathered on it. We didn't get close enough for a photograph of the feast, which may be a good thing or a bad one depending on your sensibilities and point of view.

We didn't surpass Tuesday's 60 species, but came pretty close with 59:

Canada Goose
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Redhead
Greater Scaup
Red-breasted Merganser
Common Loon
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Black-bellied Plover
American Golden-Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Lesser Yellowlegs
Spotted Sandpiper
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Dunlin
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Common Tern
Mourning Dove
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Red-headed Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Blue-headed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Tennessee Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Palm Warbler
American Redstart
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Canada Warbler
Song Sparrow
Lapland Longspur
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Baltimore Oriole