Checklist S73362705
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Totals
Observations
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Number observed: 2
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Number observed: 5
Details
(I saw at least three females and two males still in eclipse-like plumage with yellow eyes and a variable amount of red in the plumage, but these birds moved around a bit complicating a precise tally
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Number observed: 1
Details
(a lone shoveler on Pond 1 appeared to be a male in female-like plumage given an obvious yellowish eye and some dark markings on the face)
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Number observed: 21
Details
(my best attempt to count the Gadwall tallied two adult males and 19 birds in female-like plumage that likely included both adult females and large juveniles)
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Number observed: 20
Details
(I did not attempt to count the Mallards that were scattered around the site, but my estimate was 20-25 birds)
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Number observed: 2
Details
(females sitting together on the island in Pond !)
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Number observed: 1
Details
(I saw only a single female on Pond 1 today)
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Number observed: 2
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Chimney/Vaux's Swift
Number observed: 1Details
(I twice saw single Chaetura swifts and managed to get photos of one of them that showed a bird that was not so obviously a Vaux's Swift)
Media
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Number observed: 50
Details
(I estimated seeing at least 50 swifts early in our visit, but the number could easily have been 60-70 birds, given that these birds were never all in view at once)
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Number observed: 1
Details
(oddly, a singe, male Anna's Hummingbird was the only hummingbird that I saw during my visit)
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Number observed: 1
Details
(calling; I heard a single "grunt" call given by an unseen bird in cattails bordering Pond 3)
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Number observed: 3
Details
(I saw two young gallinules in Pond 1 and a third on Pond B)
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Number observed: 10
Details
(calling; I estimated seeing only about ten coots)
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Number observed: 2
Details
(calling; I saw two Killdeer together on the island in Pond 1, but I was less sure if another bird seen flying overhead was one of these initial two)
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Number observed: 10
Details
(calling; I counted seven juveniles on Pond C, but I later had a flock of ten birds flying overhead together that I can only assume included the seven birds I had seen earlier)
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Number observed: 1
Details
(calling; what I assume was the same Whimbrel was initially seen flying high overhead, but later it was standing on the island in Pond1)
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Number observed: 1
Details
Among the the dowitchers that were seen along the north side of the island in Pond ! I picked out a single juvenile that upon closer examination was a Short-billed. Moreover, I once heard this bird give the soft "tu, tu, tu" cal of this species. I noted that this bird was similar to the other birds in its size and shape, but also that it had a bill that despite being long, slim, and tubular may alone have been short enough to eliminate a Long-billed Dowitcher. Otherwise, this bird had a small head, a medium-length neck, a plump body with a full-chested appearance and a tapered rear end in which the wingtips appeared to reach the tip of the tail, or at least nearly so.
Unlike the other birds, which were mostly in basic plumage, this bird had a darker head, a relatively bold supercilium, and a deep buff wash to the breast and sides, but at most subtle markings at the sides. The upperparts were crisply marked with black and bright cinnamon to rufous, with most of the back and scapular feathers having complex internal markings. I also noted that the great coverts were black but with sharply demarcated fringes and some suggestion of cinnamon to rufous banding internally. The tertials likewise combined cinnamon to rufous banding internally on feathers that were otherwise black yet fringed with cinnamon to rufous. -
Number observed: 9
Details
(we saw along the shore of the island in Pond 1 nine adult Long-billed Dowitchers, of which only two still had some color retained from alternate plumage)
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Number observed: 1
Details
(I saw on Pond C a single juvenile with barred wing coverts)
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Number observed: 1
Details
(calling; the only yellowlegs seen was a calling Greater seen flying overhead)
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Number observed: 25
Details
(calling; I counted right about 25 Least Sandpipers among the various ponds assuming little or no movement between ponds; unlike the Western Sandpipers, there were at least moderate numbers of both adult and juvenile Leasts)
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Number observed: 300
Details
(calling; my best attempt at rapidly counting the peep on Ponds C and D reached right about 300 birds, of which every single one appeared to be a juvenile, though I suppose I could have overlooked one or two adults)
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Number observed: 1
Details
(a single adult seen around the island in Pond 1 was the only gull seen)
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Number observed: 14
Details
(calling; my maximum count for Caspian Terns late in my visit was seven birds on Pond 1, one on Pond 2, and six on Pond 3, of which two were juveniles with scaly backs)
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Number observed: 2
Details
(calling; I saw only two or three Forster's Terns flying over the pond early in our visit)
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Number observed: 2
Details
(both seen on Pond B)
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Number observed: 11
Details
(my best count for Western Grebes was 11 birds spread among the ponds)
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Number observed: 10
Details
(I counted on the various ponds at least eight adult Clark's Grebes, with one pair attending two chicks)
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Western/Clark's Grebe
Number observed: 6Details
(I left six additional Aechmophorus chicks as unidentified to species, but at least some had orange-yellow bills)
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Number observed: 9
Details
(I counted among the ponds eight immatures and one adult)
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Number observed: 3
Details
(I saw flying overhead one ibis early in my visit and two late in my visit)
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Number observed: 1
Details
(adult)
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Number observed: 1
Details
(seen in cattails bordering Pond A)
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Number observed: 3
Details
(calling)
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Number observed: 4
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heron sp.
Number observed: 2Details
(I had fleeting views in flight of at least two small herons, the first appearing to be a Green Heron, but the second birds, flushed twice, was probably instead a Least Bittern)
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Number observed: 28
Details
(the pelicans moved around a bit and many more were present early in my visit than late, but my maximum count was 28 birds)
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Number observed: 7
Details
(my maximum count for Brown Pelicans was seven birds, with both adults and young birds represented)
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Number observed: 5
Details
(my maximum count was five vultures in the air together)
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Number observed: 2
Details
(I saw two kites together when chasing a Red-tailed Hawk to the west of the ponds, but I was unable to age them with confidence)
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Number observed: 1
Details
(a bird that was seen only briefly when it flew by was identified as an adult by McNab, but my views were sufficient only to get it to species)
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Number observed: 2
Details
(I saw both an adult and a juvenile, with at least having the belly band of B. l. calurus)
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Number observed: 1
Details
(calling; I heard a single "whinny" given by an unseen bird)
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Number observed: 1
Details
(calling; I saw a male clearly, but a bird seen earlier was not seen as well and others had reported seeing two kestrels)
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Number observed: 3
Details
(calling)
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Number observed: 2
Details
(seen together in trees along the trail between Ponds 1 and 2)
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Number observed: 4
Details
(calling)
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Number observed: 8
Details
(I estimated seeing about eight Tree Swallows among the larger numbers of swifts and Barn Swallows)
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Number observed: 3
Details
We had been present for about an hour scanning the skies for the continuing Purple Martins mixed among the many White-throated Swifts and Barn Swallows (and a few each of both Tree and Cliff Swallows) before McNab spotted a martin flying low over Pond 3. I then did my best to study a single bird and get some photos before the birds vanished, and only then was informed that there were at least three and possibly four birds together. Given that I saw and then lost single birds multiple times in the few minutes these birds were present, it is possible that I saw more than one bird, but I never saw more than one at a time. During this first observation, the bird was circling relatively low over the pond providing good views and photo opportunities, but none of these birds ever vocalized. After losing these birds we were unable to relocate them in this area. It was over an hour later, while we scanned Pond 1 in search of the Neotropic Cormorant, that McNab again spotted what was clearly a different martin than I had photographed earlier, again as it flew low over the water, and in this case, the bird even dropped to the water at least twice, possibly to bathe on the wing. I once heard a soft chortle call by this bird that was musical and typical of this species, but it too was mostly quiet. Given that I was trying to get photos of birds that on both occasions vanished rather quickly, I did not study either of these birds all that carefully beyond noting enough to identify them. Fortunately, I should have some pretty good photos that will no doubt show more than I saw in the field.
On both occasions I noted that the martins were conspicuously large, heavy-bodied swallows with wings that were broad-based yet tapering to pointed tips. The bill was short and inconspicuous, head was relatively small, the neck was short and stout, the body was plump, and the medium-length tail appeared to be notched at the tip. I also noted that these birds had a conspicuous flight style that is typical for this species, yet difficult to describe beyond having rapid, snappy wingbeats interspersed with gliding more than the other swallows and banking over the ponds. I noted in the field that the upperparts were quite dark, that the abdomen was pale gray to whitish and that the breast was dusky, but to be honest, I did not notice much more than this of the plumage patterns in the field. My photos further show a pale gray collar and forehead, dark underwings, and some fine streaking on the breast of one birds, but a relatively bold breast-band and a purplish iridescence to the back on another.Media
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Number observed: 1
Details
(I missed altogether a bird that was seen by McNab around Pond C)
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Number observed: 50
Details
(calling; the vast majority of the swallows were Barn Swallows, but this total is no more than a rough estimate, given that only a small percentage of the birds were present at any one time)
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Number observed: 2
Details
(I saw only two or three times single Cliff Swallows among the more plentiful species)
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Number observed: 10
Details
(calling
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Number observed: 1
Details
(singing; I heard an unseen Wrentit singing from scrub around the gardens behind the buildings)
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Number observed: 10
Details
(calling; I saw four white-eyes fly overhead at one pint, but these birds were all identified aurally)
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Number observed: 1
Details
(calling; heard-only)
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Number observed: 2
Details
(singing and calling; heard-only)
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Number observed: 2
Details
(singing and calling; I heard at least two wrens and saw one well in dense vegetation around the buildings)
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Number observed: 1
Details
(singing; I saw this bird, but not overly well)
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Number observed: 2
Details
(I saw two Savannah Sparrows together, as I recall on the ground in the northern part of Pond C)
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Number observed: 8
Details
(singing and calling)
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Number observed: 1
Details
(calling; a bird heard and seen around the gardens behind the buildings appeared to be a female given a slate-gray hood)
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Number observed: 1
Details
(calling; heard-only)
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Number observed: 1
Details
(I saw at least one male grackle, but I suspect there were others)
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Number observed: 3
Details
(calling; heard-only)
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Number observed: 8
Details
(calling; I heard at least eight yellowthroats, but the only one that I saw was a male)
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new world warbler sp.
Number observed: 2Details
(calling; I heard "sweet" chip calls given by two unseen birds that were presumably Yellow Warblers)
Details
(I saw two birds flying overhead to the northeast at one point)