Big Sit! results from Shaver’s Creek

Sunday was a beautiful day for a Big Sit! on our boardwalk here at Shaver’s Creek! Doug Wentzel, Joshua Potter, Corky Potter, Nate Fronk, Tim Schreckengost, Mark Garner, Paul Brigman, and Becky Conner all spent time in the circle during the 24-hour count.

A Project Songbird Workshop was also being held at the Center during the day, so we welcomed 22 Penn State students (including Nate & Tim) to our count circle throughout the day to share in the fun.

Doug started the day in the wee hours of 10/10/10 with 1 EASO, 2 Great Horned Owls, and 3 Barred Owls. At dawn Joshua, Corky, Nate & Tim were greeted with an American Woodcock zipping over our heads and up Shaver’s Creek while a Great Horned Owl hooted nearby.

Once the sun hit our circle, the chilly morning gave way to a wonderfully birdy, sunny morning. The trees came alive as the sun swept down their branches, and by 7:30AM we had nearly 30 species.

Some other highlights from the day included a 5 woodpecker sweep (we couldn’t scare up a Red-headed), a 2-Accipiter half-hour, and active flocks of kinglets and sparrows keeping us company throughout the day as they fed in the alder thickets around us.

Doug ended the count in the late afternoon with a flock of Cedar Waxwings that had theretofore been elusive, bringing our total to 47 species for the day.

Thanks to those who lent their eyes and ears to our 2010 Big Sit!

Our complete list is as follows:

1. Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
2. Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
3. Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
4. Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
5. Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)
6. Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)
7. Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
8. Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
9. American Woodcock (Scolopax minor)
10. Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
11. Eastern Screech-Owl (Megascops asio)
12. Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
13. Barred Owl (Strix varia)
14. Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)  
15. Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)
16. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius)
17. Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)
18. Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)
19. Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)
20. Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)
21. Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)
22. Blue-headed Vireo (Vireo solitarius)
23. Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)
24. American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
25. Common Raven (Corvus corax)
26. Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)
27. Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)
28. White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)
29. Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)
30. Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa)
31. Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)
32. Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)
33. American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
34. Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)
35. Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)
36. Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)
37. Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)
38. Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus)
39. Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)
40. Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)
41. Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
42. White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)
43. Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
44. Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
45. Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)
46. Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureus)
47. American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)
    

The pictures of our “count circle” are from our last Migration Morning Walk on September 29th.