May 8th Comprehensive Bird Survey
On May 8th, a group of Lehigh Gap Nature Center members set out to survey the birds of the refuge. Several of the volunteers started counting well before sunrise and heard 17 Whip-poor-wills. As the sun rose, an impressive dawn chorus of American Robins and Wood Thrushes began. Throughout the morning, two groups scoured the refuge; one focused on the ridge top, while the other group birded along the river. Several species of warblers were found on the property, including an impressive 51 Prairie Warblers and a Louisiana Waterthrush. The final birds were seen in a small raptor kettle that included Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks as well as three Bald Eagles. When the survey ended around noon, the group had found 887 individual birds representing 77 species.
Great Blue Heron 2
Canada Goose 8
Wood Duck 7
Mallard 5
Common Merganser 11
Turkey Vulture 8
Bald Eagle 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2
Cooper’s Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Wild Turkey 2
Killdeer 1
Spotted Sandpiper 2
Rock Dove 8
Mourning Dove 23
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 3
Whip-poor-will 17
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 5
Northern Flicker 5
Eastern Wood-Pewee 4
Eastern Phoebe 6
Great Crested Flycatcher 10
Eastern Kingbird 5
Tree Swallow 20
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 6
Barn Swallow 1
Blue Jay 57
American Crow 18
Black-capped Chickadee 8
Tufted Titmouse 13
Carolina Wren 3
House Wren 4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
Eastern Bluebird 8
Swainson’s Thrush 1
Wood Thrush 9
American Robin 60
Gray Catbird 30
Northern Mockingbird 3
Brown Thrasher 1
Cedar Waxwing 2
European Starling 2
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Warbling Vireo 2
Red-eyed Vireo 30
Northern Parula 6
Yellow Warbler 21
Magnolia Warbler 2
Black-throated Blue Warbler 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2
Prairie Warbler 51
Blackpoll Warbler 9
Black-and-white Warbler 39
American Redstart 12
Worm-eating Warbler 1
Ovenbird 39
Louisiana Waterthrush 1
Common Yellowthroat 18
Canada Warbler 1
Scarlet Tanager 8
Northern Cardinal 16
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 3
Indigo Bunting 30
Eastern Towhee 43
Chipping Sparrow 5
Field Sparrow 18
Song Sparrow 25
White-throated Sparrow 1
Red-winged Blackbird 26
Common Grackle 9
Brown-headed Cowbird 7
Orchard Oriole 2
Baltimore Oriole 35
House Finch 1
American Goldfinch 31
