Chirps and Cheeps

It was warbler mania today all over the Niagara region. I personally saw 21 different species of warblers today, a total of 84 bird species, and our group of four saw a total of 96 between us all.  What an amazing day. Thrushes of all kinds (except Gray-cheeked) were in abundance and flycatchers have finally arrived. I saw my First-of-Year (FOY) Eastern Kingbird, Least Flycatcher, and Great-crested Flycatcher. With yesterday's life bird, the White-eyed Vireo that Pat Martin found up at Fire House Woods, I've now seen all the vireos but the Red-eyed. A Scarlet Tanager was a nice end to the day too!

The warblers stole the show, though. These gorgeous gems were everywhere: singing from the tree tops, hanging off branches, and scurrying in the underbrush. I think I saw a total of 4 different Ovenbirds, usually a very difficult bird to get an eye on. The Prairie Warbler, found by Joe Mitchell in the morning at Forest Lawn, was stunning as was an Orange-crowned Warbler up near Lake Ontario. Other show stoppers were the beautiful Northern Parulas and Blackburnian Warblers. I had great looks at Cape Mays and Bay-breasted too. I guess I should stop here as every warbler was wonderful to see - and my head was spinning by the time I called it a day!

The Olive-sided Flycatcher, also found by Joe Mitchell at Forest Lawn, was not seen by Celeste, Willie, Betsy, or I - but a few others did get to see him. With any luck, he'll be back again tomorrow!