H. L. Ferguson Museum: Penni Sharp Nature Walk
Maggie Jones, Director of the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center, who led the Penni Sharp Nature Walk on Saturday, October 17, 2015, sent in the following bird list for the walk. It includes birds the group saw between approximately 11:15 AM and 1:00 PM walking from the airport parking area, along the southern coast side of the runway out to the hill that overlooks Race Point, returning on the inland side. Also included at the end are additional birds that Maggie saw later on Saturday and on Sunday morning during her stay on Fishers Island. A great time was had by all!
Maggie’s Report
What a spectacular weekend for birding on Fishers! Cold northerly winds brought in a parade of raptors, songbirds and shorebirds. Here’s what flew overhead and was floating or flitting about in the shrubby edges around the Elizabeth Field airport Saturday:
Common Loon
Common Eider
Great Blue Heron
Canada Goose
Red-breasted Merganser
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
American Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Killdeer
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Greater Black-backed Gull
Mourning Dove
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
American Robin
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Goldfinch
This list includes other species seen later in the day on Saturday, and Sunday morning. There were lots of sparrows on Sunday, and Yellow-rumped warblers everywhere along with many more raptors (the same species as we saw on Saturday):
Mallard
Ruddy Duck
Great Egret
American Oystercatcher
Ring-necked Pheasant
Greater Yellowlegs
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Downy Woodpecker
White-breasted Nuthatch
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Eastern Towhee
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
