Rauscher Farm

Nine members of the bird club braved the weather and were rewarded as the rain stopped and the clouds parted a few times to allow the morning to get steadily better with each passing hour. We walked 3 ½ miles over a period of 3 ½ hours. Clamshell Pond did not initially seem active, but we did have one Common Loon, a bit unusual there, a flight by two Belted Kingfishers, and with a bit of effort we were able to find a flock of eight Wood Ducks secluded in the cove on the opposite side of the pond from the public path. Perhaps the highlight, or at least the biggest surprise of the morning, was while walking out on the DCR property we flushed a total of three American Woodcocks from next to the path where we were walking.

Our looks at the two warblers were brief and limited.

Species:

Wood Duck 8
Mallard 6

American Woodcock 3     One flushed, then two more flushed right away, immediately adjacent to the path. Low flight, tittering flight noise.

Common Loon  1
Turkey Vulture  18
Osprey  1
Cooper's Hawk  2
Broad-winged Hawk  1
Belted Kingfisher  2
Red-bellied Woodpecker  2
Downy Woodpecker  2
Hairy Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  4
Eastern Phoebe  4
Blue Jay  14
American Crow  3
Common Raven  2
Black-capped Chickadee  10
Tufted Titmouse  1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  3
White-breasted Nuthatch  3
Carolina Wren  3
Gray Catbird  5
Northern Mockingbird  2
American Robin  6
Cedar Waxwing  20
House Finch  8
American Goldfinch  4
White-throated Sparrow  2
Song Sparrow  5
Eastern Towhee  2
Blackpoll Warbler  1
Pine Warbler  1
Northern Cardinal  3

(Submitted by David Ammerman)