Birding on Broadmeade Walk

Last Sunday morning 11 folks met at the Parmer Village pond for the April group walk. Here are the highlights. We were treated to some neat shorebirds including many Least Sandpipers and a single Pectoral Sandpiper around the shallow edges of the pond. Most of these birds were migrants. Nearby we watched a Killdeer feign a broken wing to distract us from what must have been a nearby nest on the ground. And further upstream in the creek bed we were treated to seeing all three similar shorebirds of the Tringa genus side by side: Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, and Solitary Sandpipers. Greaters are winter residents but the other two were north-bound migrants.

The only migrating songbirds we encountered were White-eyed Vireo, a few Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, and this Bronzed Cowbird, an early returning summer resident. We found it on the Town and Country playing fields near the large baseball field. Interestingly, this is where I find this species most frequently every summer. I got this poor photo showing the distinctive red eye and puffed-out neck feathers:

On our way back we were treated to a tree full of about a dozen Snowy Egrets on their way north, and thistle plants full of these Leaf-footed Bugs:

Here's our complete species list. Spring migration is picking up. Get out there and see what you can find!