[Birdtalk] GSLA's monthly Farmington Bay field trip

[Deedee &/or Dick O'Brien]

Today at Farmington Bay the gate by Goose Egg Island to the west dike was open (bulldozer inside gate digging away at southern edge of Egg Island and filling dump truck). The Unit 1 pond is suffering from heavy algae due (I assume) to high nutrients in the water, but birds persisted. HOWEVER, on the west side of the dike there were really lovely wetlands and green uplands filled with ibis, Franklin's gulls, avocets, stilts that were a delight. As we left 70 or so Pelicans left Unit 1 and kettled up over the wetlands. Saw nothing unusual but totaled 50 species and enjoyed them all. 

Canada Goose
Gadwall
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Canvasback
Redhead
Ruddy Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Pied-billed Grebe (only 1 and on a nest)
Eared Grebe
Western Grebe
Clark's Grebe
American White Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron (lots of juveniles- all sizes)
Snowy Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
White-faced Ibis
American Kestral
Sora (heard)
American Coot
Killdeer
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
unidentified sandpiper (possibly Baird's)
Franklin's Gull
California Gull
Caspian Tern
Forster's Tern
Mourning Dove
Western Kingbird
Eastern Kingbird
Black-billed Magpie
Common Raven
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Marsh Wren
American Robin
European Starling
Common Yellowthroat (heard)
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark (one had unusual song)
Common Grackle
Great-tailed Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
House sparrow

Deedee
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