The All Gull Band Hits the Charts for First Birdathon

The All Gull Band (Anne Ellis, Amy Ritter, Miriam Klein and Kate Offutt) set aside their air guitars and fake mics to go out and do a little birding. The weather on Saturday morning, May 11, was perfect, and the birding was wonderful at Algonkian Park. We didn’t see any gulls but we spotted Warbling Vireos, Purple Martins and many others. Then off to Bles Park to discover a pair of Barred Owlets, quietly peering down at us as we beat off the no-see-ums and, after much poking and peering, we finally drew a bead on an Acadian Flycatcher. After that, we explored a little neighborhood park called Riverpoint Drive Trail where we saw friendly favorites American Robin and House Sparrow.

After lunch we headed out to the storm drainage ponds on Marathon Drive and found a Solitary Sandpiper (yes, just one) and some ducks, including a Blue-winged Teal. Finally we headed west, right into the rain, to scout Sweet Run State Park, where we found Field Sparrows and an Eastern Towhee before throwing in the towel. And these were just the highlights. Our clothes were dampened, but our spirits were not — we counted 71 species in about seven hours, which was a good start for our new band.

The All Gull Band practicing with binoculars.
Photo by John Ellis

Species List
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Green Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Canada Goose
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Ruddy Duck
Red-breasted Merganser*
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Killdeer
Solitary Sandpiper**
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Barred Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Eastern Wood Pewee
Acadian Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Common Raven
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Northern Parula
American Redstart
Common Yellowthroat
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Baltimore Oriole
Orchard Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow