We covered seven areas of the refuge. The Visitor’s Center area was fairly quiet and some of the birds we identified there included blue jay, American goldfinch, and Carolina wren. We didn’t see any purple martins. Birds that we identified along the Raymond Pool and Observation Tower Trail included red-eyed vireo, belted kingfisher, American avocet, great egret, eastern towhee, short-billed dowitcher, and tree swallow. When we next went to Raymond Pool, the dominant birds were American avocets (at least 200). Other birds there included black-bellied plover, barn swallow, semipalmated plover, clapper rail, Caspian tern, dunlin, semipalmated sandpiper, and green-winged teal. In Shearness Pool, we saw, among other birds, great egret, Forster’s tern, great blue heron, mute swan, glossy ibis, mallard, and Canada goose. Birds seen at Pasture Point Pond included snowy egret, spotted sandpiper, belted kingfisher, tree swallow, laughing gull, eastern kingbird, gray catbird, and snowy egret. Bear Swamp Trail was quiet but we saw snowy egret, great egret, eastern kingbird, semipalmated plover, and semipalmated sandpiper, among others. Our last stop was Bear Swam Pool, Some of the birds we saw here were osprey, Caspian tern, Forster’s tern, semipalmated sandpiper, mallard, double-crested cormorant, eastern kingbird, and American goldfinch.
MY PHOTOS: American avocet, great egret x 2, belted kingfisher, eastern kingbird, Forster’s tern
