We covered five areas of the refuge today. By the Visitor’s Center, we identified Canada goose, indigo bunting, purple martin, and brown-headed cowbird, among others. Along the Leeds Eco Trail, we identified 16 species including snowy egret, osprey, glossy ibis, tree swallow, barn swallow, clapper rail, willet, Carolina wren, and song sparrow. The area around the Gull Pond Tower gave us 12 species including yellow warbler, mute swan, laughing gull, mallard, double-crested cormorant, great egret, and common yellowthroat. We identified 28 species along Wildlife Drive, highlighted by about 20 black skimmers. Some other birds we saw here included marsh wren, semipalmated plover, Forster’s tern, short-billed dowitcher, ruddy turnstone, Canada goose, willet, osprey, dunlin. Black-bellied plover, barn swallow, American oystercatcher, common tern, herring gull, gull-billed tern, and semipalmated sandpiper. Some of the birds we identified at the Refuge Overlook included red-winged blackbird, gray catbird, mute swan, white-eyed vireo, and common yellowthroat.
MY PHOTOS: black skimmer, great egret, willet, Canada goose, osprey, glossy ibis, ruddy turnstone, short-billed dowitcher
