The latest Town of Stratford bird walk with CAS took place yesterday at the Stewart B. McKinney NWR "railroad track trail" and associated areas on Long Beach Boulevard. This popular birding destination is well known for its spring bounties of shorebirds and neotropical migrants, and can hold uncommon or threatened birds year-round. It is home to many state-listed species of birds, plants, reptiles, and more.
About 25 people enjoyed good views of a decent variety of birds considering the date and number of us traversing through the habitat. Two cool sightings bookended the walk with a Northern Harrier cruising by as we prepared to set out and a group of 31 migrant Fish Crows flying to the northeast as we said our goodbyes. Here are all of the species seen:
Mute Swan
Gadwall
American Black Duck
Mallard
Green-winged Teal
Great Blue Heron
Killdeer
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull (American)
Mourning Dove
Downy Woodpecker
Fish Crow
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
American Goldfinch
The list reflects mid-March rather well, with recently arrived blackbird species and Killdeer along with a few more ducks. In the next week we will see Tree Swallows zooming through the sky and warblers like Palm and Pine not long behind with this constant warm flow. Our next walk will be at Long Beach on 3/25 at 8 a.m. when we should be seeing more shorebirds and perhaps the infamous Piping Plover! We hope you can join us.
Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician
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