On perhaps the most lovely day of peak migration, a small group of us ventured out into the Townsend-Grady Wildlife Preserve for our annual Bird Walk.  Led by local bird experts Mahlon, Eleanor, Lidiann, and Arlene, we identified 48 species by sight and/or sound in our two-hour trek!  This is the order in which they made themselves known to us:

Common Grackle
Yellow warbler
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Blue Jay
Song Sparrow
European Starling
Baltimore Oriole
Downy Woodpecker
Double-crested Cormorant
Canada Goose
American Crow
Raven
American Goldfinch
Common Yellowthroat
Ring-billed Gull
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Gray Catbird
White-throated Sparrow
Red winged Blackbird
Swamp Sparrow
Red-bellied Woodpecker
American Robin
White-breasted Nuthatch
Tufted Titmouse

Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Northern Cardinal
Warbling Virio
Spotted Sandpiper
Great Blue Heron
Northern Flicker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Barn Swallow
Turkey Vulture
Mallard
Yellow-throated Virio
Caspian Tern
Mourning Dove
Greater Yellowlegs
American Kestrel
Blue-winged Warbler
Black-capped Chickadee
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Wood Thrush
Carolina Wren
Hairy Woodpecker
Brown-headed Cowbird
Tree Swallow
Eastern Kingbird

We hope that all of you birders out there are getting the most out of migration season.  Remember that you are always welcome to explore the Townsend-Grady Wildlife Preserve, which is open dawn to dusk all year.  This area is made up of several ecosystems.  We have forest, streambank, marshy wetlands, as well as the open water of the lake, so you are likely to find a wide variety of birds.  The parking area is located at the corner of 54A and Townsend Road  and there are 4 maintained trails to wander through and enjoy.

Happy birding!