NTOS Field Trips

Dauphin Island and Fort Morgan, AL

April 19-21, 2013

Sixteen birders from the middle Tennessee area participated in the extended weekend field trip to Dauphin Island, Alabama that was held during the Alabama Ornithological Society (AOS) spring meeting weekend, April 19-21. Individual schedules varied with some of our NTOS group arriving as early as Thursday afternoon and some staying as late as Monday morning. An informal gathering was held Friday evening at the Dortchs' (former NTOS members) house on Omega Street next to the airport marsh. Many of the trip participants also attended the AOS dinner on Saturday evening and two of our group won door prizes! While numbers of some neotropical migrants were not as extensive as in some meeting springs, there was plenty of variety. One special place was a hedge of bottlebrush shrubs at a house next to Shell Mound Park where a feeding Cape May Warbler provided near continual entertainment all weekend. Other warblers also enjoying the same bottlebrush flowers included Northern Parula, Prothonotary, Tennessee, and Pine warblers plus several Orchard Orioles, whose chatter filled the air.  A Northern Waterthrush put in occasional appearances as well.

Other highlights on Dauphin Island included several Osprey at nesting platforms, a Gray Kingbird (a life bird for some in the group) at the golf course, and a perched Peregrine Falcon at Audubon Park. Splashes of color were also provided by a number of Scarlet and Summer Tanagers and a horde of Indigo Buntings. Members of our group assiduously searched on Dauphin Island and Fort Morgan, which is across Mobile Bay, for Painted Buntings and some were fortunate to see them. A wide variety of shorebirds was found highlighted by Whimbrel, all the expected plovers, and White-rumped, Baird's, and Stilt Sandpipers. In addition to shorebirds and chattering Marsh Wrens, the airport marsh produced several Sora and Clapper Rails, a dancing Reddish Egret, and a Nelson's Sparrow. Fort Morgan at one point had numerous Blackpoll warblers, plus a recurring Merlin, Great Horned Owl, and for a fortunate few, a Cave Swallow.  At least 2 foxes, a nutria, meadow voles, and dolphins were also seen. Comparing lists from several birders, more than 165 bird species were found on the trip, including about 20 species of warblers.

Canada Goose Mallard Blue-winged Teal N. Shoveler N. Pintail Redhead Mottled Duck Bufflehead Red-breasted Merganser Common Loon Pied-billed Grebe Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Reddish Egret Great Egret Snowy Egret Little Blue Heron Tricolored Heron Cattle Egret Green Heron Yellow-crowned Night Heron Brown Pelican White Ibis Glossy Ibis White-faced Ibis Turkey Vulture Black Vulture Osprey Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Cooper's Hawk Broad-winged Hawk Red-tailed Hawk American Kestral Merlin Peregrine Falcon Sora American Coot Black-bellied Plover Snowy Plover Wilson's Plover Semipalmated Plover Piping Plover Killdeer Clapper Rail American Oystercatcher Black-necked Stilt Greater Yellowlegs Willet Whimbrel Lesser Yellowlegs Ruddy Turnstone Sanderling Semipalmated Sandpiper Western Sandpiper Least Sandpiper White-rumped Sandpiper Baird's Sandpiper Dunlin Stilt Sandpiper Short-billed Dowitcher Wilson's Snipe Laughing Gull Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull Least Tern Gull-billed Tern Caspian Tern Royal Tern Common Tern Forster's Tern Sandwich Tern Black Skimmer Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Eurasian Collared Dove Yellow-billed Cuckoo Great Horned Owl Common Nighthawk Chimney Swift Ruby-throated Hummingbird Belted Kingfisher Red-headed Woodpecker Red-bellied Woodpecker Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Downy Woodpecker Pileated Woodpecker Eastern Wood Pewee Eastern Phoebe Great Crested Flycatcher Eastern Kingbird Gray Kingbird Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Loggerhead Shrike White-eyed Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Blue-headed Vireo Yellow-throated Vireo Blue Jay American Crow Fish Crow Purple Martin Tree Swallow Northern Rough-wing Swallow Bank Swallow Cliff Swallow Cave Swallow Barn Swallow Carolina Chickadee Tufted Titmouse Red-breasted Nuthatch Brown-headed Nuthatch Carolina Wren House Wren Marsh Wren Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Eastern Bluebird Veery Swainson's Thrush Wood Thrush Am. Robin Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird Brown Thrasher Cedar Waxwing European Starling Worm-eating Warbler Louisiana Waterthrush Northern Waterthrush Prothonotary Warbler Tennessee Warbler Nashville Warbler Kentucky Warbler Common Yellowthroat Hooded Warbler American Redstart Cape May Warbler Northern Parula Yellow Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Palm Warbler Pine Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Prairie Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Eastern Towhee Chipping Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Nelson's Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Summer Tanager Scarlet Tanager Northern Cardinal Rose-breasted Grosbeak Blue Grosbeak Indigo Bunting Painted Bunting Bobolink Red-winged Blackbird Eastern Meadowlark Common Grackle Boat-tailed Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird Orchard Oriole House Finch American Goldfinch House Sparrow

Frank Fekel