Delaney WMA (6/3)

Trying to take advantage of the end of the migration season, my parents and I took a trip over to Delaney WMA. It was a dreary overcast day and the birds were pretty hard to find. But we tried our best anyhow.

We started the day at the "back" of the property. As we drove to the trail entrance we stopped a few times to look over the water. There were all the usual suspects present: Red-wing Blackbirds, Yellow Warblers, Orioles, Cedar Waxwings, etc. We also saw at least one occupied Great Blue Heron nest.

After this casual birding we decided to take a hike into the property. Right near the start of the trail we were lucky enough to see two Hairy Woodpeckers interacting. But, the main problem with the rest of our hike was that it was still very overcast and the mosquitoes were out in force. They swarmed around us for the entire time. Eventually it got so bad that we turned around and headed back to the car.

But, we weren't completely discouraged so we decided to try the "bowl" area. This part of the property is fairly open and doesn't have anywhere near the population of mosquitoes. But, there are a lot of dog walkers which can make things interesting (to say the least).

The highlight of this second part of our day were the swallows (both Tree and Barn). They were everywhere swooping over the water picking off bugs. For some reason a good portion of the activity was centered on the area where the lake drains into a stream. It was fun to watch the birds swoop, bank, and dive like little jet fighters.

We continued down into the "bowl" hoping to find a few Silvery Blues. But, it is the end of their normal season and the day wasn't exactly conducive to butterfly watching. Even given these shortcomings, my Mom was still able to spook up two Blues.
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Birds: Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow, Wood Duck, Eastern Wood Peewee, Great Blue Heron, American Robin, Cedar Waxwing, Hairy Woodpecker, Tufted Titmouse, Black and White Warbler, Eastern Towhee, Common Yellowthroat, Blue Jay, White-breasted Nuthatch, Chipping Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Mallard, Baltimore Oriole, Common Grackle, Mute Swan, Black-capped Chickadee, Chimney Swift, Canada Goose, Killdeer