The morning was gloomy, chilly, windy, and drizzly.  Nevertheless, twenty-four
or so eager birders turned out for Lake Park’s third warbler walk of the
season.  Led by Dennis Casper and Ron Gutschow, they split up into two groups,
visiting between them the area near the tennis courts, the Locust St. ravine,
especially the feeder area, the bowling greens and golf course, and the area
around the Wolcott statue.  Prior to the walk, Ron and Dennis had checked out
the lakefront.  Despite the poor weather and lousy light conditions, the group
managed to chalk up a moderately good forty-three species for the morning. 
Warbler numbers were on the low side—only six different species and not many
individuals, other than Yellow-rumped Warblers.  But this did include a good
look at the first Cape May Warbler of the year for one of the two groups.  The
highlight of the walk, however. was the appearance of a pair of Red-headed
Woodpeckers in the Locust St. ravine in the feeder area where they had nested
last year.  A third Red-headed Woodpecker was also sighted near the bowling
greens, a considerable distance from the feeder area.  This was especially good
news, since it had been reported recently that a Red-headed Woodpecker had been
killed in a window collision near the park.


Birds observed

2	Canada Goose
4	Mallard
100	Red-breasted Merganser
4	Double-crested Cormorant
2	Cooper’s Hawk
10	Ring-billed Gull
8	Chimney Swift
3	Red-headed Woodpecker
2	Red-bellied Woodpecker
6	Downy Woodpecker

3	Northern Flicker
1	White-eyed Vireo
1	Blue Jay
4	American Crow
15	Black-capped Chickadee
2	White-breasted Nuthatch
2	Brown Creeper
1	Carolina Wren
8	Ruby-crowned Kinglet
8	Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

1	Eastern Bluebird
1	Veery
20	American Robin
1	Brown Thrasher
12	European Starling
6	Nashville Warbler
1	Cape May Warbler
23	Yellow-rumped Warbler
1	Black-throated Green Warbler
2	Palm Warbler

1	Black-and-White Warbler
1	Eastern Towhee
15	Chipping Sparrow
3	Song Sparrow
45	White-throated Sparrow
5	White-crowned Sparrow
3	Northern Cardinal
1	Rose-breasted Grosbeak
2	Red-winged Blackbird
4	Brown-headed Cowbird

4	House Finch
3	American Goldfinch
1	House Sparrow

Hey all,

I decided to put off studying for finals a bit and sneak out to Lake Park this afternoon.  I arrived at about 3, just as a light rain was ending, and birded until just after 7.  For the next hour, the activity was incredible, easily the highest density of warblers that I've experienced within the last 5 or 6 years.  Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers were most numerous; I'd conservatively estimate 300-400 each for the afternoon.  Each tree seemed to have at least 3-4 Palms pumping their tails away.  Birds were dripping from the trees.  Activity "thinned out" as the afternoon went on, though things still remained very active throughout the park.  Numbers are estimations, though again, I tried to be more conservative.  Numbers were incredible!

Warblers:
Blue-winged- last warbler of the day, heard, then seen along the creek just off of the large wooden bridge by the feeders
Golden-winged- female, seen across from the Wolcott statue
Tennessee Warbler- 2
Nashville Warbler- ~20
Northern Parula-2
Yellow Warbler- ~5
Chestnut-sided Warbler- many
Magnolia- many
Cape May- many, especially behind the Bistro
Black-throated Blue- two males, including one with the Golden-winged Warbler across from the Wolcott Statue
Yellow-rumped- abundant
Black-throated Green- many
Blackburnian- ~5
Pine- one south of the Wolcott Statue
Palm- abundant
Bay-breasted- ~5
Black-and-white- ~15
American Redstart- ~15
Ovenbird- ~20
Northern Waterthrush
Louisiana Waterthrush- the Northern was seen just south of the large wooden bridge by the feeders, working the creek.  The Louisiana was near the end of the creek, next to the large stone bridge by the Bistro.  I managed to get both in binocular within about 15 minutes of each other (I had seen the LA earlier and worked that way), providing a good comparison of the two species.
Common Yellowthroat~5
Hooded Warbler- a single bird seen and heard in the ravine just north of the Wolcott Statue (on trail)
Wilson's ~5
Canada Warbler ~7

In addition, I had a vocal Clay-colored Sparrow north of the Wolcott Statue on the golf course.

Other migrants:
Gray-cheeked, Swainson's, & Wood Thrushes
First-year Orchard Oriole, behind the Bistro
Several Blue-headed & Warbling Vireo's
Great-crested Flycatcher, several silent empids

Good birding!!! Gotta love May!!!
Sam Corbo
samuel.corbo@marquette.edu