A Mourning Warbler on a Fairly Quiet Day! ~ May 11, 2026

Before checking out National Park Drive again this morning, I drove down Institute Drive. I didn't hear a Canada Warbler I was hoping for, but I did find Wild Turkey, Red-eyed Vireo, Eastern Bluebird, Ovenbird, Black-and-white Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart, and Northern Yellow Warbler.

Along National Park Drive, I ran into Chris Hess and we birded the rest of the morning together. We walked the trail to the old farm, then down to the private residence, and back up the road to the cars. Along the stretch to the old farm, I saw a Lincoln's Sparrow with 2 White-throated Sparrows. In the section below the old farm, I spotted my first Swainson's Thrush of the year.

Swainson's Thrush

Just before reaching the divided road by the private residence, I saw a Black Rat Snake on a log and a second Lincoln's Sparrow that I could only get a blurry photo of.

A Black Rat Snake with its head at the left edge of the photo.

Lincoln's Sparrow

Back at the cars, I found an Acadian Flycatcher perched right behind them and got this photo of it.

Acadian Flycatcher

I drove back out the road and stopped at the pulloff where the gravel road stops and the paved road starts to go through my checklist and mark down the ones that I had forgotten to enter. While I was doing that, I thought I heard a Mourning Warbler sing!?! My hearing isn't that good anymore, but this was loud, so it was close. Even so, I was doubting myself, so I turned on Merlin and, when the bird sang again, it showed up on that. I got out of the car and realized it was singing in the bush right by the car. I got glimpses of its head, confirming that it was indeed a Mourning. I tried to slowly work for a full view of it, but it flew out of that bush and into another. Soon after, it flew past me and across the road. Thankfully, it landed in an open spot along the road where I was thrilled to get these two photos of it. It was a great end to a fairly slow morning.

Mourning Warbler

The Tatamy Exit retention pond held 2 Semipalmated Plovers, a Killdeer, 4 Spotted Sandpipers, 2 Solitary Sandpipers, 2 Greater and 4 Lesser Yellowlegs, 11 Least Sandpipers, and 3 Northern Rough-winged Swallows.

The Hollo Road retention pond yielded a Killdeer, a Spotted Sandpiper, 2 Solitary Sandpipers, 2 Lesser Yellowlegs, 3 Least Sandpipers, 4 Bank Swallows, and 2 Northern Rough-winged Swallows.

Five Least Sandpipers were the only shorebirds at the Christian Springs Road pond.

I counted 34 Snow Geese at Green Pond today, which also had a Green Heron along its edge. The back middle pond held 5 Spotted Sandpipers, 2 Solitary Sandpipers, one Greater and one Lesser Yellowlegs, and 14 Least Sandpipers.

My last stop was the Newburg Road retention pond. The Greater Yellowlegs that has been there since April 27th continued.

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