Weekly Report - 2018-04-06 - Migration is Off and Running!!!

After a short break, the weekly report is back, and the trail has been more active than ever in 2018!

This past week marked the beginning of the first-ever weekly Trailblazers Nature Clubs! Grades 3-5 meet on Tuesday and grades 1 & 2 meet on Thursdays.

Tuesday was rainy so we didn't hit the trail. Instead, we spent our time inside studying bird sounds to prepare to go out next week! Many of the students in the grades 3-5 club are long-time Trailblazers attendees so studying bird sounds was a lot of fun. Looking forward to getting out next week!

Thursday's club for grades 1 & 2 started with an introduction to Trailblazers and birding. Then, we ventured out on the trail for a short walk. Although the day was very windy, we still tallied quite a few species including American Crow, American Robin, and Northern Cardinal. We also learned to identify poison ivy so we know to stay away when we see it!

Spring migration has most definitely begun as birds are visibly on the move. We are seeing an increase in species diversity and individuals of a species on the trail, and some hotspots around the area show us that more are on the way!

One flyover Ring-billed Gull was observed on 4/6, a first-ever record for April of the species. The vast majority of previous records occur between October through March.

Killdeer are a shorebird species that breed in Garnet Valley. That might be surprising since they are a shorebird, but they like to nest on gravel surfaces around our area. The first observation of Killdeer of 2018 was one flyover bird over the recess yard on 4/5.

The sixth property record of Great Blue Heron was observed on Tuesday morning as one flew over BSES before school the morning of 4/3. It was the first bird I saw when arriving back to school after spring break! Pretty awesome!

Eastern Bluebird has continued to be seen in the area of the outdoor classroom. One was observed on 4/5 as it was flying from tree to tree and picking up food from under the leaves of the forest floor.

Warblers have started to arrive in the area! I have yet to find any species at BSES, but I digiscoped this photo of a Pine Warbler the other day. Excited for warblers to arrive at BSES!!!

26 species for the week:

Great Blue Heron

Cooper's Hawk

Killdeer

Ring-billed Gull

Mourning Dove

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Pileated Woodpecker

Blue Jay

American Crow

Carolina Chickadee