Wood Thrush Chorus

***SPOILER ALERT**

Here’s what the beginning of dawn sounds like in the deep woods. I’m working up an account of the Big Weekend, where we recorded over 100 species, and some all-time high species numbers, thanks to a spongy moth caterpillar bonanza, it would seem.

Orchard Oriole, first-year male. This one sang and called in the yard.

I’m days behind on the NFCs, but even so, the Plummer’s Hollow 200 stands at 175 species. Here are the newbies:

• Common Nighthawk

• Eastern Kingbird

• Orchard Oriole

• Kentucky Warbler

• Mourning Warbler

• Red-headed Woodpecker

• Philadelphia Vireo

Each one has a pretty cool vignette. It might take me a day or two more to write all this up.

Plummer’s Hollow remains the number 5 spot and number 4 area overall in Pennsylvania for 2023. I’m confident that is where it will remain. The question now is whether 25 more species are attainable, and if so, how much depends on nocturnal flight calls?

---

BIG WEEKEND HIGH COUNTS (in no particular order)

• Yellow-throated Vireo (10)

• Red-eyed Vireo (83)

• Cerulean Warbler (17)

• Magnolia Warbler (6)

• Warbling Vireo (4)

• Great-crested Flycatcher (13, breaking previous record of 11 from May 2017)

• Tennessee Warbler (18, breaking previous record of 16 from Oct 2022)

• Scarlet Tanager (41, breaking previous record of 39 from May 2021)

(High numbers records I have worked on in the last few years are generally garnered from 5 AM-11 AM walks, with extensive periods in single locations, along about 5 or 6 miles of trails.)

Warblers: 25 species recorded, included 24 on Sunday alone. The only missing warblers remain Golden-winged, Blue-winged, and Prairie. Earlier species no longer present are Palm, Pine, and Orange-crowned, while Connecticut is expected in the Fall.