Thursday, September 13, 2012

Some Vagrants: My First Farallon Wave

Blackburnian Warbler at the Lighthouse.
Tuesday night the conditions were good for a small wave to hit the Farallons yesterday.  The light south winds and low overcast sky made made my fourth day on the island a good one.  As I was eating breakfast this morning, the first landbirds started dropping in to the lighthouse, with reports of Bay-breasted and Blackburnian Warblers, American Redstart, Olive-sided Flycatcher, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak over the radio.  After my morning sea watch, where I picked up my year Pink-footed Shearwater, I began searching the island for birds, turning up several new arrivals including two Clay-colored Sparrows, several Townsend's Warblers, and the Blackburnian Warbler.  However, it wasn't until I made it up to the lighthouse for my shark-watching shift that I got to see almost all of the vagrants reported on the island for the day.  The only one I missed was Ovenbird.

Tuesday afternoon was good as well, with a couple vagrants arriving in the afternoon including Baltimore Oriole and Tennessee Warbler.

This Tennessee Warbler was present since Tuesday, along with one new arrival on Wednesday.
Bay-breasted Warbler on Lighthouse Hill.
 Magnolia Warbler at the lighthouse
Townsend's Warbler at the Lighthouse
American Redstart at the Lighthouse

Rose-breasted Grosbeak on Lighthouse Hill
Magnolia Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler at the lighthouse

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