Fourth of July birding on Prescott Peninsula

Eastern Coyote pup, Prescott Peninsula, July 4, 2013

Eastern Coyote pup, Prescott Peninsula, July 4, 2013

Eastern Coyote pup, Prescott Peninsula, July 4, 2013

Eastern Coyote pup, Prescott Peninsula, July 4, 2013

Eastern Coyote pup, Prescott Peninsula, July 4, 2013

Eastern Coyote pup, Prescott Peninsula, July 4, 2013

I decided to spend a little time on this hot fourth of July on the Prescott Peninsula checking on species breeding in the various fields located on the peninsula.  As expected the mosquitoes and other insects were thick and made tracking down any bird life quite difficult.

I did have a few mammal sightings with the best being some Eastern Coyote pups. I ran across one as it was walking up one of the roads toward me as I drove down. I stopped and the pup came in fairly close and then went into the woods to go around me and then popped back out behind me even closer. A very inquisitive little guy. On my way back through the same area about 45 minutes later I ran into a group of three pups together but they quickly disappeared into the woods before I got too close.

Hooded Mergansers, Prescott Peninsula, July 4, 2013

Wild Turkeys, Prescott Peninsula, July 4, 2013

Lots of juvenile birds around and lots of adult carrying food to hidden nests or youngsters. Lots of good stuff including a pair of Barred Owls calling and caterwauling around 6am, lots of vocal thrushes and many other species. I attempted to catch up with some Red Crossbills today but didn't have any luck. I have included the full list for the morning below. It was a very warm morning (started at 75) and quickly warmed up once the fog burned off with the temperature making it into the low 90's with lots of humidity resulting in a heat index around 100...certainly a very tropical feel to the day.  Nothing really unusual today but I did manage to find a total of 67 species from around dawn until around 10am.

This post marks my 600th post since I started this back in 2009 as a way of going into greater detail on my sightings then I could on my Flickr page.  It is interesting to look back from year to year of the places I have been and the sightings I have had...a fun journey.

Full list from the morning:

Hooded Merganser  3     Adult with two nearly grown young
Ruffed Grouse  1     Seen as it crossed road
Wild Turkey  6     Adult with five poults
Great Blue Heron  1
Accipiter sp.  1     Likely Cooper's hawk but seen briefly and this area has had breeding sharp shinned hawks in past years
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Mourning Dove  7
Black-billed Cuckoo  4     Three heard and one seen well
Barred Owl  2     Calling back and forth at 6am
Ruby-throated Hummingbird  1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  9     Minimum, likely more
Downy Woodpecker  1
Hairy Woodpecker  3
Eastern Wood-Pewee  3
Alder Flycatcher  1
Least Flycatcher  11
Eastern Phoebe  3
Great Crested Flycatcher  2
Eastern Kingbird  5
Blue-headed Vireo  4
Warbling Vireo  2
Red-eyed Vireo  57
Blue Jay  6
American Crow  5
Tree Swallow  29
Black-capped Chickadee  7
Tufted Titmouse  3
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
Brown Creeper  2
House Wren  2     Unusual here
Winter Wren  1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  1
Golden-crowned Kinglet  3
Veery  23   
Hermit Thrush  3
Wood Thrush  16    
American Robin  17
Gray Catbird  28
Cedar Waxwing  44
Ovenbird  36
Black-and-white Warbler  6
Common Yellowthroat  57
American Redstart  26
Magnolia Warbler  8
Blackburnian Warbler  5
Yellow Warbler  8
Chestnut-sided Warbler  24
Black-throated Blue Warbler  13
Pine Warbler  9
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)  2
Prairie Warbler  1   
Black-throated Green Warbler  11
Canada Warbler  1
Eastern Towhee  39
Chipping Sparrow  23
Song Sparrow  10
Swamp Sparrow  2
Scarlet Tanager  5
Northern Cardinal  2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak  2
Indigo Bunting  5
Red-winged Blackbird  7
Common Grackle  3
Brown-headed Cowbird  4
Baltimore Oriole  3
Purple Finch  4     A few singing
American Goldfinch  7