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I dropped Sam off at a Girl Scout thing and then went to Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts to join an unofficial field trip organized by Donna Haines.  If you didn’t know, they have recently changed their policy to allow free entrance when they are open and there is not some special event going on.  I don’t know how many trails they have but there is one that loops around their lake so that is what we took.  The sky threatened rain and occasionally delivered a small amount but it wasn’t bad.  We saw 25 species including Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Yellow-throated Vireo, and Magnolia Warbler.  One notable sighting was an American Crow carrying a Blue Jay chick in his beak with two Blue Jays in hot pursuit.  The wild is not always a safe place to live.

Later, I walked the Rocky Valley and East Quarry Trails at Pinnacle Mountain State Park.  I heard a first in state (for me) Olive-sided Flycatcher plus a FOS Ovenbird and a few other nice birds such as a Louisiana Waterthrush, Summer Tanager, and Yellow-billed Cuckoo.

Finally, so far, I heard that the Western Kingbirds had returned to the river port area so after dinner I went down there.  I saw a pair in a nest at Custom Metals at the intersection of Fourche Dam Pike and Frazier Pike just like they were last year.

Sam and I went on ASCA’s field trip to Pinnacle Mountain State Park Saturday morning.  It was chilly but sunny and fun. In all we saw 42 species of bird including migrant Tennessee, Yellow, and Bay-breasted Warblers plus a first of season Acadian Flycatcher.

Later we went to the monthly CAAS meeting.  It was mostly cloudy but we did get see a -5 magnitude Iridium flare and I heard two FOS Chuck-will’s Widows before leaving.

Sunday morning, I went to Gillam Park and walked the main paved trail and the orange trail.  I saw a Great Horned Owl, that’s twice in recent weeks there, and a FOS Least Flycatcher, as well as a Swainson’s Thrush and a Wood Thrush and a Magnolia Warbler.

I birded TRP Monday morning, walking parts of the Three Eagles, paved, and Horse trails and the big field to see what I could turn up.  At the swampy area at the start, I saw a FOS Yellow Warbler and on the Three Eagles trail a FOS Bell’s Vireo.  I also heard two Swainson’s Thrush, a Magnolia Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, and saw several sparrows of which at least one was a Lincoln’s Sparrow and I think the others were as well. In all, I saw 43 species and one Coyote.