Date: 5/19/25 6:21 pm From: <arbour...> <arbour...> Subject: Red Slough Bird Survey - May 19
It was overcast, mild, and windy on the bird survey today. 68 species were found. I broke my all time high count on adult Purple Gallinules today. The previous high count was 149 and I counted 157 today. And many are out of sight now sitting on nests. And there are several other locations that have them that I didn't make it to today. So our estimated population must be well over 200 birds. A large number of Cattle Egrets are now nesting on Pintail Lake along with Little-blue Herons, Anhingas, and Neotropic Cormorants. There is a Green Heron Heronry on Otter Lake as well as a small colony of nesting Anhingas. Unit 27B also has a small Heronry. Least Bitterns are calling from the cattails in the vicinity of the observation platforms on Pintail and Lotus Lakes. Here is my list for today:
Black-bellied Whistling Ducks - 9
Wood Duck - 9
Ring-necked Duck - 6
Hooded Merganser - 1
Pied-billed Grebe – 10 (2 with newly hatched young.)
Neotropic Cormorant - 11 (at least 6 nests with birds on them.)
Anhinga - 112
Least Bittern - 2
Great-blue Heron - 4
Great Egret - 28
Snowy Egret - 3
Little-blue Heron - 66
Cattle Egret - 800
Green Heron - 15
White Ibis - 83
Black Vulture - 9
Turkey Vulture – 35
Mississippi Kite - 4
Swainson's Hawk - 1
King Rail - 1
Purple Gallinule - 157 (New high count on adults)
Common Gallinule - 102
American Coot – 5
Mourning Dove - 9
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 4
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 1
Red-headed Woodpecker - 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 3
Downy Woodpecker - 2
Hairy Woodpecker - 1
Pileated Woodpecker - 3
Eastern Wood-Pewee - 3
Acadian Flycatcher - 1
Eastern Phoebe - 4
Great-crested Flycatcher - 1
Eastern Kingbird - 8
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher - 1
White-eyed Vireo - 8
Red-eyed Vireo - 2
American Crow - 6
Fish Crow - 7
Purple Martin - 1
Tree Swallow - 14
Barn Swallow - 4
Carolina Chickadee - 1
Tufted Titmouse - 6
Carolina Wren - 10
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 1
Gray Catbird - 1
Northern Mockingbird - 3
Yellow Warbler - 1
Pine Warbler - 1
Prairie Warbler - 1
Prothonotary Warbler - 9
Common Yellowthroat - 2
Yellow-breasted Chat - 6
Summer Tanager - 3
Eastern Towhee - 2
Northern Cardinal – 13
Indigo Bunting - 17
Painted Bunting - 7
Dickcissel - 9
Red-winged Blackbird – 19
Common Grackle - 38 (one nesting in a cavity in a dead snag.)
