For a few months now, I have been hanging on to the lead in our big year contest– primarily because the Sullivans haven’t been to the island lately. This week, they spent the week on the island and gathered an impressive 29 new species! It helps that it’s warbler season, and I’ll admit to being quite envious of the time they spent perched at great locations finding new birds. Bill and I are now tied at 131 species each, and Mary Kay is close behind at 128. Together, however, we are at 153 species so far for the year. (If you look at the total number of species entered/observed on the island since the 1990’s, it’s at 212!) Here are some of my new finds this week: a juvenile yellow-crowned night heron, and a pine, cape may, prairie, and palm warblers. You can still join us… we are excited to try to find as many species as we can (as a team) this year. And with a quarter of the year yet to go, who knows how many we’ll find. For a complete list of what we have so far this year, scroll to the bottom of this post.

1 Gadwall Anas strepera
2 American Wigeon Anas americana
3 American Black Duck Anas rubripes
4 Mottled Duck Anas fulvigula
5 Blue-winged Teal Anas discors
6 Green-winged Teal Anas crecca
7 Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis
8 Black Scoter Melanitta americana
9 Bufflehead Bucephala albeola
10 Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus
11 Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator
12 Red-throated Loon Gavia stellata
13 Common Loon Gavia immer
14 Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps
15 Horned Grebe Podiceps auritus
16 Wood Stork Mycteria americana
17 Northern Gannet Morus bassanus
18 Double-crested Cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus
19 Anhinga Anhinga anhinga
20 Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis
21 Least Bittern Ixobrychus exilis
22 Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
23 Great Egret Ardea alba
24 Snowy Egret Egretta thula
25 Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea
26 Tricolored Heron Egretta tricolor
27 Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens
28 Green Heron Butorides virescens
29 Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax
30 Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Nyctanassa violacea
31 White Ibis Eudocimus albus
32 Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus
33 Roseate Spoonbill Platalea ajaja
34 Black Vulture Coragyps atratus
35 Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
36 Osprey Pandion haliaetus
37 Swallow-tailed Kite Elanoides forficatus
38 Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus
39 Sharp-shinned Hawk Accipiter striatus
40 Cooper’s Hawk Accipiter cooperii
41 Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus
42 Red-shouldered Hawk Buteo lineatus
43 Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis
44 Clapper Rail Rallus longirostris
45 Virginia Rail Rallus limicola
46 Common Gallinule Gallinula galeata
47 American Coot Fulica americana
48 Black-bellied Plover Pluvialis squatarola
49 Wilson’s Plover Charadrius wilsonia
50 Semipalmated Plover Charadrius semipalmatus
51 Piping Plover Charadrius melodus
52 Killdeer Charadrius vociferus
53 American Oystercatcher Haematopus palliatus
54 Black-necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus
55 Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularius
56 Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca
57 Willet Tringa semipalmata
58 Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes
59 Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus
60 Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres
61 Sanderling Calidris alba
62 Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla
63 Western Sandpiper Calidris mauri
64 Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla
65 Dunlin Calidris alpina
66 Short-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus griseus
67 Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus
68 Laughing Gull Leucophaeus atricilla
69 Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis
70 Herring Gull Larus argentatus
71 Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus
72 Least Tern Sternula antillarum
73 Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica
74 Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia
75 Common Tern Sterna hirundo
76 Forster’s Tern Sterna forsteri
77 Royal Tern Thalasseus maximus
78 Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis
79 Black Skimmer Rynchops niger
80 Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
81 Common Ground-Dove Columbina passerina
82 Yellow-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus americanus
83 Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus
84 Common Nighthawk Chordeiles minor
85 Chuck-will’s-widow Antrostomus carolinensis
86 Chimney Swift Chaetura pelagica
87 Ruby-throated Hummingbird Archilochus colubris
88 Belted Kingfisher Megaceryle alcyon
89 Red-bellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus
90 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Sphyrapicus varius
91 Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens
92 Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus
93 Merlin Falco columbarius
94 Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe
95 Great Crested Flycatcher Myiarchus crinitus
96 Eastern Kingbird Tyrannus tyrannus
97 Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus
98 White-eyed Vireo Vireo griseus
99 Blue-headed Vireo Vireo solitarius
100 Red-eyed Vireo Vireo olivaceus
101 Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata
102 American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos
103 Fish Crow Corvus ossifragus
104 Purple Martin Progne subis
105 Tree Swallow Tachycineta bicolor
106 Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
107 Carolina Chickadee Poecile carolinensis
108 Tufted Titmouse Baeolophus bicolor
109 White-breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis
110 Marsh Wren Cistothorus palustris
111 Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicianus
112 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Polioptila caerulea
113 Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula
114 Eastern Bluebird Sialia sialis
115 American Robin Turdus migratorius
116 Gray Catbird Dumetella carolinensis
117 Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
118 Brown Thrasher Toxostoma rufum
119 European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
120 Cedar Waxwing Bombycilla cedrorum
121 Northern Waterthrush Parkesia noveboracensis
122 Black-and-white Warbler Mniotilta varia
123 Prothonotary Warbler Protonotaria citrea
124 Swainson’s Warbler Limnothlypis swainsonii
125 Tennessee Warbler Oreothlypis peregrina
126 Orange-crowned Warbler Oreothlypis celata
127 Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas
128 American Redstart Setophaga ruticilla
129 Cape May Warbler Setophaga tigrina
130 Northern Parula Setophaga americana
131 Yellow Warbler Setophaga petechia
132 Blackpoll Warbler Setophaga striata
133 Black-throated Blue Warbler Setophaga caerulescens
134 Palm Warbler Setophaga palmarum
135 Pine Warbler Setophaga pinus
136 Yellow-rumped Warbler Setophaga coronata
137 Yellow-throated Warbler Setophaga dominica
138 Prairie Warbler Setophaga discolor
139 Eastern Towhee Pipilo erythrophthalmus
140 Chipping Sparrow Spizella passerina
141 Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis
142 Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia
143 White-throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis
144 Summer Tanager Piranga rubra
145 Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
146 Indigo Bunting Passerina cyanea
147 Painted Bunting Passerina ciris
148 Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
149 Common Grackle Quiscalus quiscula
150 Boat-tailed Grackle Quiscalus major
151 Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater
152 Orchard Oriole Icterus spurius
153 House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus