After finding few birds during Saturday’s visits to Peveto Woods, Laurie and I approached Sunday’s Big Sit hoping for perhaps 30 to 35 species. By the time we finished, we had recorded 43. The birds had a much better day planned for us than we expected.
We watched from 7:00 a.m. until 6:45 p.m., with more than a dozen observers joining us over the course of the day. The water feature provided a focus for our attention, although the mister stayed in shadow all day, making photography challenging.
American Redstarts stole the show. Their abundance made them my choice for bird of the day, even with competition from Nashville, Blackburnian, Black-throated Green, Wilson’s, Hooded, Magnolia, and Chestnut-sided Warblers. Northern Waterthrush, Common Yellowthroat, and Prothonotary Warbler added to the variety.
A Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Eastern Wood-Pewee, White-eyed Vireo, and plenty of other birds helped keep us watching. Brown Thrashers were around much of the day, including one in the mulberry above our heads.
The company was part of the pleasure, too. Birders came and went, shared sightings, and kept us entertained between birds. What had looked like an uncertain prospect on Saturday afternoon became nearly twelve hours of rewarding birding—and a fine way to spend a Sunday.
