A group of 17 people with binoculars pose for a selfie in front of a brick building.

words and photos by Edward Warden

June 4, 2023

It’s always nice to be the first one on the scene when it comes to birding, and, lucky for us, the June 4 birding crew was the very first to set foot in the preserve on this beautiful late spring morning. Thanks to our gracious hosts at Sand Ridge Nature Center, staff was on hand to open the gates early for us and kick things off on a positive note. A quick scan of the parking lot for some first birds and then we were off.

The first and unavoidable stop is the bird feeders located just outside the center itself. This densely wooded patch next to a small prairie yielded some nice starter birds, including a catbird, House Wrens, nuthatches, and an always exciting Ruby-throated Hummingbird! Proceeding down the Pines Trail, we found things rather quiet as we passed through the stand of mighty Red Pine and Black Cherry. A variety of blooming/fruiting trees and a Tiger Swallowtail butterfly drifting by were the only visuals as a distant Eastern Wood-Pewee called.

A purple and yellow flower growing among bright green grass. — Harlequin Blue Flag Iris.

As we made our way southward past a mighty, and somewhat out of place, Bald Cypress and onto the Dogwood Trail boardwalk, things picked up again. The water levels in the marsh were very low for this time of year. The toll of the ongoing drought was visible here and almost certainly played a role in missing some of the birds one would expect to see. However, a somewhat dry marsh is not a dead one. We were still greeted by a handful of herons, several songbirds (such as Yellow Warbler and Warbling Vireo) all the black birds, and another hummingbird.

After loitering a bit to admire the view from the boardwalk and play a few Sora calls just in case (no dice), we turned around and made our way back north to toward the center. A possible Barred Owl feather (but not the full bird), a bright blue Indigo Bunting, and some bathroom breaks later, we were ready to move on to sections of the preserve to the north.

A Northern Rough-winged Swallow, a small brown bird with a long tail and wings, perches on a bare branch over a pond. Below the birds yellow flowers point up from lily pads. — Northern Rough-winged Swallow and Bullhead Lilies.

As we rounded the bend and passed the enclosures where a resident Great Horned Owl incessantly hooted (one of three rescued birds in the care of the center), we scooped up some soaring Turkey Vultures, a handful of nuthatches, and were teased by audio but no visual of Cedar Waxwings. Once again, the impact of the drought was evident as we reached Redwing Pond, but among the copious Bullhead Lilies (or Spatterdock) a family of Wood Ducks was to be found as well as kingbirds, Great-crested Flycatchers, and a very unconcerned Rough-winged Swallow.

A Viceroy, an orange butterfly with a black body and black stripes, and white dots, rests on brown grasses. — Viceroy.

Proceeding north on the final leg, we traversed the board walk and passed through the small savannah dominated by Black Walnut trees. While the heat of the day was finally catching up with us, we still managed to pickup a few new species for the day, including a Hairy Woodpecker, a surprise Acadian Flycatcher, an out-of-place Field Sparrow, and Eastern Towhees. Despite striking out on a few obvious species such as Canada Goose and Mallard (again with the water), our group rounded the day out with 44 species, a dozen or so trees we learned to identify together, and several close encounters with beautiful butterflies such as Tiger Swallowtails and Viceroys.

Field Trip Report: Sand Ridge Birds & Botany