June 2 - Lord Stirling Park & Great Swamp NWR

As I did not have a full day today I went a bit more local by visiting Somerset County's parks.  First up was Lord Stirling and here we saw the target bird of Prothonotary Warbler.  We heard and then had very nice views of this species, formerly known as the Golden-Swamp Warbler, a name I feel better describes this bird.

credit: Laura Meyers

Many of the same breeding birds of the region were seen here:  Scarlet Tanager, Indigo Bunting, Yellow-Throated Vireo, Chestnut-Sided Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Baltimore & Orchard Orioles, Wood Thrush, Veery, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Wood-Pewee, and Green Heron.


Later at nearby Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, we heard White-Eyed Vireo and pal Jennifer was able to spot a Yellow-Breasted Chat. We all got fine views of it in our spotting scopes.

 

credit:  Audubon.org