Christine Williamson organized a series of nature walks at Montrose Point Bird & Butterfly Sanctuary in conjunction with the 17 Sep 2011 Sierra Club Montrose Beach Sweep. Four different walks took adults and school kids through the natural areas at Montrose Point. Seen on these walks were 48+ species of birds, 3 species of mammals (excluding Homo sapiens and Canus domesticus), 7 species of butterflies, and one species of dragonfly. Lists of what we saw appear at the bottom of this page, along with a number showing how many of each species were found.
Here is a group from the Goudy School on one of the nature walks.
On the beach were Sanderlings feeding on invertebrates in the algal mat.
Also in the algae next to the water's edge at the beach were four Semipalmated Plovers. Here are three of them.
One more shorebird that was present there was this Semipalmated Sandpiper. It is a juvenile bird, one born earlier this summer. You can tell this by the crisp, clean feather edges that make a nice pattern on the bird's upperparts.
At the waterfall in the middle of the big meadow at Montrose Point, we saw this Magnolia Warbler bathing.
Walking through the meadow one was sure to see Monarch butterflies. Here is one getting nectar from a fall-blooming aster.
Tougher to find is the butterfly's larval form, better known as the caterpillar. However, Christine Williamson spotted one on the leaf of a milkweed plant. Milkweed is the food plant for the Monarch caterpillars. Also on the leaf was a grasshopper.
Here is a closer look.
Another type of butterfly that was seen was the Orange Sulphur. Here is one, also enjoying the asters.
Finally, here is a Fiery Skipper, a small and fast-flying butterfly.
List of birds species seen, with number observed.
Canada Goose 125
Wood Duck 2
Mallard 12
Double-crested Cormorant 91
Cooper's Hawk 1
American Kestrel 1
Semipalmated Plover 4
Sanderling 10
Semipalmated Sandpiper 1
Ring-billed Gull 245
Herring Gull 6
Chimney Swift 185
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 4
Least Flycatcher 1
Warbling Vireo 1
Philadelphia Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 1
American Crow 23
Barn Swallow 2
Black-capped Chickadee 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Gray-cheeked Thrush 2
Gray Catbird 2
Brown Thrasher 2
Tennessee Warbler 1
Nashville Warbler 1
Northern Parula 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler 2
Magnolia Warbler 5
Cape May Warbler 5
Black-throated Green Warbler 3
Blackburnian Warbler 2
Palm Warbler 18
Bay-breasted Warbler 4
Blackpoll Warbler 18
Black-and-white Warbler 1
American Redstart 20
Common Yellowthroat 4
Wilson's Warbler 2
Savannah Sparrow 3
Song Sparrow 1
Lincoln's Sparrow 2
White-throated Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal 4
Indigo Bunting 2
American Goldfinch 28
House Sparrow 8
List of mammal species seen, with number observed.
Eastern Chipmunk 4
Eastern Gray Squirrel 5
Eastern Cottontail 1
List of butterfly species seen, with number observed.
Cabbage White 21
Clouded Sulphur 2
Orange Sulphur 7
American Snout 1
Mourning Cloak 1
Monarch 10
Fiery Skipper 1
List of dragonfly species seen, with number observed.
Common Green Darner 2
This
page was last updated on 18 September 2011.
Contact Geoff Williamson
with any comments, updates or suggestions.