A chilly, windy morning greeted WCAS members for the Dike 14 field trip on Saturday, September 15.  The sky was typical of an October fall day with billowy clouds that had gathered Lake Erie’s moisture hovering over us.  The sun seemed to be winning however as the morning progressed and clouds began to disappear.  Twenty Audubon members looked over hills of goldenrod.   Birds were scarce, except for the ring-billed and herring gulls and an occasional flock of cormorants.   As we entered a little more sheltered area of cottonwood and box elder trees one member of the group noticed the “dead leaves”.  They were not dead leaves at all, but many Monarch butterflies clustered on the branches.  The cool temperatures and winds kept them still.  As the temperatures warmed and sun shown on them they opened their wings and there were a lot more than we realized.  Wow!   Many Viceroy butterflies were seen low in the grasses.  With the sun warming some of the protected areas the birds did begin to move.  The list below is what was seen by the group:

Canada Goose
Mallard
Double –crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Red-tailed Hawk
Yellowlegs (sp.)
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern wood-pewee
Yellow-bellied flycatcher
Eastern phoebe
Red-breasted Nuthatch
House wren
Ruby-crowned kinglet
American Robin
Gray catbird
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
American Redstart
Blackpoll Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson’s Warbler
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Rusty Blackbird
House Finch
American Goldfinch

36 Species 

Photos by Mary Anne Romito