Our annual Mother's Day weekend to the park yielded low numbers overall but several noteworthy species made the trip worthwhile. Threatening skies hampered us only slightly and I was able to observe Cerulean, Prothonotary and Blue-winged warblers on the first day. Many other warblers such as Canada, Northern Parula, Blackburnian, Black-throated Green (and Blue) to name a few were seen in greater numbers. I observed only one Scarlet Tanager but checked off six different Vireos and five thrushes. Also of note are the large number of Wild Turkeys, lately. I counted over 30 while driving in to the visitor centre on Saturday morning. I can't recall seeing any prior to three years ago. The park is changing and I do believe something needs to be done about some of the "unnatural" vegetation that has grown out of control in some areas and is no doubt making nesting and/or feeding difficult for some species. Don't forget that the entire park was once home to many cottages and homes. Although the buildings have long since been removed, a lot of the foliage planted by those residents still remain today.
