Birdwalk Highlights for 5/16: Old Town House Park, North Yarmouth.

With such a big group and so much recent rain, we decided to head for the wide open trails and edges of Old Town House Park. There was a lot of water here, too, with The Royal River spilling over its banks, and there were definitely some wet feet, but no one needed to go for a swim to reach a trail!

And the birding was fantastic, with great views of lots of bright colorful birds! A female ORCHARD ORIOLE - a life bird for some and year bird for many - was the most notable species this morning, with a BLUE-GRAY GNATCHATCHER also being a highlight. Really great views of 2 of the 3 SOLITARY SANDPIPERS present today were also thoroughly enjoyed.

Of course, BOBOLINKS are still the headliner today, and we saw 15-20, mostly males, and lots of singing and displaying. They're back! We encountered at least 4 ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS, including a cooperative singing male, but we thrilled to have the privilege of watching a female tirelessly building a nest!

YELLOW WARBLERS (14) put on a show for us, as did AMERICAN REDSTARTS (6), COMMON YELLOWTHROATS (6), BALTIMORE ORIOLES (4), BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLERS (4), WARBLING VIREOS (3), LEAST FLYCATCHERS (3), and a single CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER. Meanwhile, other species tallied today included 15 GRAY CATBIRDS, 3 OVENBIRDS, 3 BROAD-WINGED HAWKS, 3 PURPLE FINCHES, 2 BLUE-HEADED VIREOS, and one each of PINE WARBLER, HOUSE WREN, SAVANNAH SPARROW, RED-TAILED HAWK, RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER, and WOOD DUCK.