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I had a great morning birding Pitt Street Bridge! It was a beautiful overcast morning with a temperature in the high 60's. I was welcomed by an active flock of White Ibis feeding on the mud flats. A group of Least Sandpiper joined the feeding group along with a couple of American Oyster Catchers in some shallow water. As I walked toward the bridge I heard a low tup call and sure enough several Seaside Sparrows were visible atop the marsh grass. These sparrows can be very hard to see but Pitt Street allows us to walk right along their favorite habitat and they are usually visible at a higher tide. I also heard another saltwater sparrow, their call is a higher pitch tek, two Nelson's Sparrows. I continued down the road and made some light phishing sounds, I quickly attracted two Yellow Warblers, two Common Yellowthroats, a House Wren and a Palm Warbler. Across the the road is a long dock that was overcrowded with Laughing Gulls, Forster's Terns, Royal Terns, a few Willets, 2 Double Crested Cormorants and Brown Pelicans. I made it to the bridge and continued to hear and see more Seaside Sparrows and a Marsh Wren. There were serval Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets and Tri-colored Herons scattered in the marsh grass. I was lucky enough to get a close look at a Yellow-crowned Night Heron and Green Heron perched in a close tree along the bridge. To top off the day I had a super close encounter with the usually secretive Clapper Rail, it posed for some great pictures. The trip was a success with 31 species in 40 minutes!
Happy Birding! -Charles
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