It didn’t start out as a very promising day at Reifel but ended on a high note… more about that later.
It was raining at 9:00 am when the group gathered at the gate… Glen (our weather guru having been wrong about the forecast for the first time), Colin, Stephanie, Lynn, Warren, Lydia, Brian R. Brian A. And Louise set out on the south trail looking for the Bittern or at least hearing the very distinctive call…
Unfortunately, no Bittern in residence. Common Yellow Throats and Marsh Wrens were heard singing along the trail. In the ponds there were Northern Shovelers, Green Winged Teal, one Cinnamon Teal, one Greater Yellowlegs and a scattering of Northern Pintails. The main action here was hundreds of swallows swooping and darting to scoop up invisible insects. Tree swallows, Violet Greens, Cliff Swallows and Barn swallows. Rough Winged swallows had been reported, but we didn’t see any. Part of our group departed at this point as rain was threatening again.
The trails along the outer Dykes were unusually quiet except for Song Sparrows and Red-winged Blackbirds… and several daycare groups. Future birders hopefully?
The fun began when Colin commented that we hadn’t seen any warblers yet. Then there were warblers… Yellow-rumped, both Audubon and Myrtle. A Townsend’s Warbler and a Black-throated Gray in the same tree made my day ( the Black-throated Gray is a lifer for me). A Hammond’s Flycatcher was among the sightings here, but none of the usual Nuthatches or Chickadees.
The species total was 50, including the ones Glen recorded on his way back to the gate.
Delta Naturalists Society 
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