Great Egrets at Bennington Lake

We saw 9 great egrets along the canal this morning as we were returning to the parking lot.  What a beautiful sight!  Four great blue herons were with them.  Other interesting birds included a semi-palmated plover, 2 Lincoln's sparrows, a vesper sparrow, a Brewer's sparrow, a Hammond's flycatcher, one osprey and 2 great horned owls.  Most of the summer migrants are gone – we only heard a few house wrens, one gray catbird, and a few western wood peewees.  However, we did have a nice assortment of sparrows.  In addition to the ones already mentioned, there were 9 white-crowned sparrows and 30 chipping sparrows.  MerryLynn saw the first fall junco on the trail below the parking lot.  Goldfinches and house finches were abundant and there were still some swallows and swifts over the lake.  We saw or heard 42 species this morning – not bad for a hot, dry morning walk.  Ginger