Photo: Belted kingfisher by Richard Grant
Hello everyone,
The migrants are arriving -- we had our first Hermit Thrush and Pied-billed Grebe of the year. We enjoyed finding four Eastern Towhees and the continuing high number of Fox Sparrows. We had some nice flocks of Double-crested Cormorants fly over too. Tyler spotted a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in the Japanese Garden and we got some good looks at the bird, and of the neat rows of holes that it bores into the tree trunk. The Red-winged Blackbirds are staking out their territory and showing off their handsome red epaulets.
The most exciting moments of the day was when we discovered a Crow and a Cooper’s Hawk fighting, one-on-one, just west of the south bridge. Cheryl did some research and found that it’s a pretty regular occurrence but I’ve never seen such a battle before. Eventually the Crow gave up and flew away. The scene was so dramatic that it attracted the attention of two Canada Geese and a Mallard who came over to watch the show.
BIRDERS: Luther, Mike, Jennie, Marian, Eric, Kristin, Cheryl, Leslie, Mark C., Paul, Lucy, Larry, Marisa, Meghan, Daniela, Renate, Tyler, and welcome to Darby, Maddy, Em and Kiko.
TIME: 8:00am to 11:30am
WEATHER: 40s, sunny
Compiler: Cheryl
Photographers: Marisa, Leslie, Eric, Mike
Canada Goose Number observed: 27
Wood Duck Number observed: 8
Northern Shoveler Number observed: 5
Mallard Number observed: 11
Red-breasted Merganser Number observed: 7
Pied-billed Grebe Number observed: 1
Mourning Dove Number observed: 1
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 30
Herring Gull Number observed: 3
Caspian Tern Number observed: 3
Double-crested Cormorant Number observed: 59
Cooper's Hawk Number observed: 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Number observed: 1
Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 3
Northern Flicker Number observed: 3
Eastern Phoebe Number observed: 4
American Crow Number observed: 7
Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 2
Tree Swallow Number observed: 1
Barn Swallow Number observed: 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet Number observed: 5
Brown Creeper Number observed: 4
European Starling Number observed: 7
Hermit Thrush Number observed: 1
American Robin Number observed: 13
House Sparrow Number observed: 3
House Finch Number observed: 8
Fox Sparrow Number observed: 7
Dark-eyed Junco Number observed: 5
Song Sparrow Number observed: 4
Eastern Towhee Number observed: 4
Red-winged Blackbird Number observed: 14
Brown-headed Cowbird Number observed: 5
Common Grackle Number observed: 14
Northern Cardinal Number observed: 6
If you’d like more information about a bird, check out the All About Birds ID guide:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/
Corrections, additions and comments are welcome.
Good birding everyone,
Jennie