Photo: Eastern Bluebird by John Larson
Hello everyone,
Winter has arrived. There were fewer birds and fewer birders than in recent weeks. But those of us who braved the cold were rewarded with some nice sightings.
A flock of 14 Hooded Mergansers was floating in the east lagoon. We typically don’t have that many at one time so this was a treat. All but one had dispersed by the time we got over to the meadow, but a lone male remained and posed like a super model for us. See Mike’s great photo, attached.
Four Fox Sparrows are still around and we had a handsome male American Kestrel perched on the roof of the museum. The most surprising sighting of the day was of a female Red-winged Blackbird. We thought all the blackbirds had departed for a warmer climate by now.
BIRDERS: Leslie, Mike, Jennie, Tracy, Cheryl, Lucy, Marian, Kristin, Eric, Gary, Bruce, Marisa, Renate, Karin
TIME: 8:00am to 10:00am
WEATHER: Cloudy, 30s, light wind.
Compiler: Cheryl
Photographer: Mike
Canada Goose Number observed: 93
Wood Duck Number observed: 6
Mallard Number observed: 8
Hooded Merganser Number observed: 14
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 9
Great Blue Heron Number observed: 5
Great Egret Number observed: 3, flyover
Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 1
American Kestrel Number observed: 1
Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 3
Golden-crowned Kinglet Number observed: 1
House Sparrow Number observed: 24
American Goldfinch Number observed: 27
American Tree Sparrow Number observed: 1
Fox Sparrow Number observed: 4
Dark-eyed Junco Number observed: 15
Red-winged Blackbird Number observed: 1, female
Northern Cardinal Number observed: 2
passerine sp. Number observed: 30, flyover
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.
Recordings are not used to attract birds.
The Walks are free and open to one and all. They are held year-round. Newcomers are warmly welcomed.
Saturday morning walks: Start at 8:00 a.m. and cover a distance of two miles. Birders walk from the meeting spot counterclockwise onto Wooded Island. Exiting Wooded Island at the south end, the birders walk along the soccer field and enter the south end of Bobolink Meadow. The Meadow’s path leads to the Music Bridge. After crossing the Music Bridge birders walk through the parking lot and around the Columbia Basin (North Lagoon) and return to our meeting spot. In late fall, winter and early spring, the birders check for birds on the lakefront at the Outer Harbor near LaRabida Hospital and the Inner Harbor after the Wooded Island walk.
Meeting Spot: Birders meet on the west shore of the Columbia Basin (North Lagoon). Park on Stony Island Avenue near 59th Street, walk east across the parkland area, then cross Cornell Drive to reach the spot.
Good birding everyone,
Jennie