Photo: Green heron by Lindsay Vacek

Hello everyone,

We had double the fun this weekend with our usual Saturday bird walk and our traditional New Year’s Day walk on Sunday.

On Saturday we had the same number of bird species as birders, and on Sunday our species count far exceeded the number of birders, so we’ll consider these as two successful walks.

We enjoyed sightings of our usual winter residents, with the New Year’s Day addition of a beautiful American Kestrel near the driving range and a Cooper’s Hawk on the water’s edge near the south bridge. On Saturday we had seven Northern Cardinals in one tree which made a pretty picture. The lagoons are still frozen but we found a few waterfowl in the open water under the bridge in the marina.

It was a fine way to end 2022 and welcome 2023. Happy New Year to all.

BIRDERS on Dec 31: Jane, Lucy, Mike M., Kristin, Jennie, Marian, Cheryl, Tracy, Eric, Marisa, Renate and welcome to Jen, Mike R., Joanne, Bruce, Guillermo, Kevin and Bridget.

BIRDERS on Jan 1: Mike, Jennie, Cheryl, Jane, Tracy, Peter  

WEATHER: 30s, cloudy, light winds

Compiler: Cheryl

Photographers: Marisa, Eric and Tracy

December 31, 2022:

Canada Goose   Number observed: 20

Mallard   Number observed: 7

Common Goldeneye   Number observed: 1

Red-breasted Merganser   Number observed: 5

Herring Gull   Number observed: 1

Downy Woodpecker   Number observed: 3

Northern Flicker   Number observed: 2

American Crow   Number observed: 8

Black-capped Chickadee   Number observed: 9

White-breasted Nuthatch   Number observed: 2

European Starling   Number observed: 20

American Robin   Number observed: 5

House Sparrow   Number observed: 7

American Goldfinch   Number observed: 13

American Tree Sparrow   Number observed: 3

Dark-eyed Junco   Number observed: 2

Northern Cardinal   Number observed: 15

January 1, 2023:

Canada Goose   Number observed: 423

Mallard   Number observed: 12

Common Goldeneye   Number observed: 2

Red-breasted Merganser   Number observed: 4

Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)   Number observed: 2

Ring-billed Gull   Number observed: 1

Herring Gull   Number observed: 2

Cooper's Hawk   Number observed: 1

Downy Woodpecker   Number observed: 4

Northern Flicker  Number observed: 3

American Kestrel   Number observed: 1

American Crow   Number observed: 6

Black-capped Chickadee   Number observed: 5

European Starling   Number observed: 44

American Robin   Number observed: 3

House Sparrow   Number observed: 8

American Goldfinch   Number observed: 2

Dark-eyed Junco   Number observed: 2

Northern Cardinal   Number observed: 8

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