Photo: American tree sparrow by Karen Brown

Hello everyone,

Greetings and Happy New Year to all!

Birders braved the cold both on Saturday, when the fog made it feel bone-chilling, and on Monday when it was also cold but not quite as uncomfortable.

No matter what the weather, we always see something nice. A gorgeous pair of Hooded Mergansers were present during both walks. I hope they stick around for the winter. With their appearance we had the Merganser Trifecta with Hooded, Red-breasted and Common all at once.

On Saturday we had a big, handsome Hairy Woodpecker. This bird was so big that there was no mistaking it for a Downy Woodpecker. On Monday we had a nice Cooper’s Hawk perched in a tree near the Music Bridge. It was sitting so still that a passing Crow didn’t even notice it.

BIRDERS:

12/30/2023: Roger, Leslie, Cheryl, Jennie, Mike, Kristin, Mark C., Jim, Eric, Marisa, Mani, Renate, Rob, Marian and welcome to Chiatanya, Christine, Scott, Barbara, Spencer, Glen, Elise and Malcolm.

1/1/2024: Leslie, Cheryl, Mike, Marian, Jennie, Mark W., Renate

TIME: 8:00am to 10:15am both days            

WEATHER: Saturday; low 30s, cloudy and foggy. Monday; 34 degrees, cloudy

Compiler: Cheryl

Photographers: Marisa and Eric

12/30/23:

1. Canada Goose   Number observed: 180

2. Mallard   Number observed: 8

3. Hooded Merganser   Number observed: 2

4. Common Merganser   Number observed: 1

5. Red-breasted Merganser   Number observed: 8

6. Ring-billed Gull   Number observed: 4

7. Herring Gull   Number observed: 1

8. Great Blue Heron   Number observed: 2

9. Downy Woodpecker   Number observed: 3

10. Hairy Woodpecker   Number observed: 1

11. Northern Flicker   Number observed: 1

12. American Crow   Number observed: 6

13. Black-capped Chickadee   Number observed: 7

14. European Starling   Number observed: 1

15. American Robin   Number observed: 2

16. House Sparrow   Number observed: 3

17. American Goldfinch   Number observed: 6

18. Dark-eyed Junco   Number observed: 6

19. Northern Cardinal   Number observed: 7

1/1/2024:

1. Canada Goose   Number observed: 254

2. Mallard   Number observed: 4

3. Common Goldeneye   Number observed: 1

4. Hooded Merganser   Number observed: 2

5. Common Merganser   Number observed: 1

6. Red-breasted Merganser   Number observed: 20

7. Ring-billed Gull   Number observed: 4

8. Herring Gull   Number observed: 3

9. Great Blue Heron   Number observed: 1

10. Cooper's Hawk   Number observed: 1

11. Downy Woodpecker   Number observed: 3

12. Northern Flicker   Number observed: 3

13. American Crow   Number observed: 7

14. Black-capped Chickadee   Number observed: 3

15. White-breasted Nuthatch   Number observed: 2

16. European Starling   Number observed: 3

17. American Robin   Number observed: 2

18. House Sparrow   Number observed: 1

19. American Goldfinch   Number observed: 7

20. Dark-eyed Junco   Number observed: 4

21. White-throated Sparrow   Number observed: 1

22. Song Sparrow   Number observed: 1

23. Northern Cardinal   Number observed: 7

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