It was 32 degrees at 9:00 this morning, and frost covered a lot of the grassy areas. I only had an hour to hike before going home to run some errands, but I did manage to see 23 avian species. I didn't see either of the two Palm Warblers that I had seen the day before. They must have gotten an email alert that it was time to head south. :-)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Mourning Dove
Adult and immature male Red-winged Blackbirds
Red-shouldered Hawk
It was a few degrees warmer today, and I had more time for birding. I hiked the same areas as yesterday, but only logged 20 avian species, although 7 of them were species I had not seen yesterday. The highlight of the morning was a juvenile Cooper's Hawk. Of course, many of the sparrow species were in hiding until it left, and then more birds were out in the open.
Cooper's Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Swamp Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Field Sparrows
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Northern Mockingbird
Great Blue Heron
Northern Cardinal
Northern Cardinal
It was only 10:30 in the morning at this point, so I did some more birding at the nearby Lickinghole Creek and Reservoir. It was fairly quiet, especially after 11:15. I only logged 12 avian species, but I added 8 more avian species to my two-day list. I was looking into the sun most of the time at the reservoir, and I couldn't identify two of the three duck species until I got home and processed the photos.
Green-winged Teals and Hooded Merganser
Mallards
Canada Goose Great Blue Heron Black Vulture Turkey Vulture Cooper's Hawk Red-shouldered Hawk Mourning Dove Red-bellied Woodpecker Northern Flicker Eastern Phoebe Blue Jay American Crow Carolina Chickadee Tufted Titmouse Carolina Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet Eastern Bluebird Northern Mockingbird European Starling White-throated Sparrow Song Sparrow Swamp Sparrow House Sparrow Field Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Northern Cardinal Red-winged Blackbird House Finch American Goldfinch
Canada Goose Common Raven Killdeer Belted Kingfisher Pileated Woodpecker Green-winged Teal Winter Wren Hooded Merganser Mallard White-throated Sparrow Song Sparrow Carolina Wren |