Photo: Eastern Bluebird by John Larson
Hello everyone,
It was a pretty slow day but we had a few pleasant surprises, plus we made our first trip of the winter over to the harbors.
A female Hooded Merganser and a female Red-breasted Merganser were hanging out together in the East lagoon – I guess it was a girls’ day out. We found some nice Bufflehead, Goldeneye and Scaup in the LaRabida harbor. The highlight of the day was the gorgeous male American Kestral that seemed to be following the same path as ours. We saw him in several spots during the walk, and then Mike spotted him sitting on a squirrel nest in a tree next to the old tennis courts. He caught something and was enjoying his breakfast immensely. See Eric and Marisa’s photos, attached.
BIRDERS: Chelle, Mike, Marian, Jane, Kristin, Renate, Eric, Cheryl, Julia, Rob, Marisa, Bruce, Jennie
TIME: 8:00am to 10:00am
WEATHER: Cloudy, 32 degrees, light winds
Compiler: Cheryl
Photographers: Eric and Marisa
Wooded Island/Bobolink Meadow
Canada Goose Number observed: 83
Mallard Number observed: 5
Hooded Merganser Number observed: 1
Red-breasted Merganser Number observed: 3
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 7
Great Blue Heron Number observed: 2
Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 5
American Kestrel Number observed: 1
American Crow Number observed: 4
Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 4
American Robin Number observed: 1
House Sparrow Number observed: 1
American Goldfinch Number observed: 3
Dark-eyed Junco Number observed: 3
White-throated Sparrow Number observed: 2
Northern Cardinal Number observed: 3
Inner/Outer Harbors
Canada Goose Number observed: 23
Mallard Number observed: 2
Greater Scaup Number observed: 8
Bufflehead Number observed: 12
Common Goldeneye Number observed: 1
Red-breasted Merganser Number observed: 9, many more on the lake
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 24
Herring Gull Number observed: 3
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