Photo: Eastern Bluebird by John Larson
Hello everyone,
The weather was rather unpleasant but we had some nice sightings on our Christmas Day walk. An American Robin was singing like it was the first day of Spring, poor confused bird! Its song was lovely to hear on the dreary day though. We were treated to nice looks at a Red-tailed Hawk in the Osaka Garden and then a Cooper’s Hawk flew over the Red-tailed and startled the Crow that was harassing it.
We had the Merganser trifecta again with Common, Hooded and Red-breasted all present. The Red-breasted Merganser and the Goldeneye males were displaying for the females, which is always fun to watch. We also had a herd of 7 Cardinals all feeding on the ground near the east parking lot.
Happy Holidays to all!
BIRDERS: Mike, Jennie, Kristin, Lillian, Jim, Karin, Renate, Clara, Dan
TIME: 8:00am to 10:10am
WEATHER: 47 degrees, cloudy, drizzly
Compiler: Mike
Species
Count
Canada Goose 195
Mallard 10
Common Goldeneye 4
Hooded Merganser 6
Common Merganser 3
Red-breasted Merganser 39
Ring-billed Gull 16
Great Blue Heron 4
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
American Crow 4
Black-capped Chickadee 4
American Robin 4
House Sparrow 1
American Goldfinch 1
Dark-eyed Junco 18
White-throated Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 9
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